Cayman gets loose in Kits

The Province
Published: Wednesday, June 28, 2006

A 1.5-metre cayman fell from a third-floor Kitsilano apartment yesterday, injuring himself but none of the shocked neighbours.

Police, animal-control officers and the owner, who arrived home as the bizarre scene unfolded about 2:30 p.m., put duct tape around the cayman's mouth before wrestling him into a bag. The cayman was transported with its owner, a zoologist at the University of B.C., to the UBC for treatment to his injured jaw.

The cayman was spotted at the bottom of stairs near the back lane behind the building on Fourth Avenue near Blenheim.

Andrew Short, an animal-care specialist at the Vancouver Aquarium, said caymans are potentially dangerous.

"They're certainly equipped with a mouthful of sharp teeth."