Over 120 caymans escaped from a farm in a flooded town in the northern Colombian Bolivar department, and authorities are warning locals to avoid the dangerous large reptiles, reports Caracol.
Police spokesman Ferney Ochoa in the town of Cordoba Teton asked local residents not to kill the beasts, but to notify authorities of any unwanted reptilian guests.
Ochoa said that the caymans posed a threat to people and that fisherman were especially vulnerable.
“We are concerned, because these animals are in the [Magdalena] river … we know they are very territorial and can hurt people,“ said Ochoa.
Caymans, which are endangered in Colombia due to demand for their valuable skin, are very similar to alligators; only a slightly different snout sets them apart.
View Caymans escape in a larger map