Announcement

Summer CrocFest 2018

A Festival for Crocodilian Conservation to
Rediscover the Rio Apaporis Caiman!
Summer CrocFest 2018 will take place on Saturday, 30 June 2018, at Wild Florida in Kenansville, Florida (just south
of Orlando). Proceeds raised via the event will support, among other things, an exploratory mission seeking to
rediscover the Apaporis River Caiman in Colombia later this year. This animal was first described in 1952 by Federico
Medem, a German-born crocodile biologist famous for his work in Latin America. Its existence was verified by Bill
Lamar, PhD, who worked closely with Medem as a student. It has not been seen in the wild since the 1970s and
there are no known individuals in captivity anywhere in the world.

A comprehensive conservation project has

been proposed by Sergio Balaguera-Reina,
PhD, from Texas Tech University, to
determine whether the Apaporis River
Caiman still exists. Dr. Balaguera-Reina is a
Regional Vice Chair for Latin America and
the Caribbean, of the IUCN-SSC Crocodile
Specialist Group (CSG) and he will be at
CrocFest! This project has garnered
worldwide interest from conservationists
and croc folks alike. Enter CrocFest!

Event organizers are: Colette Adams,

General Curator - Gladys Porter Zoo; Curt
Harbsmeier, Executive Board Member –
Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo; and Flavio
Morrissiey, Director – You Name It Tours.
Federico Medem with Rio Apaporis caiman, circa 1958

The cost to attend CrocFest is only a $25 donation for adults (ages 18 and up) and $10 for kids (ages 5 to 17). Kids
ages 5 and under are free! Guests are free to tour the grounds of Wild Florida and meet its bird, mammal and reptile
inhabitants. Enjoy live music performed by Pit Tag and chat with crocodile experts from around the globe!
Admission includes live animal encounters, an all-you-can-eat BBQ dinner catered by Sonny’s BBQ, water and soft
drinks. Discount Airboat Rides around Lake Cypress will be available. As always, there will be a silent auction
followed by a rousing live auction, and t-shirt sales. Donations (both cash and auction items) are being
solicited/collected now.

Consider making this a special weekend with your family and friends! Orlando is an exciting place to vacation at this
time of year… Disney World, Universal Studios, and many, many other tourist attractions are nearby. Please contact
the event organizers if you have questions regarding accommodations.

For more information about attending, sponsoring, or donating, please contact the organizers: Colette Adams
<cadams@gpz.org>; Curt Harbsmeier <charbsmeier@hdalaw.com>; or Flavio Morrissiey
<flaviomorrissiey@gmail.com>.

Specific event information can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/crocfests/

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Thanks to the generosity and commitment of the private sector, zoos, academia, and corporate sponsors, over the
past 8 years, CrocFest has raised over $USD 310,000.00 for crocodilians in peril. ALL donations go directly to the
crocodile projects, with fundraiser expenses covered by event organizers and sponsors. Even if you are unable to
attend, auction items and/or cash donations are greatly appreciated! Tax-deductible donation checks can be made
payable to Gladys Porter Zoo and sent to Colette Adams, Gladys Porter Zoo, 500 Ringgold Street, Brownsville, TX
78520.

Please join us and support international crocodile conservation!

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

Conservation and Taxonomic Status of the Rio Apaporis Caiman

(Caiman crocodilus apaporiensis) in the Middle Apaporis River, Amazon Basin, Colombia

Researcher: Sergio A. Balaguera-Reina

Affiliations: Texas Tech University, IUCN-SSC Crocodile
Specialist Group

Status and IUCN listing: Caiman crocodilus apaporiensis

is not listed on the IUCN Red List because of uncertainty
about its taxonomic and conservation status, which this
study hopes to resolve. It is regarded by most authorities
as a subspecies of C. crocodilus, but may be a separate
species. It has a highly restricted distribution and there is a
lack of information on its population status, biology, and
taxonomy.

Introduction
Colombia contains mega-biodiversity, which is reflected in
the 6 species of crocodilians and the large pool of
subspecies. Information on their natural history,
distribution, and population dynamics ranges from
superficial to non-existent.
Sergio Balaguera-Reina, PhD

The conservation and taxonomic status of the Apaporis River Caiman remains one of the great challenges amongst
world crocodilians, and has been identified by the CSG as an issue in urgent need of resolution. It was
found and described by Federico Medem in 1952 (Medem 1955, 1981), a cautious and skilled taxonomist
with crocodilians. He described a narrow-snouted morphotype, within the normally broad-snouted spectacled
caiman morphospace (Escobedo- Galvan et al. 2015). It was clearly unusual. But since the original observations
by Medem (1955, 1981), information about i t s biology and status have been scant. Lack of specimens has
limited comparative studies, and genetic (Bloor 2013) and morphological (Escobedo-Galvan et al. 2015) research
has been limited by small samples (i.e.: paratype skulls collected by Medem and fragmented mtDNA from
them).

Medem (1955) described the area in which it lived as a difficult one in which to operate, and when the CSG tried
to visit the area in 2007, civil unrest prevented this from occurring. That was and remains a particular concern,
because if its taxonomic status is confirmed, it is likely to be “Critically Endangered,” on the basis of restricted
distribution. Colombia has a large crocodilian farming program centered around C. crocodilus, primarily, and C.
c. fuscus, so the confirmation of the existence of C. c. apaporiensis also has potentially important ramifications for
both the IUCN-SSC and CITES.

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With peace in Colombia now, Sergio Balaguera-Reina, a native of Colombia, in partnership with the Humboldt
Institute (CITES Scientific Authority of Colombia), is taking up the challenge here. Given the paucity of information
available, a field expedition is planned for September 2018, and depending on the information obtained, this could
evolve into a long-term project.

Project Description

The project aims to survey the crocodilian population(s) in the middle Apaporis River area of the Amazon Basin,
Colombia, and gather biological information that will assist in the development of a conservation action plan
for Caiman c. apaporiensis. Basic information will be collected to examine the morphological (scale pattern),
morphometric, and genetic relationships between C. c. apaporiensis and other C. crocodilus subspecies, and
confirm the taxonomic status of the former.

The survey area will include the distribution area reported where C. c. apaporiensis was described by Medem.
Specific areas include the Cananarí River (lower basin), Apaporis River (middle basin), Bocas del Pacoa and Jirijirímo,
Caño Pacoa, and Laguna Inaná, as well as any “new” areas reported by local people.

Methodology

1. Review of published information on the species/subspecies;

2. Detailed assessment of maps and other geographical information on the area for habitat characterization of
specific survey areas;
3. Collection of local knowledge on current and historical distribution and abundance of crocodilians, known
threats, utilization, etc.,
4. Survey of crocodilian populations and on-ground characterization of habitats;
5. Capture of crocodilians and collection of morphometric and morphological data and tissue samples (for DNA
analysis); and,
6. Final report, including recommendations to assist in the development of a conservation action plan and
planning of further work.

Conservation Significance of Project

The project represents the first step towards an active conservation program for a little known crocodilian with a
highly restricted distribution. The survey will seek to quantify the population status of crocodilians in the middle
and upper Apaporis River, and provide valuable biological information with which to assess the taxonomic
status of C. c. apaporiensis. Current or potential threats to the long-term survival of this endemic
subspecies/species will also be identified. Information collected from local people will add further to the
knowledge base of this species and will allow us to assess how best to integrate local people into a long-
term management effort.