A young Cuban veterinary student and animal rescuer became a topic of conversation on social media after posting a video on Instagram where she pets her recently bathed crocodile and seriously warns that no one should attempt to have a pet like hers at home.
Lorena Montes Peña, known on Instagram as @loorena_mp_, shows in the clip the legs of the reptile and the soft area of the animal while handling it with apparent calmness.
Far from boasting about her achievement, the young woman was blunt in her description of the post: "I do not recommend or encourage having one at home; in fact, quite the opposite—I don’t think it’s anything pretty or easy."
Lorena shared that her crocodile is named "Marpacífico" and described it as "an indestructible killing machine, physically capable of doing anything and escaping from wherever it is."
Regarding the raising of an animal with such characteristics, he added: "Definitely better not to get involved in those matters, I say this from experience."
In the video, the young woman explains that the level of handling she achieved with the crocodile was the result of months of work. "It didn't happen overnight. It's complicated; you have to study animal training methods thoroughly. There are several, and with a lot of patience, I managed to have him just the way he is with me, of course, as I'm his caregiver."
What Lorena does not elaborate on at any moment is how she feeds the reptile or under what conditions she keeps it in her home. She has several videos with it, even sleeping beside her in bed.
Beyond the charm of the pet crocodile, the case raises legal and safety questions. In Cuba, there are two protected species of crocodile: the Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer), which is endemic and classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus).
Both species are protected under Cuban legislation and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
It is not the first time that Cubans have had unexpected encounters with these reptiles. In April 2026, several residents in Florida, jumped into the water to swim after seeing a crocodile in the area. In July, a Cuban avoided a tragedy by spotting one under similar circumstances.
Experts insist that crocodiles are not domesticated: they can be conditioned to tolerate human handling, but their predatory instinct never disappears, which makes them high-risk animals even for trained caregivers.
A follower of Lorena summed it up bluntly in the comments: "All I'm saying is that you should pray it doesn’t go downhill with you, because it’s better to give it up to anyone than to have it ruin your face. I'm not criticizing; it’s your pet, but this is no joke."
The young rescue worker and veterinary student has other pets at home, such as dogs, cats, and an iguana, from which she also shares content, but none generate as many likes as her crocodile.
Filed under: