Most people in Florida and the lower Mississippi areas are familiar with crocodiles and alligators and their vicious ways. But there is a close relative of these, the cayman (or caiman) that lives only in Central and South America, where they thrive in great numbers in rivers and swamps. A big one will measure up to twenty feet long, and if it were stretched out on your garage floor you would probably be barely able to close the door completely!
In certain ways they hold their mouths it almost seems as if they are smiling or grinning, but there is nothing pleasant about them. Long curved jaws filled with big sharp teeth are under a bulb-like snout. When those huge jaws are open one quick snap of them can immediately end the life of a victim.
Caymans’ bodies are covered on top with a dark tough skin with a pattern of pointed wedge-shaped bumps. The underpart of their bodies is much lighter in color and has protective plates covering it.
South American hunters find their flesh tasty when roasted. But they are more interested in the caymans’ skins, which are in great demand and are made into high-quality leather goods. A pair of men’s shoes made from this leather may be priced at $250 or more, and jackets, gloves, belts and other items all carry high prices. Of course, the hunter doesn’t get much of that money, but can often make more than he would in some ordinary job.
Baby caymans, like alligators and crocodiles, are hatched from eggs. Usually a dozen or more are laid by the mother. She makes her nest on a spot of high ground near a pond or stream and covers it with a few branches or rubbish. She lets the sun incubate the eggs, but stays nearby to protect them. When hatched the young caymans are about ten inches long and already can fight! The mother immediately carries them in her big mouth to nearby water where she leaves them on their own. They live on insects, frogs, fish, mice and other small creatures. They know enough to stay out of the way of bigger caymans who, if hungry enough or annoyed, would gobble them up in one bite.
We might wonder why such vicious creatures were included in God’s creation. Actually they were not that way until sin came into the world and its effects were passed on to all forms of life. But the time is coming when God is going to bring back peace, and the peaceful natures of all creatures will return. The Bible verse at the beginning refers to that time.
We learn from the Bible that that peace will not come until the Lord Jesus takes His own to heaven and comes to reign in righteousness. Will you be included with those who will be in heaven, those who have trusted in Jesus as Saviour?
ML-03/01/1992