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Article: The Crocodile's Power Play - Until Everglades habitat is restored, some unexpected nesting sites are helping the American crocodile come back in South Florida.
- Article from:
- National Wildlife
- Article date:
- February 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 National Wildlife Federation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ON A STARRY EARLY SPRING NIGHT in South Florida, biologist Joe Wasilewski steers an airboat down a canal near Biscayne Bay. Suddenly, he kills the engine and jumps from the pilot's seat. Leaping onto the bow of the boat, he dives headfirst across the hull. His upper torso disappears over the prow, where moments earlier a spotlight picked out two shining, red eyes just above the surface of the water. Wasilewski thrashes in the water for a few seconds, then pulls his catch onto the boat: a three-and-a- half-foot specimen of North America's rarest reptile, Crocodylus acutus, the American crocodile. "Now you've seen the real 'Crocodile Hunter,'" Wasilewski says with ...