Crocodile found hiding under rental car after shocking dog walkers in Gran Canaria

A bizarre wildlife encounter has left residents in a Spanish city wondering how a crocodile ended up hiding under a rental car in the middle of a street.

Police were called to Calle Faro in the La Isleta district of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on Wednesday, September 10, after the reptile was spotted under a parked car.

Local residents were understandably surprised to find a crocodilian, in fact, technically a caiman, in an area where the most expected traffic would normally be cars, pedestrians and delivery vans.

Caiman discovered in La Isleta

Local police officers from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria attended the scene after reports of the animal were received. Photographs from the incident show the snappy creature beneath a vehicle, while an officer examines the area and attempts to deal with the unexpected visitor.

Several people gathered nearby as officers investigated, creating an extraordinary scene on Calle Faro. Newspaper Atlantico Hoy reported that the animal was a white caiman. No information has been released confirming its exact species or size. Initial reports suggested that the reptile could belong to a local resident who had been keeping it as a pet, and it simply escaped.

That claim has not been officially confirmed, however, and authorities have not publicly established where the animal came from or how it reached the street, and no one has owned up yet.

How did a caiman end up on a Spanish street?

Caimans are not native to the Canary Islands by a long stretch of the imagination, making its appearance in an urban area particularly shocking. Questions over exotic pets are likely to follow the discovery, particularly because Spain has strict rules governing which wild species can be kept privately.

Spain’s Animal Welfare Law establishes a positive list system for animals that may be kept as pets. Wild species must meet specific requirements to be included, while species presenting concerns over welfare, safety or environmental risks cannot be added.

CITES regulations also apply to a number of crocodilian species, including several caimans, meaning international trade and ownership can involve additional controls. No official statement has yet established that the Las Isleta animal was being illegally kept, so claims about its ownership should be treated cautiously.

Other unusual exotic animal discoveries in Spain

Spain has seen a number of unexpected encounters involving exotic reptiles in recent years.

A caiman was also reported in Alicante province in July, causing authorities to search a riverside area after a member of the public reported seeing the animal. That incident was treated as another possible example of an exotic reptile being kept or released outside its natural habitat.

A separate caiman was captured at the Almansa reservoir in Albacete in 2025 after fishermen encountered the South American reptile. That animal was taken into care following its capture. Gran Canaria has also experienced previous cases involving exotic and potentially dangerous animals.

In 2022, the Guardia Civil seized 53 venomous and potentially dangerous animals from a private collection on the island. The collection included several species of caiman, an African dwarf crocodile, snakes, vipers and other reptiles.

For residents of La Isleta, however, Wednesday’s encounter was much closer to home. No further details have been released about the caiman’s ultimate destination following the intervention, leaving one obvious question unanswered: how did a crocodilian end up beneath a car on an ordinary Las Palmas street in the first place? In any case, keep your dogs on leads.