Florida Invaded By Man-Eating Nile Crocodiles
Crocodiles and their alligator cousins aren't exactly new in Florida. In fact, such reptilian creatures are a common sight in the state's swamplands. However, research experts in South Miami-Dade County were perplexed as to how three man-eating Nile crocodiles, discovered in 2009, could have found their way to Florida's swamps.
With the use of DNA testing, biologists from the University of Florida have now confirmed that the crocodiles lingering among the native populations of the Sunshine State's swamps and the Everglades indeed belong to the Nile species native to Africa. The recently published study was appeared in the scientific journal of Herpetological Conservation and Biology last April.
"The odds that the few of us who study Florida reptiles have found all of the Nile crocs out there is probably unlikely," said herpetology collections manager Kenneth Krysko of the Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, as quoted in the institution's news brief.
"We know that they can survive in the Florida wilderness for numerous years, we know that they grow quickly here and we know their behavior in their native range, and there is no reason to suggest that would change here in Florida."
The biggest question looming on everyone's mind, however, is how these Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) could have possibly reached the state all they way from Africa. According to The Guardian, the Nile species could grow up to 18 feet long and was responsible for about 480 attacks on humans plus 123 fatalities in Africa from 2010 to 2014.
As a predator, the Crocodylus niloticus is quite a generalist who preys on a variety of food supply native to the locality. Also, the scientists seemed quite surprise at how a one captured juvenile specimen could grow up 28% faster than their juvenile counterparts in Africa.
The study also reveals that all three captured crocodiles are genetically related which means that they are all offspring from the same parent. The source is even more puzzling as there is no single Nile crocodile found in US zoos that match the DNA of the three specimens.
Currently, the invasion of new species may add up to Florida's existing financial woes. The state has spent nearly half a billion dollars every year to remove invasive plants, animals, insects, and so on.
"My hope as a biologist is that the introduction of Nile crocodiles in Florida opens everyone's eyes to the problem of invasive species that we have here in our state," Krysko said as reported by the Washington Post. "Now here's another one, but this time it isn't just a tiny house gecko from Africa."
