The DENR Metropolitan Environmental Office-North (MEO-North) retrieved a spectacled caiman (𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘴) along with two (2) reticulated pythons (𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘱𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴) from the City Veterinarians Office (CVO) of Valenzuela City on Monday, 25 July 2022.
According to the CVO, the caiman was allegedly found in a concrete pipe at a creek in Barangay Lawang Bato, Valenzuela last Sunday, July 24, 2022, and was brought in by their City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO). The caiman was immediately taken to the Wildlife Rescue Center (WRC) at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center in Quezon City for custody and care. According to the attending WRC veterinarian, it measures 4.3 ft. from snout to tail and weighs 11.6 kilograms. The caiman, moreover, was bearing eggs. Caimans are not native to the Philippines and may have escaped or been abandoned by its owner. Republic Act No. 9147 or Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act of 2001 prohibits the trade, possession, and release of non-native wildlife species in the country. Violators are fined, imprisoned, or both, depending on the conservation status of the subject wildlife.
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