FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Broward County neighborhood is on edge because of a croc on their docks.
Concerned families in Fort Lauderdale have reported the wayward reptile, but wildlife officers said there’s nothing they could do.
“The neighbors are very freaked out right now,” said resident Andy Weiser.
Weiser told Local 10 News that for the first time in his more than 25 years of living in the Fort Lauderdale neighborhood, near Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a crocodile has appeared in the area’s canals.
“What we’re seeing is this seven-to-nine foot crocodile that jumped up on the Jet Ski platform there and really didn’t care that we were here!” he said.
The crocodile has been spotted on several people’s docks, sunning herself just feet away from Weiser and his neighbors.
“Nobody wants to hurt it, they just all want it out of the canal because we have people that kayak, paddle board,” he said.
They have contacted everyone they can think of to help -- trappers, the police and even the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, but they all say the same thing -- that there’s nothing they can do.
The reason they give is because the crocodile isn’t displaying any aggressive behaviors that would warrant its removal, and even if they did, crocs have been known to make their way right back to places they have been removed from.
Weiser says residents hope it can be brought to a new habitat, so they can go back to enjoying their backyards.
“It’s in the neighborhood and it’s just sort of swimming around and nobody knows where it’s going to appear now,” he said.
The FWC warns anyone who sees a crocodile to keep a safe distance, to keep their pets on a leash, and to keep small children away from the water’s edge.
They also warn people to make sure they are only swimming in designated areas.
The big thing, they said, is to make sure never to feed those animals. If they get used to being fed, they’ll just keep coming back to that same place.