Search Here

Aggressive "man-eating" crocodiles are found in Florida and the researchers are trying hard to find out how they reached Florida from a place as far as Africa. Initially scientist weren't sure where the crocodiles came from when the creatures were found couple of years ago and now DNA results revealed that they belong to Nile.

Three Nile crocodiles were found in the country, one was captured near Miami in householder's porch in 2009, the second one was found at Fruit & Spice Park in Homestead, Florida couple of years later and the third one was found swimming in a canal later in 2014. When these crocodiles were first witnessed scientists were sure they were not local species.

The crocodiles were then subjected to DNA tests and the results that arrived now have shown that they are from Nile. While the native crocodiles are reclusive and normally shy away from people, the Nile crocodiles are "man-eaters" and deadly. They can grow up to 16 to 20 feet in length, weigh up to 1650 pounds, and kills nearly 200 people a year reported, Huffington Post.

"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," said Kenneth Krysko, herpetology collections manager at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, according to Telegraph. "Now here's another one, but this time it isn't just a tiny house gecko from Africa."

Krysko noted that the Nile crocodiles didn't swim to Florida from Africa. It therefore suggests that the chaos could be caused by mankind again. Importing such creatures illegally for sales and as well as for having unusual pets at home could have paved way for the "man-eating" crocodiles entry into the country.

"There are fears that if the Nile crocodile establishes itself in the Everglades it will not only pose a threat to humans but also native alligators and crocodiles. However the the crocodiles are not prolific breeders, but scientists warned it would just take one couple to mate for a population to be established," reported Telegraph.