According to experts, it is a Nile crocodile, a species considered “very aggressive”, and had already been detected by three different people between Friday, 5 June, and Saturday, 6 June, in the Pesquerela area, near Valladolid.


Searches by authorities and biologists began on 7 June and involve 10 people and the support of drones, which have already made it possible to discover two nests in this area of the mouth of Pisuerga, in the Douro, popular with fishermen, canoeists and bathers. The nests have already been analysed by elements of Seprona, as well as remains of fish with identified bites that pointed to a Nile crocodile.


Two young men around 13-years-old were the first to spot the animal and informed the police of Simancas on Friday, 5 June, according to the newspaper El País. An agent went the next day to the indicated area and confirmed the young people’s report, asking some fishermen to leave the area, without, however, explaining the reason for the request to avoid generating panic.


The area has since been isolated by the Spanish authorities, who have also set up some traps in the nests and in the water to try to capture the reptile, and will be proceeding “with caution” until the reptile is located.