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Alejandro walks alone in the artificial pool of water. It is the only one that remains cool because no other crocodile dares to enter that pool while this almost four-meter-long male is submerged. To cool off, the other reptiles that share the same space must enter at the same time or wait for Alejandro to decide to get out of the water, thus avoiding any inconvenience, because this Tumbes crocodile (A sharp crocodile)like all of its species, is very territorial.
When he comes out, his presence is imposing. But it is not the only one that impacts the Tumbes Crocodile Conservation Center. The image is also amazing when all the other crocodiles inside the pen slide in and out of the pools.
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Behind the tights they seem petrified under the 32 degrees that the thermometer shows that Saturday morning when a team of Your friend toured the conservation center. This site is part of the Tuna Carranza Aquaculture Centerlocated in Puerto Pizarro, Tumbes, in the north of Peru, a place intended for the protection of this species in captivityecotourism and research projects for the reproduction of black shells and fish such as snook.
“The tourists who come are amazed when we are inside, doing maintenance, sometimes they ask why don’t they attack them? I tell them: because they were born here, they are used to human presence, but they are not very trustworthy either,” says Juan Manuel Pulache, who is part of the team of five technicians and two professionals that They are responsible for caring for the 321 crocodiles every day who live in this center.
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Pulache and the rest of the team enter the pens to tend to them. They enter when they realize that the crocodiles have spent a lot of time out of the water in the pools to get them to slide into the water. Also for feed them pieces of chicken or fish and while they do so, those of us who watch from the edge of the pens can see how they devour their prey with their sharp teeth.
Diego, a large crocodile measuring three and a half meters and over 40 years old, is another of Pulache’s cocky ones, along with Chalo and Godzilla. At the moment There are 321 crocodiles in this conservation center distributed in 12 pens. For now, the males are separated from the females because the center has reached maximum capacity to house the animals, therefore, they should no longer reproduce. “The Serfor [Servicio Nacional Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre] “It has recommended that we take a break in reproduction,” comments fisheries engineer Flavio Saldarriaga, head of the Tuna Carranza Aquaculture Center of the National Fisheries Development Fund (Fondepes).
As we walk among the pens where the crocodiles live, Saldarriaga tells how this conservation center was born. “In 1996, 40 animals were captured to put them into captivity. “Now we have 321 crocodiles of different stages: juveniles, adults and reproductives.”
The Tumbes crocodile, also called the American crocodile, is a species that lives from southern Florida, in the United States, to northern Peru. Although it is considered Vulnerable in its entirety, In Peru it appears Critically Endangered.
“In its natural habitat, population densities are low, which is why it is categorized as Endangered and under Appendix I of CITES. [Convención sobre el Comercio Internacional de Especies Amenazadas de Fauna y Flora Silvestres]”Adds Saldarriaga. Appendix I includes the species with the highest risk of extinction, therefore, their international trade is prohibited.
Illegal hunting for the trade in its skin and meat has been one of the causes of the reduction in the population of this species. “Agricultural expansion and aquaculture expansion have also reduced the crocodile’s habitat,” adds Saldarriaga.
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Another cause for the reduction in the population of this species has to do with the decrease in food. “The Tumbes River has been threatened by the contamination of its waters as a result of the illegal mining waste that arrives from Ecuador,” explains Harold Sánchez, director of the General Directorate of Training and Technical Development of Aquaculture of Fondepes, an organization that is part of the Ministry of Production (Produce).
Regarding the problem of pollution, he explained that Pollution in the Puyango-Tumbes basin comes from mining activities in Ecuador (province of El Oro) and the inadequate waste management dumped along the river.
This pollution reduces the amount of fish that crocodiles feed on. Added to this is that this decrease in fish also impacts the bird population, which many times are also food for crocodiles, therefore, “they find less and less food,” adds Sánchez.
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“The Tumbes crocodile is one of the unique species in Peru. It is found throughout the departmentbut mostly from the origin of the Tumbes River to the mouth of the sea“explains George Reyes Rueda, veterinary zootechnical doctor at the Directorate of Forestry and Wildlife and Agrarian Environmental Affairs of Tumbes.
Reyes reaffirms that this species reached the brink of extinction as a result of the illegal hunting for the commercialization of its skin. “It was very difficult to see them in their natural habitat, but currently we can see them in different areas in the department of Tumbes, thanks to the care, the monitoring, and all the efforts that have been made for their protection,” says Reyes.
However, the threats to this species have not ended. Reyes says that In December 2025, the Police seized 37 baby crocodiles that were being transported in a vehicle, possibly for illegal trade. After the seizure, the small crocodiles were released into their natural habitat.
There have also been cases in which crocodiles have been found on beaches. “We recently found a 3.5 meter long crocodile on Hermosa Beach [distrito de Corrales, Tumbes] and we delivered it into custody to the conservation center, due to its size it is a little difficult to return it to its habitat,” says Reyes. “When they are smaller it is possible to take them to their natural habitat.”
“The demand for space for agricultural and urban expansion is reducing the crocodile’s habitat, which is why they look for other places and often end up in agricultural irrigation canals, near towns, as in the case of Corrales; they are also dragged into the sea in the rainy season and reach the beaches,” explains Reyes.