Home & Garden
Crocodile Takes Dip In Floridian's Pool
The homeowner came across the interloper early Thursday morning.
ISLAMORADA, FL — The old warning to look before you leap took on a whole new sense of urgency for a Florida homeowner Thursday morning.
It seems the Lower Matecumbe Key resident went out to his pool around 7:30 a.m. and found a rather sizeable American crocodile taking a swim. Eager to get the unwanted visitor out of his pool, the man called on the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office for help.
Officers who arrived on the scene didn’t seem too sure how to trespass a croc from a backyard pool, so they called on the experts from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to help, the sheriff’s office noted on its Facebook page.
FWC officers managed to bring the critter into custody without incident. Rather than go through the bother of paperwork, they opted to release the croc on its own recognizance. The sheriff’s office reports the creature was safely returned to the ocean.
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This is the second time in about a week a Floridian has come face-to-face with a toothy, unwanted swimmer in a pool. A 5-foot black tip shark was recently spotted taking a swim in a condo complex’s pool. While the croc wandered in all on its own, the shark was likely put in the pool by a pair of pranksters, an FWC report in that case indicates.
As for crocodiles in Florida, they’re a part of the tapestry in the southern portion of the state. While they do tend to stick to South Florida, they have a historic range that extends as far north as Charlotte County, FWC records indicate. Crocodile run-ins across the state aren’t quite as common as those involving alligators, but they do occur.
Residents in the Tampa Bay area are more likely to experience run-ins with alligators. More than a few homeowners found out firsthand last year just how much alligators like to roam in warmer weather. One homeowner even had an alligator attempt to score Halloween candy a few days after the holiday.
To learn more about crocodiles, alligators and sharks in Florida, visit FWC online.
Photo courtesy of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page
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