Crocodilian Specialist Group

Honoring a legacy of Everglades Stewardship: The Rafael Crespo Conservation Award 🐊 Read more about this in the October - December 2025 Newsletter: iucncsg.org/365_docs/attac…

American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) nesting ecology, reproductive success, and management in the Ojo de Agua-Monte Cabaniguán Wildlife Refuge in Cuba. 🐊 Read more in our October - December 2025 Newsletter: iucncsg.org/365_docs/attac…

When it comes to building a nest to deposit their eggs, crocodilians have choices: either building a mound with vegetation or digging a hole in sandy soils. In some situations, they might do a combo of the 2. Hatchling Mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) by Phoebe Griffith

This species not only survives in polluted waters but have also adapted to crowded human environments. Read more about this in our October - December 2025 Newsletter: iucncsg.org/365_docs/attac…

Mugger crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris) in the polluted urban waters of the Vishwamitri River at Vadodara City 🐊 Economic growth is crucial, but it can also lead to rapid urbanization and development, often causing the loss of natural environments and environmental degradation.

Read more about them in our October - December 2025 Newsletter: iucncsg.org/365_docs/attac…

"We visited different areas along the river during the day where local communities had reported the presence of the species. At one of these sites (6° 49’ 25.8’’N,69°23’ 40.7’’W), we observed a yellow crocodile, approximately 3 m in length, on a beach surrounded by small bushes."

The Yellow Caiman of Venezuela 🐊 A population of yellow Caiman crocodilus was noted in November 2024, while monitoring the Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius) population in the Capanaparo River in Apure State.

We mourn the loss of Tony (Anton) Dean Tucker. He passed away peacefully from cardiac arrest on 2 February 2025, after suffering from a heart attack three weeks earlier. Learn more about the life of Tony (Anton) Dean Tucker in our Oct - Dec 2025 Newsletter:iucncsg.org/365_docs/attac…

They will construct "Gator holes" using their snouts, claws, and tails to create depressions and holes that retain water and provide areas of refuge for aquatic species during periods of drought. Photo by Jen Brueggen.

Eco-engineers like the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) are vital to their unique ecosystems because they create habitats for themselves and other species.

Read more about this meeting in the October - December 2025 Newsletter: iucncsg.org/365_docs/attac…

The side event, titled “Scales of Success: How CITES Saved the American Alligator”, drew a full room of Party delegates, NGOs, scientists and industry partners who came to hear how a species once in serious decline became one of the Convention’s most enduring examples of recovery

Scales of Success 🐊 At the 20th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP20) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the American alligator (Alligator mississsippiensis) became a highlight of positive conservation storytelling.

News Flash! The January - March 2026 Newsletter is available: iucncsg.org/365_docs/attac…

In all, there are 6 types of caiman, but only 3 have this feature: Caiman latirostris- featured photo here Caiman crocodilus Caiman yacare

Not an alligator, but close! Caiman are in the same family as alligators, but are a little different. You can identify 3 of these caiman with a pyramidal shape to their eyes because of the pointed look of the upper eyelid. Photo by Jen Brueggen, Forge A Path Media

This educational initiative brought together high school students and undergraduate biology students at the Santa Cruz Botanical Garden. Read more in our October-December 2025 Newsletter: iucncsg.org/365_docs/attac…

Teaching the next generation about Caiman Research 🐊 As part of the 3rd Bolivian Congress of Herpetology held in the city of Santa Cruz, the “Introduction to Caiman Research” course was conducted.