Spectacled Caiman

Spectacled Caiman
メガネカイマン
Character Data
AKA		White caiman, common caiman
Romaji		Megane kaiman
Debut		Kemono Friends (2015 Game)
Animal Data
Scientific Name		Caiman crocodilus
Distribution		Central and South America
Diet		Carnivore
Avg. Lifespan		30-40 years
Read More		Spectacled caiman
Conservation

Spectacled Caiman

Season 2

Pavilion

KF3

Nexon Game

Gallery

Spectacled Caiman is a crocodilian Friend that first appeared in the original Kemono Friends mobile game.

Appearance

Spectacled Caiman has light-green hair, paler at its ends, with dark-green tasks. She wears it in two large braids, and two ridge-like bunches- evoking those of a caiman- between which sits a red ribbon tied into a small bow. Her bangs sweep left. She has a pale-green caiman tail with square scales, two rows of ridges, and dark-green bands; the underside is white-green. Her eyes are a muddy green with vertical pupils, and she sports off-black oval browline glasses.

Spectacled Caiman wears a green vest with a shingled texture, studs, and horizontal dark-green stripes; two rows of large shingles form lapels. The vest appears to have an extremely V-cut neck, open down to her sternum. She may be wearing a pale green athletic shirt unzipped or with an excessively-cut V-neck; no shirt can be observed beneath the front of the vest, leaving the middle of her chest exposed, but the sleeves of a shirt with black-striped cuffs can be seen on her shoulders. She wears tattered grey shorts over black compression shorts. Spectacled Caiman accessorizes with green, fingerless gloves featuring an overlapping scale pattern. A silver spike protrudes from each finger knuckle; the palms are whitish-green. She also wears matching, mid-calf-high leather-like boots with dark-green belts and a non-overlapping scale pattern, with asymmetrical green spots. Each boot has a metallic band across the middle of the foot, four silver spikes protruding from each band; the outsoles and bottoms of the boots are made of the same metallic material.

Differences in Old Design

Spectacled Caiman's old design had short, vibrant green hair worn it in two low pigtails and two dark-green side braids. Her face was framed by short lengths of yellow-highlighted hair, and her bangs had less volume. She had bright yellow eyes, and wore glasses with round, orange-red frames. She wore a pale-green athletic shirt with a brown collar and brown stripes along her shoulders, flanks, and midsection. She sported marshy-green biking gloves, with bracelets each featuring five silver spikes. She wore compression shorts of the same marsh-green with black stripes down their sides, and green boots with belts and a scale texture. Her scales were more geometric and pronounced.

Series Appearances

Appearances In Kemono Friends Media

Media		Role	First Appearance
2015	Nexon Game	↪ Minor character, playable character
2018	Kemono Friends Pavilion	↪ Observable character
2019	Kemono Friends 2	↪ Minor character	The Power of Humans
2019	Kemono Friends 2 (Manga)	↪ ?	?
2019	Kemono Friends 3	↪ Playable character

In Real Life

Caiman crocodilus pair

The spectacled caiman is a medium-sized crocodilian averaging approximately 1.80 m in length; the longest recorded specimen was 2.65 m. Females are typically smaller than males, averaging 1.4 m, though 2-meter-long individuals have been documented. The common name of the species comes from the bone crest between its eyes, which are said to evoke the look of glasses. They also sport pronounced eye ridges, adding to this look further. Much like other members of the alligator family, the snout is broad and rounded. The belly of the caiman is covered in bony plates, affording protection from attackers.

Highly adaptable, the spectacled caiman favors steady bodies of water such as lakes, ponds, marshes and dead riverbanks, as opposed to moving water; they can even tolerate saltwater, within a certain degree of salinity. It is not uncommon for a caiman to remains motionless almost all day, watching over its territorial claim, basking on the shore from morning until early afternoon and staying in the water to combat mid-day heat. The vast floodplain of the Pantanal provides ideal habitat for caiman during the rainy season. If the environmental conditions are too severe, these caimans will sink into the mud and hibernate.

Like all crocodilians, the spectacled caiman is an adept aquatic predator. These nocturnal hunters rely greatly on picking up vibrations in the water. Young caimans feed mainly on invertebrates such as snails, insects and crustaceans. As they grow, the variety of prey they can catch and eat diversifies: fish, amphibians, reptiles and waterfowl enter their diets. Larger specimens may even attack mammals such as deer, and in food-scarce dry seasons, cannibalism has been observed. During the caiman nesting period, many species will raid caiman nests; tegu alone can destroy up to 80% of caiman nests in some areas. Coatis and foxes are also frequent predators of caiman eggs. Hatched juveniles are not safe either, themselves being the prey of large fish and snakes, wading birds, and other crocodilians. Adult spectacled caimans are able to defend themselves against most of these predators, and generally only have humans to be concerned about.

Although typically solitary, the spectacled caiman sometimes congregates in groups. Social rank is determined by size, the largest caimans dominating the smaller ones; likewise, those with the highest social status are more likely to mate than those below them. The spectacled caiman uses taste, touch, sound and visual senses for social and reproductive communication. During the breeding season, male caimans become territorial and aggressive.

Trivia

Caiman crocodilus.

• The skin of the spectacled caimans darkens during the colder periods of the year.

References

• "Caïman à lunettes (Caiman crocodilus)". manimalworld.