Foto: CVC
The seizure of a 2.67 meter long alligator, which lived in the patio of a home in Palmira, Valle del Cauca, has generated a debate around the keeping of wild animals in private spaces and the preservation of their well-being.
‘Ñata’, as the reptile was named, was found by local authorities in a home during an operation led by the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Valle del Cauca (CVC) and the Prosecutor’s Office. The COP16 environmental summit coincided with this case, bringing even more attention to the rescue and future of captive wildlife.
Jesús Leonardo Escobar, gunsmith and owner of the house where the caiman was found, tells The Time that the animal has been part of his life since 1970, when his father took him into his home after a seizure by the Police. “Palmirano who respects himself knows the existence of ‘Ñata’,” says Escobar, stating that the alligator has lived as part of his family for 54 years. According to his testimony, the relationship with the reptile was marked by daily care and constant feeding of beef and chicken, which allowed the animal to reach a considerable size.
The origin of ‘Ñata’ dates back to the time when wildlife was not so regulated. Escobar says that it was his father who, a friend of the then commander of the Palmira Police, received the alligator as an “assignment” for its care after a seizure. At that time, the alligator measured only 25 centimeters and its small size meant that it was considered an exotic curiosity rather than a threat.
Escobar remembers that for many years, the animal moved freely around the yard and sometimes entered the house. Over the years, the alligator became a symbol among neighbors, who took their children to observe the reptile and sometimes offered it food.
On Tuesday, October 21, 2024, in the middle of the COP16 celebration, the authorities received the order to confiscate ‘Ñata’. The Prosecutor’s Office, accompanied by the CVC and the Police, carried out an operation to rescue the animal, in which special networks and equipment were deployed due to its size and condition.
The director of the CVC, Marco Antonio Suárez, highlighted that the intervention was necessary to ensure the well-being of the alligator, who had multiple health problems due to the conditions in which he lived.
The first veterinary evaluations carried out on ‘Ñata’ revealed that the animal is in a delicate state of health. According to the CVC, the reptile has a lower weight than ideal for its age and size, in addition to presenting a mass in its jaw and difficulties in one of its limbs.
This will happen with the almost 3 meter crocodile that was in a house in Palmira 🚫 😡 Wild animals #NoSonMascotas! #InformativeCVC pic.twitter.com/afRXGgvcIA
— CVC (@CvcAmbiental) October 22, 2024
“It is the first time that an animal of these characteristics arrives at the CVC because it does not have a distribution in this area of the country, but in the north. It is a needle caiman or Magdalena caiman. The animal arrived at the Corporation’s Care and Assessment Center where it was evaluated by our veterinary medical specialists, biologists and zootechnicians who took samples for the laboratory whose results we are awaiting, but, preliminarily, the animal arrives with a weight between 40 and 50% below the ideal for its size and age,” explains biologist Gustavo Trujillo Barrientos from the Environmental Management Directorate of the CVC.
Foto: CVC
Apparently the crocodile could not escape to freedom. The CVC has raised the possibility of transferring ‘Ñata’ to a rehabilitation center in the Eastern Plains, where he would be cared for in specialized facilities for crocodile species.
“This animal has never been in contact with its own species and would not have the behaviors and defenses it needs in the natural environment, so we consider that its best possibility is to have it in captivity but with much more space, with a lagoon with depth to that it can thermoregulate, because we believe that its low weight may be due to the fact that it has not carried out its normal metabolic and temperature regulation processes in the place where it was located,” explains the biologist.
“Ñata”, the alligator they had in a yard in Palmira was not in good condition 😞
More details in 🔗
Animal could not be released because it did not learn how to defend itself from members of its own species pic.twitter.com/40ZgnZhqoi
— CVC (@CvcAmbiental) October 24, 2024
Although Escobar claims that he had a permit issued in 2008, the CVC explains that said document was only an inventory that does not authorize the definitive possession of the animal.
The Colombian legal framework, reflected in the Penal Code, establishes severe penalties for those who traffic, maintain or commercialize wildlife without proper authorization.
The director of the CVC calls on the community to report cases of possession of wild animals in homes. “Wildlife is not a pet, and its care requires a specialized environment and management. Someone who wants to care for these animals at home causes them irreversible damage,” warns Suárez.
2024-10-28 00:54:00
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