A video capturing thousands of caimans has become a viral sensation on social media last week, amassing 10.3 million views just days after being posted.
The creature captured is the black caiman.
However, upon further investigation, it turns out that the video was not filmed at a resort beach, nor does it depict an invasion by aggressive crocodiles.
In reality, the creature shown is the black caiman – a medium to small-sized reptile closely related to the common crocodile. The footage was actually taken along the banks of the Nabileque River in the Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland in the world. The phenomenon of black caimans lining the banks of the Nabileque River is just one of the many sights commonly seen in this wetland region.
Black caimans lining the banks of the Nabileque River
The Pantanal is home to 10 million black caimans, making it the largest concentration of crocodiles in the world. In comparison, this area is inhabited by only about 206,000 people.
