An endangered rare crocodile, one of the animal's reptilian cousins was found near the community pond in Florida woman’s backyard in St. Petersburg, Florida, shocking residents of a gated community over the weekend.
In fact, alligators are a common sight in parts of Florida with about 1,500 crocodiles, mostly found in the Florida Keys area, some 300 miles south of St. Petersburg. However, crocodiles are too seldom to be found in some areas like St. Petersburg that an official didn’t initially believe what Shondra Farner said about spotting the endangered rare crocodile near the community pond in her backyard. "He said, 'No, ma'am, you have an alligator,' and I said, 'No, I know the difference.'" she said. "That big boy was just about 8 feet from our patio… It's terribly scary looking. And fast." His eyes are set differently, but his tail is the giveaway, because they have these very high peaks on the tail.” Before, Shondra Farner saw crocodiles on a trip to Costa Rica and recognized the animal's narrower, more triangular snout. American alligators not only have wider, more rounded snouts but they also don't like the brackish and salt waters that crocs can live in. What was sitting on their back lawn was no alligator.
Because endangered crocodiles cannot be killed, experts had the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission set up a cage trap filled with beef loin with the aim of capturing the giant reptile. If this eight-foot was the same endangered crocodile that was seen south of St. Petersburg in 2008, it surely has been living on the ducks in the water in order to survive. Moreover, officials are planning to implant a magnet into the animal to disorient it before releasing it into Tampa Bay to prevent it from returning to neighborhoods. Still, she warned everyone not to feed or touch these alligators or crocodiles and to keep pets away from them.
A rare eight-foot crocodile was spotted laying on the bank of a lake in a gated community in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Alligators are a common sight in parts of Florida
There are about 1,500 crocodiles, mostly found in the Florida Keys area but they are seldom to be found in St. Petersburg
Crocodiles in Florida