DNA testing on three young crocodiles caught between 2009 and 2014 near Miami confirmed them to be Nile crocodiles native to Africa. The testing was done at the University of Florida.
Herpetologist Kenneth Krysko and his two collaborators at the university conducted the genetic testing and published their study last month in Herpetological Conservation and Biology. The study linked the three crocodiles to species in Africa and not to the known captive Nile crocodiles at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and other attractions, according to Newser.
During the investigation, the invasive crocodile’s diet was studied as well as their growth rate. The researchers found that the Nile crocodile grows 28 percent faster than its American cousins found in Florida — the American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, which can grow to 13 to 16 feet in length; and the American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis, which grows up to 12 feet in length.
Photo taken: April 8, 2010.
The Nile crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus, is the second-largest crocodile in the world behind the saltwater crocodile, Crocodylus porosus. The Nile crocodile is widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa. Males can get up to 2,400 pounds but the usual weight range is more like 950 to 1,500 pounds. They can also grow to a length of 18 feet.
One very worrisome fact about the Nile crocodile is its aggressiveness. It is not only aggressive but is an apex opportunistic predator. If it is hungry, it will eat just about anything, from reptiles to birds and mammals and even the occasional human. In Africa, they are responsible for up to 200 deaths in humans every year.
With Florida and the Gulf Coast’s sub-tropical climate, it is entirely possible for the Nile crocodile to become an established species in the U.S., according to the study. So far, there has been no evidence of an established population, but the Nile crocodile could very easily eat and mate the smaller and less aggressive native alligators and crocodiles out of existence.
So how did the crocodiles get here in the first place? Genetic evidence proves they are not from established facilities because they have been checked. That leaves illegally imported animals that have either gotten loose from their owners or they were purposely turned loose into the Everglades. Regardless of which it may be, we have another invasive species to be dealt with, says Krysko, and it’s not a tiny African house gecko.
This study, “MOLECULAR ANALYSES CONFIRMING THE INTRODUCTION OF NILE CROCODILES, CROCODYLUS NILOTICUS LAURENTI 1768 (CROCODYLIDAE), IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA, WITH AN ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL FOR ESTABLISHMENT, SPREAD, AND IMPACTS,” was published in the journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology on April 30, 2016.
