Scientists have found three man-eating crocodiles in the US which can grow to 18 feet long and weigh as much as a small car.
Using DNA analysis, researchers at University of Florida confirmed the capture of three Nile crocodiles in the wild.
These crocodiles can eat everything from zebras to small hippos to humans in sub-Saharan Africa, researchers said.
The three juveniles of the monster crocodile, have been found in South Florida, swimming in the Everglades and relaxing on a house porch in Miami. The crocodiles were captured between 2000 and 2014, leading scientists to analyse their DNA, study their diet and one of the animal’s growth.
Scientists verified the animals were Nile crocodiles linked to native populations in South Africa, and confirmed the species can survive in Florida — and potentially thrive, said Kenneth Krysko, from the Florida Museum of Natural History.
“The odds that the few of us who study Florida reptiles have found all of the Nile crocs out there is probably unlikely,” said Krysko. “We know that they can survive in the Florida wilderness for numerous years, we know that they grow quickly here and we know their behaviour in their native range, and there is no reason to suggest that would change here in Florida,” he said. Nile crocodiles, Crocodylus niloticus, were responsible for at least 480 attacks on people and 123 fatalities in Africa between 2010 and 2014.
