Crocodile attacks Florida man swimming in canal

[Baitball Blogger]

A Florida man was attacked by a crocodile early Sunday morning while he was swimming in a canal in Coral Gables, according to CBS Miami.

The crocodile is believed to be between 8 to 9 feet long and it bit the unidentified man on the back, shoulder and arm.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/gone-viral/os-florida-man-crocodile-attack-20140825,0,6596129.post

[closeupready]

1. Oops, yes, there are.

K&R

[NightWatcher]

2. I was snorkeling in Pennekamp and came to the same realization

I did not think they were supposed to be there either.

(Edit)

[closeupready]

4. That's frightening. I mean so are alligators, but

crocs are especially scary, IMO.

[tkmorris]

3. Actually Florida does have crocodiles

I doubt that one was spotted in Orlando though. Usually they live in the deeper South Florida coastal regions.

[closeupready]

5. Right, I was incorrect. Do you know, are they as vicious

as the salt water ones in Australia or the Nile crocs of Egypt?

[Eleanors38]

7. Coral Gables: U. Of Miami. Probably an American Croc.

[Eleanors38]

5. Swimming in a canal at 2 a.m., I'd be pissed, too.

Damned tourist. Brackish water, indeed. That's the Christian way of putting it.

[Enrique]

8. Florida Man should know better

[ChiciB1]

18. Yep! Sure Should Have!

Who goes swimming in a canal at 2:00 A.M in Florida?? A CANAL??? They even attack people NOT in canals, like on land too!

Lived here forever!

[ChiciB1]

19. However, Have to Add That It's Mostly Alligators!

Still crocs have become more common than before.

[RebelOne]

25. My mother's house was in Miami Springs across the street from a canal.

One night my brother caught an alligator in the middle of the street. He grabbed it, put in the trunk of his car, drove it to the Miami Springs police department and dropped it off to them. My brother had a few run-ins with the local police and this was his revenge.

[ChiciB1]

26. Yeah, I've Heard Of Many Alligators in Yards, Roads, ETC.

Some scary things when it happens, but I must say, your story gave me a chuckle. Especially with the POWLICE of today!

We have a place on the Psala Apopka chain of lakes in Hernando, FL., belonged to my in-laws before they passed. We've encountered quite a few alligators over the years. Our home is further south, but my husband goes up there about every 6 wks to maintain the place, but our whole family goes up there a lot too. There have been quite a few gators over 6 ft. and we generally call the Florida Wildlife to come get them. But lots of air boats go out, and we've eaten gator tail from time to time. I thought it would have a strong taste and be tough, but it's really not bad. No, not going to say it tastes like chicken, but it's much milder than I thought it would be.

But, I do have to say once again, I doubt you'd find many people swimming in a canal in Florida after dark! I've seen plenty of gators in the day time so one should know they don't disappear!

[Historic NY]

9. Florida man in canal = gator bait.

[nolabear]

10. Darned croc impinging on gator country.

As to swimming, well, it's part of the thrill. Generally a gator will avoid people but crocs are nasty little mothers. You takes your chances, though. I'm fond of gators, but then I've never lost a pet, which is far more common. Here in the PWN it's the coyotes. We've moved into their habitat here. too, and they're as good at sharing it with us, sometimes at our expense.

[hifiguy]

11. Crocodiles in Florida?

I know there are a LOT of gators in Florida, but crocs??

[csziggy]

13. Yep, American Crocodiles

Only live in the south end of Florida. So far.

Within the United States, the American crocodile's distribution is limited to both Puerto Rico and the southern half of Florida, though at least two have been found as far north as the Tampa Bay area.[2] The current US population estimated at 2,000 is a significant comeback to the few hundred in the 1970s.



American crocodiles in the United States coexist with the American alligator, and are primarily found in Everglades National Park, Florida Bay, Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys from Miami southward.[20][32] A sizable population occurs near Homestead, Florida, at the Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station.[20][33][34] Some individuals wander northward to warm summer waters and have been sighted in Sarasota County and Palm Beach County.[19] In the summer of 2008, a crocodile was captured in the surf on Isle of Palms, South Carolina. In 2013, a 700 pound crocodile was captured in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_crocodile

[hifiguy]

16. Yikes!

A 700-lb crocodile? Time for me to stop bitching about Minnesota winters I guess.

[NaturalHigh]

17. I read an article a couple of years ago...

about crocs moving farther north due to warm water from power plants. Their population has been increasing too.

[FLSurfer]

27. They are as far north as St Augustine

We saw one this summer on the beach, south side of the inlet in St Augustine. Took photos and had it identified by the FWC. Small, about 4 foot and surprisingly quick.

[Baitball Blogger]

14. Yes.

Way down South.

[JaneyVee]

12. That's what crocodiles do. Kinda their thing.

[pipoman]

15. I've spent some time in FL

Only an idiot would swim in a shallow water way in Florida or any gulf state for that matter. .especially in the middle of the night. ..

[spinbaby]

20. No-swim zone

I remember back in the day, Disney World used to allow swimming in the lagoon at the Polynesian resort and actually had a water park that used lake water. But between the alligators and the brain-eating amoebas, they decided the liability was too great. All water in Florida that's not a swimming pool is unsafe to swim in.

[mnhtnbb]

21. If it hasn't been captured, how do they know it was a croc and not a gator?

Only an idiot would swim in a Florida canal. Really.

[Baitball Blogger]

22. The bite marks will be different.

[mnhtnbb]

24. That's presuming it's a clean bite.

There could be a lot more detail in the article. I wonder whether
they made the presumption it was a croc based on bite marks (not
said) or visual identification from bystanders or the guy being attacked,
or the attacking behavior itself.

Pretty sorry caliber of journalism.

[steve2470]

23. Reminds me of the story of the lady jumping in the giraffe cage

When you live in Florida, one of the first thoughts upon viewing a body of water is, are there alligators (and now crocs too !) in there ? If you don't know the answer, you assume there are.

[distantearlywarning]

28. Central Floridian here

Wow, how dumb could this guy possibly be? Swimming in a canal at 2 am? That's a serious death-wish right there. Nobody who values having all their body parts intact goes swimming in fresh water in Florida, especially in the dark. We just had a 9-year-old kid attacked by a big gator when he jumped in a lake to cool off. He was really lucky, managed to fight off the gator and got a tooth extracted from a wound to keep as a souvenir.