PALMAS, BRAZIL— An unusual scene shared on social media has drawn attention after 22-year-old student Arthur Wieczorek was filmed interacting with a black caiman measuring more than 4 meters (13 feet) in length while fishing with friends at Cantão State Park in the municipality of Caseara, in Brazil’s Tocantins state. The young fisherman whistles and calls the animal “Joãozinho,” which then approaches the riverbank.

Wieczorek said the caiman is a frequent visitor to the area and that this was not the first time he had encountered the animal. The familiarity developed between them led the young man to give the reptile its nickname.

“Joãozinho, come here. Come here, walk over. I caught a piranha for you to eat. He’s coming, the animal is obedient,” Wieczorek says in the video.

According to the student, the animal approached him and his friends after spotting fish in their fishing net and showed no signs of aggression.

“It’s a black caiman about 4.5 meters (15 feet) long. We use our six-meter canoe as a reference for its size. It came closer because it saw the fish inside the landing net. That’s when we noticed how naturally it remained near people, without showing any aggression. At the end of the fishing trip, we threw fish to it so it could feed,” the student said.

Wieczorek added that the caiman remained in the water near the riverbank until he and his friends decided to end their fishing trip.

“Personally, I had never seen an animal of that size so close to a human before,” he said.

Despite the apparent calm interaction, wildlife specialists advise against approaching or interacting with wild animals in order to avoid potential risks.

Amazon Agency