About two dozen caimans made their way to the banks of the Petrotrin lake at Pointe-a-Pierre on Sunday, as the water levels went down because of the ongoing dry season.
The caimans, some measuring over six feet in length, were seen basking on the muddied banks around 5 pm. Several people who were on the Petrotrin compound stopped to look at the reptiles. Many took photographs and commented that they had never before seen so many caimans visible on the lake. The banks of the lake appeared to be dotted with rocks, but upon taking a closer look, spectators realised the rocks were actually the heads of the reptiles sticking out of the mud. One man said: "We have seen much more caimans than today. When the lake gets drier more of them come up . We have dozens of caimans living in this lake."
Others expressed the concern that the caimans would soon start leaving the lake and crossing to other areas. Spectators said attempts must be made to safeguard the public while protecting the reptiles. The lake is located in a gated area, and provides water to the Petrotrin refinery. Water from the lake is processed and used to make steam to run the refinery. Sources said since the water crisis, Petrotrin had been struggling to find water to service several plants. Recently, Petrotrin began trucking water from the former Caroni 1975 estate to supply the refinery with 250,000 barrels of water a day. Officials at Petrotrin said the water levels at the Petrotrin lake was at 39 per cent of the normal capacity in January. Two weeks ago, Petrotrin was forced to shut down 11 plants because of the water crisis.