More Than 10,000 Crocodiles Have Been Tagged at a Florida Nuclear Plant
Baby crocodiles marked there have later shown up on golf courses in Tampa.
PBS Terra · Why Crocodiles Are Thriving in the Shadow of A Nuclear PlantBiologists at the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant in South Florida have tagged more than 10,000 American crocodiles, building one of the most complete records for any reptile in the world.
Each hatchling brought to the lab is measured for length, head size, and tail thickness, said Mike Lloret, a biologist who monitors the crocodiles there. Each one gets two IDs, a pet-style microchip "the size of a grain of rice" injected "into the base of the tail," Lloret said, and a visual code clipped into the armored scales.
When a crocodile is caught again, scientists compare the new measurements to the old ones to see how much it has grown and how far it has traveled. Some Turkey Point hatchlings have later popped up on golf courses in Tampa. Tampa is about 250 miles northwest of Turkey Point by road.
Questions people ask
How far is Tampa from Turkey Point?
By road, Tampa is about 250 miles northwest of Turkey Point, which sits south of Miami. That is the gap between the two places by car, not the path the crocodiles took. How those particular crocodiles made the trip was not recorded.
Does the microchip tag hurt the crocodile?
The tag is very small, about the size of a grain of rice, and it is injected near the base of the tail. Similar chips are routinely used in pet cats and dogs and in many wild animals. Researchers handle hatchlings quickly and release them back to the wild as soon as possible.
Are American crocodiles still endangered?
No. The South Florida population grew from a few hundred animals in the 1970s to more than 2,000, and the species was changed from endangered to threatened in 2007. It remains protected under U.S. law, and habitat loss and encounters with people are still concerns. Monitoring programs like the one at Turkey Point help track whether the recovery continues.