Alligator-like caiman and rodents bigger than dogs pose threat to Rio Olympics golf course
Handlers will be employed to usher the beasts away from players and fans flocking to the course to see stars
OLYMPIC Games bosses will employ animal handlers to keep snapping alligator-like caiman and giant rodents bigger than dogs away from some of the biggest names in sport.
The critters live in vegetation that surrounds the new golf course that has been constructed for this summer’s games in Rio.
A host of the world’s millionaire players including Masters champ Danny Willett and world No 3 Rory McIlroy are set to attend the Games.
Golf has been returned to the Olympics for the first time in more than a century.
At least five trained handlers will be on site during the golf competition in order to scare animals, including caiman and capybaras, the world's largest rodent weighing 100lbs, away from the course.
They will be on standby to "transport the animals from one side of the course to another" if necessary, according to Folha de S.Paulo newspaper in Brazil.
There will be no risk to players or members of the public, it is claimed, with the caiman usually known to flee when surrounded by people.
Signposts will be erected to warn spectators of where animals are known to be.
Caiman would be carried off the course by handlers if needs be, it was reported, with the action designed to protect the animals rather than those attending golf's return to the games.
Development of the course in Barra de Tijuca on the edge of Rio cost £7.1million and attracted criticism from campaigners in the city, who claimed it would damage the environment.
An International Olympic Committee Executive Board meeting in Rio last year was even interrupted by protesters who branded President Thomas Bach a “nature killer” for the construction of the course.
It is not the first time an Olympic venue has been at risk of an animal presence with six divers equipped with shark-repelling sonar devices escorting triathletes through the harbour during Sydney 2000.