Staring and squinting at the black water's surface, we tried to see what he had seen. Eventually, almost everyone's optic nerves were able to convince their brains that what might have easily passed as a partially submerged piece of wood was, in fact, the partially emerged head of a caiman. One or two people in the boat still weren't getting it, and so we nudged even closer. As our starboard came to within inches of the motionless creature, a passenger in the bow leaned over with his camera and clicked off a frame.
Spectacled caimans are small relatives of alligators and crocodiles.
The caiman's snout is not as long and narrow in relation to the entire head as is the snout of the crocodile. The back of the crocodile has spiky ridges, while the caiman does not, and in fact, often reminds me of a floating coconut trunk. The diet of the Costa Rican crocodilians is similar. The young of both species feed chiefly on insects and as adults they primarily consume fish. However, both crocs and caimans are fairly opportunistic and will take other prey when available, including carrion.