The gaze of the Caiman in the darkness of the Amazon.

Cuyabeno River, Sucumbiós, Ecuador

“In the midst of darkness, light persists.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

The black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) is a species of large crocodilian and, along with the American alligator, is one of the biggest extant members of the family Alligatoridae and order Crocodilia. It is a carnivorous reptile that lives along slow-moving rivers, lakes, seasonally flooded savannas of the Amazon basin, and in other freshwater habitats of South America. It is a large species, growing to at least 5 m (16 ft) and possibly up to 6 m (20 ft) in length, which makes it the fourth-largest reptile in the Neotropical realm, behind the American alligator, American crocodile, and the critically endangered Orinoco crocodile.