spectacled caiman, delhi zoo

Spectacled Caiman

Caiman crocodilus

Found in South and Central America, they get their name from the bony ridges that look like a pair of eyeglasses around the eyes. They prefer still water but also live in lowland wetlands, rivers, and seasonally flooded savannas. They are good swimmers and are nocturnal in nature. Food consists of fish, birds, turtles, reptiles and mammals which are swallowed whole. Females build a large soil-and-vegetation mound nest in which eggs are laid.