Fairburn Ings Caiman (May 2020)

In May 2020 a sighting was reported that suggested that a Caiman might be living in the Fairburn Ings nature reserve. Caimans are a small relative of the alligator and are usually found in the north and centre of South America.
The following article by Andrew Jameson and Emma Parker was published in the Daily Star on 20 May 2020. ‘A four-foot crocodile-like creature dubbed “The Yorkshire Nipper” has been spotted at a nature reserve.

Astonished wildlife snapper Lee Collings said he had never witnessed anything like the fearsome-looking monster in his career.

But sadly he was unable to get a picture of the rare beast at the Fairburn Ings nature reserve near Castleford, West Yorks.

Lee said: “I am 46 years old and have been a birdwatcher for over 30 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this, other than a crocodile or alligator.

“It walked like it was rigid. It moved slow, but too fast to photograph it by the time I realised what I thought it was.

“It was 3ft to 4ft in length and about 4in to 5in high.”

Lee added: “I’m not bothered about being ridiculed. I’m that confident about what I saw.”

NHS statistics revealed at least seven people were attacked by crocodiles and alligators in England in 2018. But there are no native or wild species of crocs in the UK.’

The story was also taken up by Nick Lavigueur of Yorkshire Live on 24 May 2020. ‘Sadly the professional snapper was unable to get a picture of the toothy reptile before it scuttled away after just a few seconds.

He told YorkshireLive he was on a family walk and not out equipped for his normal photography work, hence why he was unable to get a picture to prove his sighting.

Lee says he was ridiculed about his claim with a man dubbing it the “Cass-ness monster”.

But now more people have come forward claiming to have seen something at another nearby lake.

One has taken a video of what they believe is a crocodile submerged in the water at St Aidan’s nature reserve at Swillington near Leeds, only a few miles away.

Lee said he had now heard someone had dumped a caiman – a smaller reptile from the crocodile species – which looked more like what he thought he had seen.

Lee said: “I am 46 years old and have been a birdwatcher for over 30 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this, other than a crocodile or alligator.

“It walked like it was rigid. It moved slow, but too fast to photograph it by the time I realised what I thought it was.

“It was 3ft to 4ft in length and about 4ins to 5ins high.”

Lee added: “I’m not bothered about being ridiculed. I’m that confident about what I saw.

“When I saw it, I knew I only had seconds to either take a photo with the wrong settings, which would be over or under exposed and possibly blurred, or focus on what I was actually seeing.”

People have commented that the animal may have been abandoned by someone who bought it as a pet but decided it had got too large or expensive to feed.’