Crocodiles 'invade' Brazil beach? Check what really happened

A video has gone viral on social media suggesting that hundreds of crocodiles 'invaded a beach in Brazil, but since then the story has been picked apart online.

The 33-second video clip was shared on Twitter by a user named @RAF_Valerie earlier this week and has been viewed more than 1.2 million times. It was reposted by others and altogether the views would have touched several millions.

The caption read: “In Brazil, an invasion of crocodiles that have flooded one of the beaches with several hundred, even thousands, and the local population is panicking. Are the animals worried about something? A volcano or an earthquake is preparing?”


Since then, many media outlets and Twitter users raised questions on the facts in that caption.

In the first place, they may not be crocodiles, reported Newsweek citing wildlife experts, but caimans which are more closely related to alligators than crocodiles.

Secondly, the video clip shows them lying still or even moving towards the water, rather than 'invading' the 'beach'.

Thirdly, that 'beach' is no beach, according to the web site Brobible, but the Pantanal Wetlands. The Pantanal encompasses the world's largest tropical wetland area, and the world's largest flooded grasslands, and is located mostly in Brazil with some areas extending to Bolivia and Paraguay.

And last, many Twitter users pointed out that there was no 'panic' anywhere there. and that such a congregation is not unnatural considering that the Pantanal is the home of the caiman.

Sone reports said that the video was first shared on Instagram by a fishing company in the region more than a month ago.