Range: The Black Caiman is found throughout much of the Amazon Basin. The Black Caimans former range included virtually all of northern and central South America, but the known range as of 2005 has diminished substantially.    This animal is, and was, hunted extensively resulting in substantial ongoing loss.

Habitat: Slow-moving rivers; backwaters of rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps

Size: Largest of all Caiman, the Black Caiman is often thought of as very similar in size and physical shape to the American Alligator.  The largest recorded size is 19 feet for a male Black Caiman, the average is is 10-14 feet.

Status: Listed as Cities 1, the Black Caiman is rapidly being lost to illegal hunting of it's hide.  Some believe as much as 98% percent of the original population has been destroyed.

Rain Forest Facts: An impressive crocodilian, the Black Caiman is capable of growing as large as the American Alligator.   The similarities are striking between the role the American Alligator and the Black Caiman play in their respective ecosystems.   The fate of the two species appears to be as divergent as the physical similarities are in commonality.   The American alligator is experiencing an incredible come back from the brink of extinction while the future for the Black caiman is much less certain.   Captive farming of these magnificent animals is underway in a limited capacity and should have some positve impact on both the reduction in demand for wild caught specimens as well as provide a safety net of genetics in the event the wild populations are decimated.

The diet of the young Black Caiman is similar to all crocodilians, small vertebrate and insects make up much of the diet for the first year or so of life.  Growing rapidly the Black Caiman switches to larger fish species such as the plentiful catfish and piranha species that share it's river ecosystem.  As large adults the Black Caiman begin to prey on animals as large as the Capybara, the largest rodent on earth, carrion is also consumed willingly by Caiman of all sizes. The roll the Black Caiman plays as a predator becomes increasingly important as the animal matures.

Obtaining accurate information on the current status of the Black Caiman is difficult for a number of reasons, the flooding of the Amazon (typically late May through July) will disperse many animals including the populations of Black Caiman.  When the annual dry season returns the Black Caiman and many other species of animals tend to congregate near the shrinking, and or permanent,  water supplies. Counting the Black Caiman during the dry season can yield some relevant data but is by no means totally accurate.   Guyana reports very healthy populations within it's borders.  While surrounding nations release conflicting data on the status of the Black Caiman.

Fear on the behalf of local natives that the Black Caiman presents a serious risk to economically important fish populations is founded in rumors and false information.  As a keystone species the Black Caiman undoubtedly performs many of the very beneficial functions that the American Alligator does in the United States.  The loss of the Black Caiman would have far reaching negative implications for fish stocks as well as many other creatures in the ecosystem of South America. It is highly unlikely that species such as the Spectacled Caiman can assume the full roll played by such a large and important member of this complex ecosystem as the Black Caiman.

Local governments in South America could learn much from the financial success of the American Alligator, if the Black Caiman were allowed to repopulate to the extent the American Alligator has the economic benefits would be substantial not only from an ecotourism perspective but from controlled hunting for hides and meat as now occurs in the south east United States.  

RainForest Adventures zoo, Smoky Mountains, Tennessee near Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge TN