The spectacled caiman, which was found in the riverbed of the Vinalopó River as it flows through Sax in Alicante and had been tracked for months by the Nature Protection Service (Seprona) of the Guardia Civil, has been transported to Elche Safari Park for recovery and possible reintroduction into the natural environment.
In mid-July, a member of the public gave notice that they had seen what looked like a caiman in the riverbed. The information had a wide repercussion on social media and generated concern among neighbours, as the Guardia Civil has indicated in a statement.
Once that information was known, Seprona agents of the Guardia Civil of Alicante and Monóvar carried out various preventive search services, with night vision equipment and drone flights, in which agents from Sax and the Local Police also participated.
On 16th October, workers from the Town Council of Sax who were clearing the Vinalopó riverbed near the bridge noticed what appeared to be a fragment of a caiman’s tail. Following localisation efforts, the animal was located and captured by effective members of the Local Police of this municipality.
At this point, the Seprona patrol of Monóvar was informed. The agents moved to the dependencies of the Local Police, took charge of the specimen and transported it to the Elche Safari Park.
It is a spectacled caiman, a species included in the Cites Convention, so its trade and possession by private individuals are permitted as long as the established requirements are met.
The collected specimen, however, lacked identification, so the Guardia Civil has reported the facts to the Cites scientific authority and to the customs authorities.
Finally, the Guardia Civil has pointed out that the possession of exotic animals requires having documentation that accredits their legal origin and their identification and that the release or abandonment of a specimen of these characteristics supposes a risk for the animal itself, for ecosystems and for people.
