Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Sept. 9, 2026 — Puerto Vallarta authorities captured two crocodiles near the Marina Vallarta waterfront Tuesday and transferred them to a safer location, municipal Civil Protection said.
The response followed a citizen report. Civil Protection and Firefighters worked with Semarnat and the Green Patrol to secure and move both animals.
A local report published Tuesday placed the animals near the Marina Vallarta boardwalk. The city’s official account of the operation did not provide a more precise location.
Immediate guidance for the Marina
Civil Protection told residents and visitors not to approach a crocodile or attempt to capture it.
The agency also advised against feeding crocodiles or using food to draw them closer. Children and pets should be moved away from the area.
People should not approach the animals for photographs or videos. Nobody should enter the water after a crocodile has been sighted.
Sightings should be reported to 911 with the animal’s location, according to Civil Protection.
Those instructions apply to Marina Vallarta’s boardwalk, beaches, docks, and nearby hotel areas. Trained personnel should handle any capture or removal.
Three crocodiles handled in two responses
Our review found that the two-crocodile response was separate from another capture reported in Marina Vallarta earlier Tuesday.
Green Patrol officers were sent to Calle Boca Negra and Calle Albatros after receiving a report about a crocodile on the beach.
The animal was identified as a 2.78-meter female carrying identification mark 212, according to a detailed account of the first operation.
Specialists examined the animal at the Estero El Salado protected area and found it in good health. Under Semarnat supervision, crews released it into the Ameca River basin.
The citizen report involving the other two crocodiles came hours later, according to a same-day account covering both responses. The reports document three crocodiles handled in Marina Vallarta on Sept. 8.
The official notice did not disclose the size, sex, or release location of the two animals found near the boardwalk.
Local training and protected wildlife
Puerto Vallarta agencies have expanded training for encounters between people and crocodiles. Recent training for local lifeguards focused on responses in beach areas.
An August training session in Marina Vallarta included Semarnat, Profepa, the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas and the University of Guadalajara.
“The idea is to create a cycle of training sessions,” Pamela Elizabeth Vicencio Madrigal, head of Semarnat’s Coastal Environments Unit in Jalisco, said in comments translated from Spanish. She said future sessions would address different sectors of the community.
Federal environmental authorities list the American crocodile, or river crocodile, under special protection in Mexico’s NOM-059 wildlife standard. The designation covers the species’ management and conservation.
Civil Protection’s instructions remain direct: keep away, leave the water, and call 911. Residents should not attempt the type of civilian capture documented in a previous Cuale River crocodile incident.
