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Lucy, the Black caiman, on shore 4, Sani Lodge, Ecuador A few hours earlier, Lucy the Black Caiman was eyeing us as we arrived at Sani Lodge:<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130339/lucy_the_black_caiman_sani_lodge_ecuador.html" title="Lucy, the Black caiman, Sani Lodge, Ecuador"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2/130339_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1763596810&Signature=A2HpXIjp1yOD9T646YCiUrIERrk%3D" width="200" height="134" alt="Lucy, the Black caiman, Sani Lodge, Ecuador Just before docking at Sani Lodge, we were pointed towards Lucy, judging the arrival of fresh meat. Lucy is a naughty Black caiman, she had been nesting directly under one of the guest lodges. That particular lodge is now named after her and richly illustrated with her image. Lucy is tolerated, her presence accepted.<br /> <br /> Lucy is not to be mistaken for a pet though. A black caiman is the largest predator of the Amazon. There isn&#039;t a single species that it cannot take on, humans included. It&#039;s an enforcer species, maintaining order. Black caiman,Ecuador,Ecuador 2021,Geotagged,Melanosuchus niger,Sani Lodge,South America,Spring,World,Yasuni National Park" /></a></figure><br /> As we were still settling in and exploring our surrounding, Rodrigo (Sani Lodge guide) whistled, and much to our shock, Lucy catapults herself our of the water, on shore. We didn&#039;t even know she was there. A somewhat unsettling thought as I just spent at least an hour photographing around the edges of this dock. In the three days after, we would not see her again, but I&#039;m quite sure she&#039;s seen us lots of times.<br /> <br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130422/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_sani_lodge_ecuador.html" title="Lucy, the Black caiman, on shore, Sani Lodge, Ecuador"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2/130422_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1763596810&Signature=TbwZsmjnKtgxaO28hs61RAUA7cg%3D" width="102" height="152" alt="Lucy, the Black caiman, on shore, Sani Lodge, Ecuador A few hours earlier, Lucy the Black Caiman was eyeing us as we arrived at Sani Lodge:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130339/lucy_the_black_caiman_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> As we were still settling in and exploring our surrounding, Rodrigo (Sani Lodge guide) whistled, and much to our shock, Lucy catapults herself our of the water, on shore. We didn&#039;t even know she was there. A somewhat unsettling thought as I just spent at least an hour photographing around the edges of this dock. In the three days after, we would not see her again, but I&#039;m quite sure she&#039;s seen us lots of times.<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130421/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_2_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130420/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_3_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130419/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_4_sani_lodge_ecuador.html Black caiman,Ecuador,Ecuador 2021,Geotagged,Melanosuchus niger,Sani Lodge,South America,Spring,World,Yasuni National Park" /></a></figure><br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130421/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_2_sani_lodge_ecuador.html" title="Lucy, the Black caiman, on shore 2, Sani Lodge, Ecuador"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2/130421_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1763596810&Signature=fuzW36Q%2F5QQdQCOmkRdB6%2BuHarY%3D" width="200" height="134" alt="Lucy, the Black caiman, on shore 2, Sani Lodge, Ecuador A few hours earlier, Lucy the Black Caiman was eyeing us as we arrived at Sani Lodge:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130339/lucy_the_black_caiman_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> As we were still settling in and exploring our surrounding, Rodrigo (Sani Lodge guide) whistled, and much to our shock, Lucy catapults herself our of the water, on shore. We didn&#039;t even know she was there. A somewhat unsettling thought as I just spent at least an hour photographing around the edges of this dock. In the three days after, we would not see her again, but I&#039;m quite sure she&#039;s seen us lots of times.<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130422/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130420/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_3_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130419/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_4_sani_lodge_ecuador.html Black caiman,Ecuador,Ecuador 2021,Geotagged,Melanosuchus niger,Sani Lodge,South America,Spring,World,Yasuni National Park" /></a></figure><br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130420/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_3_sani_lodge_ecuador.html" title="Lucy, the Black caiman, on shore 3, Sani Lodge, Ecuador"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2/130420_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1763596810&Signature=HfP%2FWwVMDcYJbelfuB6EVgtEZIQ%3D" width="148" height="152" alt="Lucy, the Black caiman, on shore 3, Sani Lodge, Ecuador A few hours earlier, Lucy the Black Caiman was eyeing us as we arrived at Sani Lodge:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130339/lucy_the_black_caiman_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> As we were still settling in and exploring our surrounding, Rodrigo (Sani Lodge guide) whistled, and much to our shock, Lucy catapults herself our of the water, on shore. We didn&#039;t even know she was there. A somewhat unsettling thought as I just spent at least an hour photographing around the edges of this dock. In the three days after, we would not see her again, but I&#039;m quite sure she&#039;s seen us lots of times.<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130422/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130421/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_2_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130419/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_4_sani_lodge_ecuador.html Black caiman,Ecuador,Ecuador 2021,Geotagged,Melanosuchus niger,Sani Lodge,South America,Spring,World,Yasuni National Park" /></a></figure> Black caiman,Ecuador,Ecuador 2021,Geotagged,Melanosuchus niger,Sani Lodge,South America,Spring,World,Yasuni National Park Click/tap to enlarge Promoted

Lucy, the Black caiman, on shore 4, Sani Lodge, Ecuador

A few hours earlier, Lucy the Black Caiman was eyeing us as we arrived at Sani Lodge:

