Florida has become a breeding ground for non-native animal species recently. The Burmese Python has found the region perfect habitat, and there are now an estimated 100,000 of the snakes living in Florida wilds. And now, the State is hosting a much more dangerous animal, and no one is sure how it got there. Scientists confirmed this week that three crocodiles found in the Everglades are indeed Nile crocodiles, the species that kills some 200 Africans every year. The male species can grow up to 1,600 pounds.
And here’s an even bigger question. Where the hell did these things come from? University of Florida’s Natural History museum confirmed strange news in the mystery. The animals are definitely related. But they aren’t related to any that are held in captivity in Florida zoos. So that means they were either brought over by an unlicensed reptile handler who failed to keep them penned up, or actually released them into the swamps hoping they would reproduce. A scary thought considering the Florida Everglades are over 700 square miles so the chances of their being more out there are relatively good.
The Nile Crocodile kills some 200 Africans each year.
The numbers of people killed by crocodiles is very real. In 2010 South African kayaker Hendri Coetzee was ripped from his kayak during a whitewater expedition exploring the deepest part of the Congo. He was never seen again. Stories from that trip were ripe with locals terrified of certain parts of the river due to family and relatives disappearing after crocodile attacks.
Two problems are weighing heavy on official’s minds: they fear the Nile Crocodile would crossbreed with the much smaller version native to Florida which could create larger numbers of more aggressive animals. Second, Nile Crocodiles are known for attacking livestock which could prove very problematic for Florida’s rural farming community.
All three animals were captured in the state’s southern region near Miami. The first–a baby–was found on the porch of a home and sent to a Louisiana retire lab. The second was a four-foot female caught in a park and the third was actually captured twice. The first trapper failed to obtain a proper permit so he let the female go. It was recaptured two years later and 18 miles away in Everglades National Park and euthanized.
