Caimans are common in the Amazon
IAN STALKER
Josue Basilio has experienced what can truly be described as teething pains in the past, courtesy of one of his fellow Amazon dwellers.
And that has helped make him careful about his job duties.
Basilio is a guide with the Brazilian Amazon’s Katerre Expeditions, where among other things he leads guests on nighttime excursions on the Jau River in search of caimans, with the waterborne quests seeing Basilio sweep river shores with a light to spot eyes that will then glow in the water, with that reflecting light giving the predators’ locations away.
The nimble Basilio will then happily grab smaller, close-at-hand crocodilians, bringing them onto a tour boat, enabling tourists to get up close and personal with the toothy carnivores.
Basilio says the region is home to lots of black caimans, with the latter reportedly sometimes topping an imposing 6 meters in length.
The black caiman — one of several types of caiman — is the largest member of the alligatoroidea family.
The reptiles initially struggle when Basilio collars them but then relax, apparently comfortable when he invites tourists to gently touch them.
“When he realizes you didn’t come to eat him, he’ll feel relaxed,” says Basilio, who recalls receiving a painful bite from a crocodilian when he was 19. His brother and father had to free the reptile from one of Basilio’s hands.
Basilio — who has lost track of the number of times he has held crocodilians — is also cautious when releasing the unharmed reptiles into the water from his boat after guests have gotten a good look at them, adding that if he only holds a tail before the release, the predator may whip around and and give a painful bite.
When releasing a caiman, he positions it so its head is facing him, as they like to immediately spin after being let go, leading it to face away and not being a threat.
Basilio concedes that some tourists are somewhat uneasy when he brings a caiman onto the boat, well aware that they’re carnivorous.
But Trish Dewald of Michigan travel agency Our Whole Village said she wasn’t nervous when Basilio displayed a youthful black caiman before her when she was on a Katerre Expeditions tour.
“I though it was beautiful,” she said of the multi-hued creature.
Dewald accepted Basilio’s assurances that she wasn’t at risk when he held the reptile near her.
Meanwhile, Basilio is quick to advise against people dreaming of having a caiman as a pet, noting smallish young ones don’t stay young and aren’t likely to stay small.
“It’s a big predator,” he warns.
More information about the tours can be found at katerre.com/US/ or by emailing [email protected].
In the photo: Katerre Expeditions guide Josue Basilio holds a young caiman near Amazon explorers Shellee Almquist and Trish Dewald.
