Black Caiman

[Dark Jaguar]

30 BLACK CAIMANS RESCUED AT ILHA DO BANANAL

https://naturatins.to.gov.br/noticia/201...o-bananal/

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October 29th 2017 - Alvaro Vallim/Governo do Tocantins

Naturatins and partners rescue 30 Caimans at Ilha do Bananal

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''After a video circulated on social networks with Ibama firefighters working in Bananal Island, showing a lake that had already turned to mud with a large concentration of caimans trapped and some already dead, a rescue team was assembled to avoid the death of the animals that were still alive. The video of the brigade members shows the rescue of a cow and a calf, but they say they have no experience in rescuing caimans. At the end of the work 30 black caimans were rescued being several more than three meters long and one with 4.23 meters.

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The team went to Bananal Island on Thursday 26th, early in the morning to perform the rescue. In all, 15 people being nine technicians from the Nature Institute of Tocantins - Naturatins from the headquarters and from the offices of Lagoa da Confusão and Gurupi, four policemen from the Environmental Military Police Battalion, one from the Federal University of Tocantins (UFT) and a technician from Ibama.

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According to Naturatins' Fauna supervisor, Grasiela Pacheco, the team followed a pattern for capturing the caimans that were stuck in the mud, consisting first of removing them from the mud. After that, the mouth was immobilized with the use of a tape to avoid bites and blindfolds to avoid stressing the animals. After all this, they had their feet and tail tied up so that they would not struggle during transportation. "The rescue was a success. It was the result of effective and technical teamwork. Handling huge, aggressive and rustic animals without any complications was fundamental to achieve our priority of saving lives without measuring efforts, with a lot of dedication, respect and love" she highlighted.

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HARD TIME TRANSLOCATING THE BIG ONE

Grasiela also said that one of the Black Caimans found in the mud was big, measuring 4.23 meters. To get this animal out of the mud it was necessary to pull it with a pickup truck, since not even with the whole team pulling the rope could get it out of the mud. None of the rescued animals died or suffered any injuries. We used trucks from Naturatins, Environmental Military Police and a truck from Funai. The larger caimans were removed first. All of them were released into rivers and lakes with plenty of water on the island itself.

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The president of Naturatins, Herbert Brito Barros (Buti), praised the team's work and the success of the operation, which involved Naturatins, BPMA, Ibama, Funai, and UFT. "The staff of Naturatins is to be congratulated, as are all the people from the partner institutions, for the professionalism and success of the black caiman rescue operation at Ilha do Bananal. It is very important that the institutions are in harmony in these difficult moments and that we can ensure that lives are saved, allowing balance to the environment." he said.

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