Black caiman
A less-friendly water dweller is a black caiman. This immense alligator can grow 15 feet long, making it the Amazon Basin’s largest predator. They kill their prey, which includes deer and tapirs, in a grisly way—first drowning it and then swallowing it whole.
As hatchlings, the caiman is preyed on by birds, rodents, and other animals. The main threat to the black caiman adults is humans. We kill them for their meat and hide, cut down the trees supporting their food, and burn their swamplands.
