They are hunted with harpoons, rifles or shotguns. There appears to be varying skull morphology in this species depending on the age and particular individual animal, which is not uncommon in other modern crocodilians, and by gender, with adult males typically having much more massive skulls relative to their size than like-age females. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas, with populations present from South Florida and the coasts of Mexico to as far south as Peru and Venezuela.

They are easier to catch in the dry season when the waters have receded. It lives in riverine forests, flooded forests near lakes, and near fast-flowing rivers and streams. Once the Black Caiman reaches full size, only humans attempt to hunt them. (1997). [12] Unguarded clutches (when the mother goes off to hunt) are readily devoured by a wide array of animals, regularly including mammals such as South American coatis (Nasua nasua) or large rodents, egg-preying snakes and birds such as herons and vultures. These prices make caiman harvesting very profitable. She lays a clutch of eggs, usually at peak flooding, which is July-August in the llanos (377, 562) and January-February in the Colombian Amazon (377) and the Pantanal de Mato Grosso (140), although this is apparently not the definitive pattern for all sites (377, 599). They'll typically bask upon open sandy banks. Size and weight: The spectacled caiman varies by size and weight according to sex, age and locality. Similar to other large crocodilians, black caimans have even been observed catching and eating smaller species, such as the spectacled caiman and sometimes cannibalizing smaller individuals of their own kind. It is now making a comeback, listed as Conservation Dependent. Geographical variation and distribution: This is the most widely distributed American crocodilian, ranging from Mexico to Argentina. This latter attribute has helped to maintain large stable populations which can partially occupy the niche left vacant by Crocodylus (188, 377, 531). However, specimens exceeding 6.1 m (20 ft) in length and weighing up to 1,089 kg (2,400 lb) have been recorded. Its diet primarily consists of aquatic animals, such as snails, and occasionally land vertebrates. In some individuals, the dark coloration can appear almost black.

Foth, C., Bona, P., & Desojo, J. [8] As with all crocodilian species, their teeth are designed to grab but not chew, so they generally try to swallow their food whole after drowning or crushing it. Black caimans are relatively more robust than other crocodilians of comparable length. Occasionally predators are caught and killed by the mother caiman. Once the black caiman attains a length of a few feet, it has few natural predators. The American alligator, sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile endemic to the Southeastern United States.