An eight-foot-long caiman that caused the closure of a public beach was captured Wednesday.
The caiman was captured near the city Galerazamba in northern Colombia by policemen, local environmental technicians, and members of a fishing association. The men caught the reptile with nets near the beach after he was spotted by local fishermen. It was then transfered to a safer location.
The caiman was first spotted on July 21 off the town of Boca Tocino and caused the closure of public beaches in the area. Early reports estimated the caiman at nearly 10 feet in length.
Caiman rarely grow so large and tend to live in freshwater. It is thought that this caiman was swept out to the ocean during the heavy floods last winter.