Crew members of the Colombian Navy, together with National Army troops and members of the Corporation for the Sustainable Development of the North and Eastern Amazon, recovered and released 13 spectacled caimans (Caiman Crocodilus), known in the region as white crocodiles or babillas, which were intended to be marketed irregularly, in a rural area of the municipality of San José del Guaviare.
The events were reported, when navy men attached to the Navy Infantry River Battalion No.32 were carrying out security and control patrols on the Guaviare River and detected some abandoned sacks near the village of Barracón - San José del Guaviare. At the time of inspecting them, they found 13 juvenile caimans, so they immediately notified the Corporation for the Sustainable Development of the North and East Amazon – CDA, who arrived at the place to verify their health status.
Once it was established that the caimans were in good condition and did not present any type of physical loss, the Colombian Navy crew, in coordination with National Army troops and CDA professionals, released them in a safe area of the Guaviare River, which is the natural habitat of these specimens.
White crocodiles or babillas commonly inhabit the rivers of the Colombian Amazon. According to the environmental authorities of the region, these animals are hunted to commercialize their skin or for the consumption of their meat, an illicit activity that puts the conservation of the ecosystem at risk.
Source: Press – Navy of Colombia
