Chapala Habormaster Luis Jorge Ochoa issued a public alert this week after receiving two reports of snag-tooth reptiles identified as crocodiles appearing in Lake Chapala.
The first sighting occurred on March 27, when a sport fisherman saw a live reptile measuring about 40 centimeters in length floating among a clump of reeds at a point between San Antonio Tlayacapan and Ajijic in the vicinity of the Club Naútico.
The second report was registered by two tourist boat pilots who spotted what appeared to be a croc lurking in the shadow of the Jesús Pescador statue standing on the island off the eastern leg of the Chapala Malecón on the morning of Tuesday, April 3. They saw the beast, estimated at one meter long, resting in the cluster of aquatic vegetation where they anchor their vessels.
Ochoa disclosed the sightings as a cautionary warning to local residents and visitors who might venture into the lake to swim, fish or embark on boating excursions. He is requesting the intervention of the National Water Commission and the federal environment agency (Semarnat) to search for the wayward reptiles and capture them to prevent their breeding.
It is unclear whether the animals are actually crocodiles or perhaps alligators, their genetic cousins who more commonly live in fresh water habitats. Neither of the species is native fauna in Chapala’s ecosystem.
There is, however, a history of croc-like beasts turning up in the lake. The first time on record was in 2003, as Chapala’s waters were surging at the end of an extraordinarily heavy rainy season. In late September, local fishermen caught sight of a large reptile swimming around Alacrán Island. The following week they spied one sunning on the beach outside San Nicolas de Ibarra.
Chapala Civil Protection and the Harbormaster´s headquarters teamed up to plunge into a search for the animals. They eventually came across one resting on a sandy outcropping in the lake located near San Antonio Tlayacapan, but lacking proper trapping gear, ended up leaving it leaving it there. Some weeks later the crocs vanished as mysteriously as they had appeared, but not before reportedly feasting on a number of live chickens that fishermen kept on Alacrán Island.
The authorities surmised that the reptiles had been swept into the lake after heavy rainy season run-off flooded an animal sanctuary situated along the Lerma River.
Crocs made local headlines once again in August 2007 when Chapala Civil Protection officers caught one that had been found on the shore of the Santiago River at Atotonilquillo. They keptthe animal at the firehouse, secured on a heavy metal leash, until arrangements were made to turn it over to federal officials from a wildlife sanctuary in Guadalajara.
New sightings may be reported to the Capitanía de Puerto office, Avenida González Gallo at López Cotilla, tel. 765-2230.