Dr. Helios Hernández Hurtado, deputy director of Municipal Ecology and Environment, reported that there are around 300 crocodiles throughout the Bay of Banderas.
He indicated that they have records of 33 sightings in the urban and tourist area of Puerto Vallarta.
Hernández said, “As far as control … it is difficult to say that nature is controlled. In reality, the University Center of the Coast has managed a monitoring, a census, for several years, which is now coinciding with a national census that it is being done in the region. More or less, it oscillates between 250 and 300 crocodiles. We are talking about the municipalities of Puerto Vallarta, Bahía de Banderas, even a part of Cabo Corrientes. There are not as many crocodiles as is believed.
“We have a frequency of crocodiles in some areas that we consider to be risky. For that reason, we have a program in which we inform the corresponding authorities, which in this case would be SEMARNAT, every six months to the Wildlife Directorate, which is carried out with crocodiles.”
He said they have had frequent sightings in the Cuale River, Vena de Santa María that flows into Las Glorias beach, Canal de Los Tules, and Rio Pitillal, from where he said they have removed the crocodiles several times, but they have returned.
The presence of crocodiles has also been found on the perimeter of the El Salado estuary, permanently, and the city surrounds this protected natural area. They have also been found in the Marina Vallarta, where they have been moving for several years.
When asked for the reason that, suddenly in the last two years, very large animals have migrated to areas where humans are, he replied:
“Here we should refer to the history of Puerto Vallarta, how the city has grown over areas that were once used by crocodiles. In the last 15 years is when we have had more frequent sightings of crocodiles, although they have always been there The golf course, for example, since it was built, has always had crocodiles.
So far this year, in this program that I mentioned, we have had 29 sightings of crocodiles. We leave them in some areas, such as the Salado estuary and the Ameca River. Of these 29, 18 have been in the last two months.”
His advice? Learn to live with them, do not approach them, and, in case of risk, call 911.