In this small pool, a reptile is on guard duty.
But what is it guarding?
Meet the spectacled caiman.
Spectacled Caiman
Crazy skill: babysitting!
Crazy Skill:
Babysitting
This spectacled caiman is busy looking after lots of baby caimans.
But these youngsters aren’t all hers… she’s actually babysitting for many different caiman families.
Young caimans are often looked after in groups like this.
It’s a tough job: there are lots of young caimans to keep an eye on, and they sometimes wander off.
That can be dangerous, because there are other animals living nearby that might try to attack them.
Luckily, the adult caiman is there to keep them safe.
However, these hungry birds aren’t the only problem.
The pool is drying up, so the caimans must find another source of water.
The adult leads the way, stopping now and then to let the little ones catch up!
Eventually, they all reach a new, deeper pool of water.
Here, the youngsters can grow into adults, all thanks to their hardworking babysitter!
So how crazy is the spectacled caiman?
One adult caiman babysits lots of baby caimans and leads them all to water when they need it.
busy babysitter
leads to water
That’s kind of crazy!