I went out on a nuisance gator call expecting to catch a gator and ended up getting this 5 ft 6 inch caiman out of a local lake

 Caiman? Is that a crocodile? When you catch them do you transplant 'em or do they end up on the supper table or as boots ?

                                As Ever,

                                 skillet

I did not know caiman are in this part of the world and then I remembered that people will buy them when they are small and release them when they grow large.

That is why we have a python problem in the Everglades.

A guy caught a parinah in the Appomattox River last year.

And as we all know, we have Snakeheads in the Potomac.

It is such a shame to  have this happen to our great country.

Dude, who you kidding? That's a gator. Caiman my a@% bro

Looks like a caiman to me.   Nice catch.

Its a Caiman it was probably a pet released years ago it was a female and that is as big as they usually get . The state makes us kill them onsite because they are an exotic.

here is another picture

Thats a better picture. Somebody told me that when they first moved here in the 70's they had already wiped out all the caimen. Because before that they were breeding them here?

Estimated first release from a tank - in the fifties

First spotted in the wilds - in the 60's

An attempt to erradicate them - in the 70's

The attempts were futile.

US population - Florida City to Lake Jessup in Seminole county

Majority of population in the Homestead - Florida city area

Extremely unusual in Indian River County area.

There was a local pet store that sold Black Caimans here about 7-8 years ago, then they all of a sudden stopped selling them. I suspect they wer busted by Wildlife offcials.

T.

Hey BK...

I thought all you gator getters lived in Okeechobee and needed dentures?

P.S.  How's about a belt.

LOL I am the younger generation of trappers . Those old timers have taught me what I know .

I cant make a belt outta caiman they have bony scutes on their belly scales just like a gator has scutes on his back so its basically worthless

Momma says alligators are ornery because dey got all dem teeth and no toothbrush.