MIAMI sa国际传媒� American crocodiles, once headed toward extinction, are thriving at an unusual spot sa国际传媒� the canals surrounding a South Florida nuclear plant.
Last week, 73 crocodile hatchlings were rescued by a team of specialists at Florida Power & Lightsa国际传媒檚 Turkey Point nuclear plant and dozens more are expected to emerge soon.
Turkey Pointsa国际传媒檚 168-mile (270 kilometres) of man-made canals serve as the home to several hundred crocodiles, where a team of specialists working for FPL monitors and protects them from hunting and climate change.
From January to April, Michael Lloret, an FPL wildlife biologist and crocodile specialist, helps create nests and ponds on berms for crocodiles to nest. Once the hatchlings are reared and left by the mother, the team captures them. They are measured and tagged with microchips to observe their development. Lloret then relocates them to increase survival rates.
sa国际传媒淲e entice crocodiles to come in to the habitats FPL created,sa国际传媒� Lloret said. sa国际传媒淲e clear greenery on the berms so that the crocodiles can nest. Because of rising sea levels wasting nests along the coasts, Turkey Point is important for crocodiles to continue.sa国际传媒�
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The canals are one of three major US habitats for crocodiles, where 25% of the 2,000 American crocodiles live. The FPL team has been credited for moving the classification of crocodiles on the Endangered Species Act to sa国际传媒渢hreatenedsa国际传媒� from sa国际传媒渆ndangeredsa国际传媒� in 2007. The team has tagged 7,000 babies since it was established in 1978.
Temperature determines the crocodilessa国际传媒� sex: the hotter it is the more likely males are hatched. Lloret said this yearsa国际传媒檚 hatchlings are male-heavy due to last month being the hottest June on record globally.
Because hatchlings released are at the bottom of the food chain, only a small fraction survives to be adults. Lloret said they at least have a fighting chance at Turkey Point, away from humans who hunted them to near-extinction out of greed and fear even though attacks are rare. Only one crocodile attack has ever been recorded in the U.S. - a couple were both bitten while swimming in a South Florida canal in 2014, but both survived.
sa国际传媒淎merican crocodiles have a bad reputation when they are just trying to survive,sa国际传媒� Lloret said. sa国际传媒淭hey are shy and want nothing to do with us. Humans are too big to be on their menu.sa国际传媒�
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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