Click the link above to read the online Miami Herald article from Keysnet.com or Crocodile attacks dog in Key Largo (I have posted some excerts from this article below):
The story is about pit bulldog named Tyson that escaped from an unusual crocodile attack in a Key Largo canal Tuesday. The American crocodile -- an aggressive juvenile male measuring about 5 feet, 6 inches -- was captured by state wildlife agents for relocation. Dog owner Emilie Stewart said wildlife agents told her: "If it was a smaller dog or a bigger crocodile, Tyson would not have survived."
Small or not, this is one tough dog. Though it was bitten and pulled under, but turned to snap at the toothy reptile and broke free.
Lindsey Hord, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist in charge of dealing with South Florida's nuisance alligators and crocodiles indicated that "Usually crocodiles don't try to go after an animal bigger than they are,"
While there are no confirmed attacks on humans by the normally docile American crocodile, Hord cautioned residents "not to be ignorant of the possibilities."
Key Largo has the highest density of American crocodiles outside of Everglades National Park, Hord said. They seem to prefer bayside mangroves and creeks more than the open Atlantic Ocean waters, but they do roam.
Nearly extinct a few decades ago, American crocodiles have rebounded to an estimated population of about 2,000 animals larger than hatchlings.
A 10-foot crocodile killed a Key Largo family's 65-pound dog near mile marker 103 in March 2012.
Some Florida Keys residents would prefer to see all American crocodiles removed. Hord called that "unrealistic."
"Thirty years ago, we didn't have very many crocs. Now we do," he said. "We have to accept that reality, use common sense and make some lifestyle changes."
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