Researchers in Florida, U.S., have attached satellite transmitter tags on 15 crocodiles to learn more about their movement patterns in urbanized areas.
Through the multi-year study, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), aims to better understand the behavior of American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) to help minimize human-wildlife conflict. Native to south Florida and the Keys archipelago, the crocodile is listed as threatened in the U.S.
“We hope that having a better understanding of how crocodiles move and behave around urbanized areas could help local governments incorporate land management designs and practices that would protect crocodiles and minimize the chances of conflicts,” Vincent Deem, FWC crocodilian research program lead, told Mongabay by email.
Deem said the state now has around 2,000 American crocodiles, up from a few hundred individuals in the 1970s. Some are now being spotted in residential areas.
In January, Miami-Dade County residents petitioned the local government and the FWC to take action on the presence of crocodiles due to a “growing safety concern.”
There is also the case of the “Melbourne Beach crocodile,” which has become an internet celebrity after being repeatedly spotted in Florida’s Brevard County, including residential areas like Melbourne Beach. Even after the FWS relocated the croc, it returned to Brevard, traveling more than 160 kilometers (100 miles) over eight months. “This animal has not displayed any concerning behaviors and is not considered to be a threat,” the FWC told media.
The Melbourne Beach crocodile is among the 15 crocodiles the FWC study tracks.
Deem said increased sightings of crocodiles is due to urbanization of their natural habitat. “Crocodiles are continuing to utilize these areas, in spite of human development. As humans continue to develop more and more habitat and the crocodile population continues to recover from historical declines, the area occupied by both humans and crocodiles is only going to increase,” he added.
Initial findings from the unpublished study shared with Mongabay show that crocodiles have varying home ranges, which seem to be “greatly influenced by the urban landscape where the crocodile was located.” Individuals in more developed areas had smaller, restricted ranges of travel while those in less developed areas with natural waterways had larger ranges.
Referring to the “extensive network of canals and natural and artificial lakes and ponds,” Deem told Mongabay, “American crocodiles are a coastal species and are able to easily navigate up the and down the coast and through these connected and semi-connected waterways.” He said crocodiles can stay out of sight since they are nocturnal and have vegetation cover such as mangroves along the canals.
He told the Guardian that this shows that crocodiles avoid people as it is common for them to travel unnoticed.
The multi-year study is expected to be published by next year.
Banner image of the American crocodile by Joseph Ricketts, courtesy of FWC.
Correction 03-06-2025: Previous version of the story mentioned that the American crocodile is federally listed as endangered, it was downgraded to “threatened” in 2007.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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