Caiman | The caiman is a large aquatic reptile
found in the swamps and tropical rivers that cover Central and South
America. Although the caimans have much narrower bodies, they are most
closely related to alligators and crocodiles. Caimans are
found in a variety of habitats throughout Central and South America
from marshes and swamps to mangrove rivers and lakes. As with other
reptiles, caimans have scaly skin and live a fairly nocturnal existence.
Caimans range in size from the dwarf caiman
which measures just over a meter in length, to the black caiman which
can to grow to be nearly 5 meters long. The black caiman is the largest
caiman species in the world and is found in the slow-moving rivers and
lakes that surround the Amazon basin. There are six different
species of caiman found throughout the watery, jungle habitats of
Central and Southern America. The average length for most of the other
caiman species if about 2.5 meters long.
The caiman is a carnivorous predators and, like the alligator and the crocodile, the caiman has a diet that consists of a great deal of fish. The caiman also hunts insects, birds and small mammals and
reptiles. Due to the large size and ferocious nature of the caiman, it
has few natural predators within its environment. Humans are the main
predators of the caiman as they have been hunted for their meat and
skin. Jaguars are the only other predator of the caiman.
Female caimans build a large nest in
which to lay their eggs, which can be more than 1.5 meters wide. Female
caimans lay between 10 and 50 eggs which hatch within about 6 weeks.
Once they have hatched, the mother caiman takes her young to a shallow
pool of water where they can learn how to hunt and swim.
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