A pretty radical video has surfaced on social media showing a swimmer off the coast of Playa del Carmen swimming frantically to shore as what may be a
A pretty radical video has surfaced on social media showing a swimmer off the coast of Playa del Carmen swimming frantically to shore as what may be an American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) swims after the man. The swimmer is constant in his motion to get to shore and the crocodile seems to be slightly disinterested at first and then hones onto the splashing above.
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It is unclear how far the reptile was from the swimmer because the video was shot from a bridge with a cell phone. People on the bridge are seemingly watching in horror as the croc closes in, then someone throws a large object at the croc which distracts it, allowing the swimmer to evade the reptile.
The encounter took place in the Sian Ka'an nature reserve in Mexico. According to the man who shot the footage, the crocodile is about 3 meters long and lives under the bridge, subsisting mostly on food that the local fishermen feed it.
The American crocodile is a large crocodilian species that can be found on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of southern Mexico to South America, Peru and Vewnezuela. It can also be found in Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, the Grand Cayman islands, Greater Antilles, and the West Indies. It grows to more than 16 feet in length and eats a variety of fish, reptiles, birds, as well as large mammals including deer and other domesticated animals. They have been known to eat humans but attacks are apparently rare.
