Here are a couple things to remember while waiting for a train in a Mexico City metro station: Don’t step past the yellow line that marks the edge of the platform. And watch out for crocodiles.
Wait … what?
Over the weekend, baby crocodiles were spotted in two separate Mexico City metro stations.
Personal de la #BVA de la #SSC, resguardó un cocodrilo hallado en la estación del @MetroCDMX #RíoDeLosRemedios. https://t.co/XFDIXzqfaY pic.twitter.com/GreBbZ0rk4
— SSC CDMX (@SSC_CDMX) September 22, 2024
On Saturday night, police responded to reports of a baby crocodile inside a train at the Río de los Remedios station in the eastern outskirts of Mexico City. The creature was found “commuting” inside a container partially filled with water.
After on-site officials confirmed it was a crocodile, they collected the reptile and notified animal rescue personnel.
The baby crocodile was taken to the Animal Vigilance Brigade (BVA) headquarters in the southern borough of Xochimilco where it was examined by a veterinarian.
Metro authorities confirmed the incident, posting a bulletin on social media.
The following day, passengers in the busy Balderas metro station in downtown Mexico City were surprised to see a little crocodile walking in the drainage canal along the edge of the railway platform.
Passengers notified authorities, who then trapped the reptile and handed it over to BVA agents.
This is not the first time exotic reptiles have been discovered outside their natural habitat in Mexico.
Earlier this year, authorities in México state sought to capture a crocodile seen in a lagoon within the city limits of Cuautitlán Izcalli, a suburb to the north of Mexico City.
In 2020, two men attempted to carry several small crocodiles on the metro but were arrested. In 2022, a snake was found in the Boulevard Puerto Aéreo metro station in eastern Mexico City.
The authorities are unsure how the baby crocodiles made their way into metro facilities, though the immediate speculation was that they were abandoned by wildlife traffickers.
The BVA disclosed that both reptiles found this weekend are Morelet’s crocodiles, which can grow to 4.5 meters in length.
Though the Morelet’s crocodile is not an endangered species, it has long been threatened by habitat destruction and illegal hunting, particularly because high-quality leather can be made from its hide.
Crocodiles can digest bones; they have the most acidic stomach of any vertebrate, allowing them to digest bones, hooves, horns, and shells.
I wonder who would want crocodiles as pets and what they are doing roaming around in cities and towns all over Mexico.