Friday photo – Caiman watching from the water
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Caiman eyes watching
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They hide pretty well, don’t they?
Caimans (click for larger image) are smaller relatives of crocodiles, and often they’re hard to spot. They can be sitting perfectly still in the water, almost submerged except for their eyes. Look back under the trees, or hidden among the floating vegetation, and you just might spot one.
Of course, the reliable way to see one is to listen to your guide! Seriously, the guides in Costa Rica point out a TON of wildlife that you’d never see on your own. I’m sure I would have walked / boated right past 99% of the wildlife we saw if I didn’t have somebody with sharp, experienced eyes to point it all out!
But back to the caimans…Â They’re actually beneficiaries of our taste for fashionable handbags.
How does that work? The large crocodiles that used to live here were hunted until they almost vanished, for those lustrous patterned skins of theirs. As the dominant crocodiles were removed by humans, it left more room for their smaller cousins, the caimans. But the real thing that’s saved them? Their skins just aren’t so good for tanning. Caiman-skin just doesn’t work as well as crocodile-skin. Lucky devils!
And the cutest thing we saw when I was in Costa Rica? The baby caimans! Our guide knew just where to go, and how to get their attention, waggling his fingers in the water. We all waited quietly on the boat, wondering what on earth he was doing. Our patience and his knowledge paid off, and soon a bunch of baby caimans were swimming over, all less than a foot long. Awwwwww… 
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We just wrapped up our Costa Rica wildlife adventure last month, and the wenches reported having a great time. Tortuguero (over on the Caribbean coast side of Costa Rica) is often people’s favorite part of the trip. We’ll be back there in Feb 2010, to spot more hidden caimans!
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8 responses so far ↓
1 Amitesh Kumar // Mar 21, 2009 at 8:38 pm
They are really fortunate that since they were not useful for human beings they survived.Where else they are found?
2 Deanna Keahey // Mar 22, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Amitesh – Funny how that works, isn’t it. When people decide we like something, we “love it to death”. Much safer for the animals not to have stylish or useful skins! Caimans are found from Mexico to Argentina.
3 Stilson // Mar 29, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Crocodiles and their cousins are absolutely amazing creatures. They deserve a lot of respect..they’ve been around like 200 million years. They survived whatever it was that killed off the dinosaurs.
4 Deanna // Apr 2, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Stilson – That’s a good point. They were doing very successfully in the world until we came along. Wonder if we’ll last as long as they have?
Deanna’s last blog post.. San Juan Islands – The ferry ride
5 cope // Apr 2, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Caimans are amazing. When I was a kid, I desperately wanted one as a pet. These days I’d settle for getting the opportunity to take a photo like this one. Traveling around taking photographs is a pretty great job (hobby?).
6 Deanna Keahey // Apr 3, 2009 at 10:00 am
Cope – Probably a good idea your parents put the kibosh on the pet idea, but for sure that would have been the coolest pet in the neighborhood!
7 Jay // Jul 3, 2009 at 5:04 am
Really – Really Good Information. I Red and get more knowledge. Keep writing more. Wonderful.
8 solar drift // Jul 9, 2009 at 3:03 am
I remember seeing a caiman when I was a kid and it scared the pants off me!
Costa Rica looks amazing, would love to visit some day!
solar drift´s last blog ..Hot Thai Ladies
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