The deputy director of Municipal Ecology, Albino Garay de la O, reported that in the past few days, Puerto Vallarta participated in operations to capture two large adult crocodiles; one attempt failed, and the other was successfully captured and relocated to the Ameca River.
Last Friday at 9 a.m., they began monitoring the area for crocodiles by land and water, and the following day had already observed five in the Marina Vallarta area.
On Saturday, at 10 a.m., operations began to catch one of them, which was more than 3 meters long. “The staff has extensive experience, the area was narrow, the crocodile reacted with force and violence, and escaped.”
Crocodile captured and returned to the Ameca River
Monitoring continued, and at dawn on Sunday, a crocodile of similar size was located. The catch was successful, and the 3.16-meter-long animal was released on the Ameca River. Hours later, personnel from the Eighth Naval Zone informed Municipal Ecology members that they had received reports that the body of a crocodile was floating near the mouth of the El Salado estuary. Probably it was the crocodile that had eluded them the day before.
Following the protocol, when finding the dead animal, it was decided to remove it from the area, which is heavily traveled by boats. The river crocodile (Cocodrylus acutus) was towed to the estuary and subjected to Profepa review.
Related: Man killed by crocodile in Ameca River, Puerto Vallarta, A natural oasis in Puerto Vallarta is threatened by hotels and shopping centers
