Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – With the arrival of the rainy season, local authorities advise Puerto Vallarta residents and visitors to stay off the beaches of Marina Vallarta and Boca de Tomates at night to avoid the possibility of an unwanted encounter with crocodiles, who wander out of their nearby habitats after dark.
Since both of these areas border the habitats of crocodiles, the risk of aggression increases due to the reptiles’ territorial behavior.
Therefore, the Municipal Civil Protection Unit asks tourists and locals not to make nocturnal visits to these beaches, much less the Marina, since these are places where there are usually sightings of crocodiles that have been displaced and leave from the golf course or the mouth of the El Salado estuary to hunt at night.
Faced with the possibility of crocodile aggression – as happened a year ago with a tourist who was staying in Marina Vallarta and visited the beach at night – the experts mentioned the importance of heeding the warning signs on the hotels’ beaches, which are reported to be areas inhabited by crocodiles, which move frequently, and more regularly in the rainy season.
ENCOUNTERS WITH HUMANS
According to one Civil Protection officer, crocodiles do not look for encounters with humans, but unfortunately it happens that some people, more out of unconsciousness than ignorance, go to the beaches at night and that increases the possibility that they will run into a croc since they usually come out when human activity decreases to look for their prey, whether on land, in rivers or sometimes in the ocean.
Several studies carried out in different areas around Banderas Bay affirm that there is not an excessive number of crocodiles in the region, there is no proliferation of the species, but if you enter the areas where they live, it is likely that you will have an unwanted encounter.
Most of the local population already knows where the crocodile habits are so they do not go to areas where there are regular sightings of the species. But, in the case of tourists there may be ignorance or recklessness, especially in young people who, sometimes under the influence of alcohol, lose their fear and enter risk areas.
“There is no perfect way to avoid encounters between humans and crocodiles,” the officer said, “but there is a way to minimize the risks, and that is not to approach the places where they live, and take extreme precautions at night, avoiding the beaches, particularly those mentioned.”
We can all enjoy the beaches during the day, when the human presence usually inhibits the crocodiles’ movements, but at night the opposite happens, and when they perceive calm, they go out to look for food or a mate, so it is best not to be in well-identified and marked areas, where the chances of finding them are increased.
Source: Vallarta Opina