More than a hundred crocodiles, alligators and caimans have arrived at an animal sanctuary after being kept in a Toronto man’s home for 10 years. The man donated a “generous amount” to the Indian River Reptile Zoo, he added, saying that the zoo is the only accredited nonprofit reptile rescue in North America. “I could not believe that somebody had that many crocodilians and raised them to adulthood”. These were not baby little crocodiles. It took four days, four rented trucks and a staff of 20 volunteers to relocate the reptiles, the Globe and Mail reported. Loyst said that the person looking after animals actually did a good job considering the situation.
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Most of the 400 animals at the zoo, in addition to the new arrivals, are rescues that had been abandoned, imported illegally or seized in drug busts, but many haven’t been taken care of as well as the Torontonian crocodilians.
The worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature lists Cuban crocodiles as critically endangered due to hybridization, illegal hunting and habitat loss with only two possible swamps left in Cuba. While they had less muscle mass than expected, they were generally healthy.
While it is illegal in the city to keep oversized reptiles as pets, it does not appear the man was charged with anything.
Carl Bandow, a supervisor with Toronto Animal Services, said: “Because we don’t know where they came from, there really isn’t much more we can do in terms of a follow-up unless somebody is able to provide us with a location”.
According to Smithsonian Center News, Dorothy laid a clutch of 24 eggs in a hole nest, which keepers detected after a week of searching the exhibit.
However, “there are other sections of the bylaw that can be used if the animals cause a nuisance or a noise problem”, he said.
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“This is the largest rescue of this species of animal that I’ve ever heard of”, he said.
