Florida Now Has Nile Crocodiles Roaming the Everglades
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (128837)
Gainesville, Florida
May 20, 2016 9:06pm CST
University of Florida researchers have confirmed that Nile crocodiles are in the Florida Everglades! From 2009 to the present, three Nile crocodiles have been discovered in the Everglades, and DNA testing have confirmed they are the aggressive Nile crocodile variety, bigger and more ferocious than the native American crocodile that makes its home in the southern tip of Florida.
Move over Burmese pythons! There's a new top dog in the Everglades! For years there has been great concern over the spread of the pythons throughout south Florida, and their threat to the native ecosystem due to having no natural predators. But, now the presence of Nile crocodiles have been confirmed, pythons are no longer the big fear in the Everglades. The Nile crocs, which can grow twice as big as the gentle American crocodile, will devour everything in their path, including pythons!
Researchers aren't sure how the Nile crocs got to Florida, although they speculate illegal animal traders may have brought them here, and they either escaped or were released into the wild. One of the researchers made a statement that made me crack up laughing: "They sure didn't swim here from Africa!" lol
Should we start to worry over the presence of the Nile crocs (remember, only three have been found), or should officials continue to concentrate on eradicating the pythons?
10 people like this
8 responses
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
21 May 16
@moffittjc I wonder how long it will take before crocodile steaks appear on the menu. You would be able to use the pun of 'a crocodile sandwich please and make it snappy'.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 May 16
Unfortunately, Florida has abundant water all over the state, so it won't take long for these reptiles to expand outside of the Everglades, unless they can be controlled now while their numbers are still low.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 May 16
@Asylum That's hilarious! If that were the case, we'd see more alligator meat on menus here, since alligators are literally everywhere! There are a handful of restaurants that serve gator tail, and supposedly that's the only good meat on the reptiles that's worth eating.
1 person likes this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
21 May 16
I think it would be a problem if they start eating the other crocodilian species.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 May 16
The researchers pretty much say that if the Nile croc population gets established in Florida, they will pretty much eat anything and everything in their wake, including the native American crocodiles and the alligators. But on the bright side, they will also eat the pythons! lol
1 person likes this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
21 May 16
@moffittjc I think we need to thin out the Nile Crocs then. We'd lose the alligators, the native crocs and certainly the native caimans.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 May 16
@OneOfMany I agree with you, and so apparently does our state wildlife officials. They are going to try to eradicate the Nile crocs as fast as they can. But they also said they were going to do the same thing with the pythons, and those slithery beasts have now taken over the Everglades!
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
21 May 16
probably escaped from gator farms - certainly not planning on swimming the Everglades soon
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 May 16
Interestingly, they tested the DNA of the Nile crocs caught in the Everglades and compared them to the DNA of all known croc locations in Florida (theme parks, tourist areas, farms, etc), and the DNA didn't match any of them. This is why they think someone had them as pets and released them into the environment.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
25 May 16
@moffittjc An air boat? Is that like a hovercraft?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 May 16
Actually, the Everglades is a beautiful national park, and it's the hundreds of thousands of untamed wilderness/swamp that makes it so appealing and attractive. There are plenty of safe ways to visit the Everglades, and plenty of park rangers around that can ensure your safety. If you ever get a chance to visit, schedule an air boat ride through the Everglades...you'll love it!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 May 16
@jaboUK No, it's like a regular boat almost, but flatter, and it has a big airplane engine and propeller mounted to the back, and it's the propeller pushing the wind that makes the boat move! They are designed specifically for travel in swamps.
1 person likes this
@Poppylicious (11134)
• United Kingdom
22 May 16
Another reason to stay away from Florida! Scary!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 May 16
A reason to stay away from SOUTH Florida!!! Central and north Florida are still civilized and safe to visit!
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 May 16
@JudyEv That's very interesting that some of the birds have been smart enough to figure it out. I have to admit, I didn't know what a goanna was, so I had to go look it up! LOL
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 May 16
Although we humans have disrupted the nature life cycle and migration of species across the globe (or in some cases sped it up), nature has a way of balancing itself. Over time, nature will adapt to whatever conditions are thrown at it.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382240)
• Rockingham, Australia
25 May 16
@moffittjc Already some of the birds have learnt to tip the toads over and avoid the poison gland. And now they are attaching 'doovalackys' to racehorse goannas which give a small shock if they go to eat a toad so they learn to leave them alone. I don't know if the goannas then teach their kids to leave them alone too. I guess they do or what's the point. I would have thought baby goannas would be left to fend for themselves but maybe not.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (230350)
• Chile
21 May 16
Those immigrants surelly did not get in with their proper papers
. I´d ship them back to their country, along with the pythons
. I´d ship them back to their country, along with the pythons1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
21 May 16
Oh boy, what a mess. I visited Florida last year and learned the state is plagued by these non-native animals.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 May 16
Yeah, the non-native species are taking over the natural environment. It's quite alarming.