Lucy, the Black caiman, Sani Lodge, Ecuador Just before docking at Sani Lodge, we were pointed towards Lucy, judging the arrival of fresh meat. Lucy is a naughty Black caiman, she had been nesting directly under one of the guest lodges. That particular lodge is now named after her and richly illustrated with her image. Lucy is tolerated, her presence accepted.<br /> <br /> Lucy is not to be mistaken for a pet though. A black caiman is the largest predator of the Amazon. There isn't a single species that it cannot take on, humans included. It's an enforcer species, maintaining order. Black caiman,Ecuador,Ecuador 2021,Geotagged,Melanosuchus niger,Sani Lodge,South America,Spring,World,Yasuni National Park

As we were still settling in and exploring our surrounding, Rodrigo (Sani Lodge guide) whistled, and much to our shock, Lucy catapults herself our of the water, on shore. We didn't even know she was there. A somewhat unsettling thought as I just spent at least an hour photographing around the edges of this dock. In the three days after, we would not see her again, but I'm quite sure she's seen us lots of times.

Lucy, the Black caiman, on shore, Sani Lodge, Ecuador A few hours earlier, Lucy the Black Caiman was eyeing us as we arrived at Sani Lodge:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130339/lucy_the_black_caiman_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> As we were still settling in and exploring our surrounding, Rodrigo (Sani Lodge guide) whistled, and much to our shock, Lucy catapults herself our of the water, on shore. We didn't even know she was there. A somewhat unsettling thought as I just spent at least an hour photographing around the edges of this dock. In the three days after, we would not see her again, but I'm quite sure she's seen us lots of times.<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130421/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_2_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130420/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_3_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130419/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_4_sani_lodge_ecuador.html Black caiman,Ecuador,Ecuador 2021,Geotagged,Melanosuchus niger,Sani Lodge,South America,Spring,World,Yasuni National Park

Lucy, the Black caiman, on shore 2, Sani Lodge, Ecuador A few hours earlier, Lucy the Black Caiman was eyeing us as we arrived at Sani Lodge:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130339/lucy_the_black_caiman_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> As we were still settling in and exploring our surrounding, Rodrigo (Sani Lodge guide) whistled, and much to our shock, Lucy catapults herself our of the water, on shore. We didn't even know she was there. A somewhat unsettling thought as I just spent at least an hour photographing around the edges of this dock. In the three days after, we would not see her again, but I'm quite sure she's seen us lots of times.<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130422/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130420/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_3_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130419/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_4_sani_lodge_ecuador.html Black caiman,Ecuador,Ecuador 2021,Geotagged,Melanosuchus niger,Sani Lodge,South America,Spring,World,Yasuni National Park

Lucy, the Black caiman, on shore 3, Sani Lodge, Ecuador A few hours earlier, Lucy the Black Caiman was eyeing us as we arrived at Sani Lodge:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130339/lucy_the_black_caiman_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> As we were still settling in and exploring our surrounding, Rodrigo (Sani Lodge guide) whistled, and much to our shock, Lucy catapults herself our of the water, on shore. We didn't even know she was there. A somewhat unsettling thought as I just spent at least an hour photographing around the edges of this dock. In the three days after, we would not see her again, but I'm quite sure she's seen us lots of times.<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130422/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130421/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_2_sani_lodge_ecuador.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/130419/lucy_the_black_caiman_on_shore_4_sani_lodge_ecuador.html Black caiman,Ecuador,Ecuador 2021,Geotagged,Melanosuchus niger,Sani Lodge,South America,Spring,World,Yasuni National Park

    comments (7)

  1. View Christine Young's profile
    Christine Young
    Lion
    View Lion class
    It gives me goosebumps to think about how close you were, unwittingly, to her. Posted 3 years ago
    1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
      Ferdy Christant
      Lion
      View Lion class
      There must be a reason they're not interested, as also in the silent canoe there's infinite opportunity to just pick a human. The only theory I have is that they're just not that hungry, plenty of easier alternatives. Posted 3 years ago
      1. View Christine Young's profile
        Christine Young
        Lion
        View Lion class
        True, they must be well-fed enough that humans are too much of a bother to eat. Or, maybe we taste gross? Posted 3 years ago
        1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
          Ferdy Christant
          Lion
          View Lion class
          Not me, I'm delicious. Posted 3 years ago
          1. View Christine Young's profile
            Christine Young
            Lion
            View Lion class
            Lol, well I guess Lucy missed out. Posted 3 years ago
  3. View Calbost Niel's profile
    Calbost Niel
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Quite an overbite Posted 3 years ago
  4. View Barry's profile
    Barry
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Grandma, what big teeth you have! Posted 3 years ago

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The Black caiman

The black caiman is a crocodilian. It is a carnivorous reptile that lives along slow-moving rivers and lakes, in the seasonally flooded savannas of the Amazon basin, and in other freshwater habitats in South America. Once common, it was hunted to near extinction primarily for its commercially valuable hide. It is now listed as Conservation Dependent.

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Similar species: Crocodilia
Species identified by Ferdy Christant
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By Ferdy Christant

All rights reserved
Uploaded Feb 26, 2022. Captured Nov 15, 2021 16:28 in 67C6X698+22.
country flag of Ecuador Explore Ecuador 1,787 846 0
  • NIKON D850
  • f/8.0
  • 1/60s
  • ISO3200
  • 330mm

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