Story By: William McGee, Sub-Editor:  Lee Bullen, Agency: Newsflash

This is the moment firemen in Brazil appear to be taking a giant caiman for a walk on a lead.

The amusing footage was shot when the firemen were in fact helping the animals across the road where it could then be released back into its natural habitat.

They were called to the scene because the reptile had previously been on a walk of its own accord through the streets of the municipality of Lagoa Santa in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais on the afternoon of 16th November.

Worried locals at then raised the alarm with emergency services.

When they arrived at the scene, the firemen had to immobilise the animal before releasing it into a pond.

Video footage shows three uniformed firefighters leading the caiman using a stiff cable attached to a rope around the reptile’s neck.

They are seen leading the reptile from the road onto the grassy bank of a pond, where they release it before it readily rushes into the water.

The caiman was reportedly healthy and uninjured.

Caimans typically inhabit marshes, swamps, mangrove rivers and lakes, and are usually nocturnal. Their closest relatives are alligators.

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