Mystery Cayman Croc Captured
Posted by: Loren Coleman on January 4th, 2007
What is an eight-foot long crocodile (Crocodylus sp.) – a Mexican example is seen above – doing in the Cayman Islands? They have been extinct there for an undetermined number of years. It obviously is not someone’s escaped pet.
“Mystery crocodile described as ‘very fast and aggressive’”
Cayman News
Thursday, January 4, 2007
The origin of an eight-foot long crocodile captured near Old Man Bay in Grand Cayman last Saturday remains a mystery.
Sightings of the reptile in the north of the Island prompted 911 calls from members of the public.
Police officers and officials from the Department of the Environment safely contained it for transfer to Boatswain’s Beach where it is currently under veterinary supervision.
The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) said that rumours about an incident involving a second crocodile were unfounded.
They said a further search was conducted on Sunday after reports that a second creature had been seen, but it was believed these were actually sightings of the captured crocodile at different locations.
Kenneth Hydes, Managing Director of the Boatswain’s Beach tourist attraction, confirmed that they were looking after the crocodile, saying it was a multi-agency effort to care for it.
The main investigation is the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture.
Spokesperson for the department, Brian Critchlow, said it was too early to comment on where the crocodile came from.
“It is under veterinary care at Boatswain’s Beach and all reports suggest that it is doing well,” he said.
“A full investigation is underway to try and determine the origin of the crocodile but it is too early to speculate on how it arrived here.”
He confirmed it was a saltwater crocodile, saying that the creature was very fast and aggressive.
Although the Cayman Islands once had a thriving crocodile population, Cayman being derived from caiman or Caymanas, they were believed to have been hunted to extinction over 200 years ago.
The nearest obvious source of crocodiles is Cuba where the surviving indigenous population is supplemented by a farming programme which produces meat and skins.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Why is this “obviously not someones pet”?
People are fairly stupid (not us of course) this could be a pet, or former pet. I remember there was a guy in the Bronx (New York City) with a Lion in his apartment, so someone having a croc as pet is not that hard to imagine.
Btgoss, what happened to reading such things with a sense of humor? My comment was a joke based on the fact that almost every report of an out-of-place croc is met with the line… “but it probably was someone’s escaped pet.”
I had a visual image of an eight-footer in someone’s bathtub in the Caymans, and that was funny to me. Sorry the laughter meter was off.
🙂
Of course, all kinds of people keep very large exotic pets. But an eight-foot crocodile seems a stretch.
Perhaps those in Cuba decided to take a long swim?
It’d take an awfully big toilet to flush away an unwanted 8 ft. long pet croc.
Sorry Loren, my laugh meter was off… I read an NPR Cancer blog before coming here ( I guess I should change the order of my morning reading…)
Also. Having re-read the story. This is a salt water croc?
I suspect the “salt water croc” is a misnomer. No animal gets THAT lost. Perhaps it’s a member of the Cuban species who got pushed offshore in a storm, and swam or rafted to the Caymans? I don’t know what the currents down there are like.
Matt Bille
Is this the first cryptid of the year – an out of place crocodile?
It would be great if this was an indigenous survivor. Would that make it an endangered species or are all the island crocodiles down there considered one species? Anyone know how far Cuba is – is it swimable for a crocodile? (I know Australian crocodiles have been spotted pretty far out to sea.)
Wow. This had me freaked out for a moment. My Grandparents used to own property in the Caymans about 60 or 70 years ago and I have several series of old pictures from their time there. One with My Grandfather standing back with a long pole from two crocodiles on the beach. The picture is labeled by my grandfather indicating it was from Cayman and is in the series of pictures from Cayman, but it said here they had been extinct for 200 years? This picture was from maybe 1940. Then I did a quick search and found an article on a Cayman News site about this story that says the last live crocodile was seen in the Caymans in 1959, so it is plausible. I thought I had a cryptid photo there for a moment 🙂 I don’t think the 200 years number is correct.
Other possibilties than American crocodile may be the Cuban crocodile or Morelet’s crocodile.
I guess they’ll have to change the name of the place to the “Caiman Islands”.
“Is this the first cryptid of the year – an out of place crocodile?”
As the article states, this crocodile, whatever species it may be, was captured on Dec. 30, 2006.
Sounds like a swimmer from Cuba. Just taking off to spread his species back to old habitiat. “Fast and aggressive” are two words to perfectly describe the behavior of most Cuban crocs (crocodylus rombifer or something close), this is not just book info, I’ve dealt with it first hand, these guys have an attitude from day one. American crocodile (crocodylus acutus) on the other hand are typically shy and just want to quietly get away. The two species are easily differentiated, anyone have photos?
P.S. Not likely an escaped pet; Cuban or N. American crocs are worth big $$$ (and a lot of paperwork.)
Oops, missed the date on a quick reading.
Well it says they were “believed” to be hunted to extinction 200 years ago. Cryptozoology includes the study of animals previously thought to be extinct, so I’m suprised nobody has voiced the opinion that this just may be a remnant of that supposedly extinct population. Maybe they are not extinct in these islands after all? I am not familiar with that area of the world, but if there is ample remote wilderness is this not feasible?
There is really no wilderness at all there, this is why someone evidently shot it with a speargun as soon as it made an appearance. The islands there are very busy with people.
Unless it was at very close range I doubt the spear did any notable damage to the animal.
I wouldn’t count this as an out of place animal as crocs in Cuba have been making a come back, and both species used to be found there before people removed them.
Maybe it was just visiting on vacation..ha ha. oh, and did anyone check to see if it had any accounts at the bank? Could be a wanted criminal.
The American croc, C. acutus, is well-known to frequent salt-water as well as fresh. To quote a very authoritative source:
The American crocodile is the second most widely distributed of the New World crocodiles, ranging from the southern tip of Florida, both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America, as well as the Caribbean islands of Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola.
Jamaica is 180 miles from the Caimans, Cuba 150…Sounds like it cd have come from either one.
C. rhombifer is a very distinct croc, I doubt if they cd have mistaken one for C. acutus.
Bobcat, how’s about scanning in those photos of your grandfather w/the crocs in Cayman? Some good natural history there!