A female crocodile captured in 2012 was released and later recaptured in 2014, providing the scientists with proof that the Nile crocodile species could survive and thrive in the Everglades for almost two years.
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The data reveals that although the captured crocodiles are genetically related, they don’t match up with the Nile crocodiles kept at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and other Florida animal attractions, meaning they were likely brought to the state illegally for pet trade.
However, the number of Nile crocodiles – which have also been known to attack other large animals including livestock – in Florida is unknown, with experts suggesting there could be more at large.
All three Nile crocodiles were captured in extreme South Florida. There, the crocodiles were responsible for almost 500 reported attacks from 2010-2014, where over 70 percent were fatal. In an article the UF researchers published about their findings, the crocodiles were found in 2009, 2011, and most recently in 2014.
“I’ve heard of enough sightings of a unusual looking croc in the areas that are connected to this to make me think it’s possible”, said wildlife ecology professor Frank Mazzotti, who also co-authored the study, to the Miami Herald. “But yeah, I don’t think we’ve pulled out the last one yet”.
Allyson Gantt, a spokeswoman for Everglades National Park, where one of the reptiles was found, disagrees, saying no Nile crocs still roam the park.
The new study noted that wetlands and coastal areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas would be hospitable to Nile crocodiles, which need freshwater, a reliable source of food and a sub-tropical climate. For comparison, American crocodiles can also reach up to 20 feet in length, but “rarely” get longer than 14 feet in the wild, according to the National Park Service. They could endanger the smaller, less aggressive American crocodiles.
Scientists have found three man-eating crocodiles in the United States which can grow to 18 feet long and weigh as much as a small auto.
Whether more Nile crocs are out there may be unknown, but scientists did find that the animals could thrive in Florida.
“We know that they can survive in the Florida wilderness for numerous years, we know that they grow quickly here and we know their behaviour in their native range, and there is no reason to suggest that would change here in Florida”. The saltwater crocodile was captured in a billabong near a river reserve.
Biologists don’t think the crocs, feared for their brutal attacks on humans in their native ranges, are breeding in South Florida. And no, crocs and alligators can’t interbreed.
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In May, a Florida man had most of his arm bitten off by an alligator after he jumped in a lake in an attempt to flee police.
