Black Caiman’s Endangered Status Needs Review, Lawsuit Claims

A wildlife agency failed to conduct the necessary status reviews for the endangered crocodile species the black caiman, according to a new lawsuit.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has never conducted the statutorily-required five-year status reviews since the species was listed in 1976, according to the complaint filed Thursday by the US Association of Reptile Keepers in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

The agency has allegedly violated the requirement outlined in the Endangered Species Act “in the continued application of regulatory restrictions that are unsupported by current biological and conservation data.”

After the group, which advocates ...