MIAMI HERALD (Florida) 08 February 06 Tears or not, crocodile trio getting new digs - The Dania Beach crocodiles will move to a park to live away from life in the spotlight. (Natalie P. McNeal)
Fame got to Dania Beach's celebrity crocodiles this week, announced the agency that represents the reptiles.
The three crocodiles shot to stardom Monday for sunbathing in a residential neighborhood. Their handlers have decided it's best that the crocs move to a more exclusive . . . er . . . secluded area.
The croc stars' talent agency, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, is worried that living so close to humans in the Watermark condominiums caused too much of a stir. On Monday, TV helicopters buzzed overhead while reporters swarmed around the crocs' crib -- in a lake in the condo community.
So the agency has decided to move the stars in a different direction: to nearby West Lake Park in Hollywood, south of the crocs' current home.
''They've been receiving a tremendous amount of attention,'' said talent agent . . . er . . . Officer Jorge L. Pino, of the wildlife commission.
``As a result of the exposure, you may have more people disturbing their habitat.''
After all, the paparazzi are a pain. Ask Britney. Ask Lindsay. Ask Paris.
On Monday, a neighbor called to complain about seeing the toothy celebs, attracting all the press attention.
For the crocs, living at the lake at the Watermark condos was the best. They sunbathed their sexy skin on the shores of the lake, making shoe and purse makers green with envy.
Although the crocs have enjoyed their life in Dania Beach, the Watermark lake was becoming so, so . . . January 2006.
Their handlers are planning to hook them and bring them across the road to West Lake Park, known for its secluded atmosphere and lush landscape. A Club Med for local crocs. To get them to move, their handlers may set up traps to entice them, baiting them with a delicacy like chicken.
The commission says exclusivity is hot. To create a croc's equivalent of a gated community, the commission will try to set up some kind of barrier to prevent the reptilian stars from moving back to their current homes.
''There's going to be a lot less humans there,'' Pino said.
As for the crocs' neighbors, some say they will be a little sad to see their community celebutantes leave.
Others say good riddance.
''We don't need a mascot here,'' said Joann Brave, who lives in the condos.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/13816163.htm?source=rss&channel=miamiherald_broward_county
SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) 07 February 06 Despite Dania residents’ opposition, crocodiles about to be removed (John Holland)
Dania Beach: Residents awoke early Monday to see something startling in their neighborhood.
No, not the endangered American crocodiles sunning themselves just north of Sheridan Street -- they've been roaming backyard canals for years. The real surprise was the sheriff's deputies, television crews, reporters and strangers who suddenly cared about them.
"I can't believe the big fuss after all these years,'' said Patty Oaks, who has lived at the Sheridan Ocean Club apartments for seven years, about three fewer than the reptiles. "We love having them here, and nobody wants to see them go away.''
But state wildlife officials say that has to happen. They are working to catch a 12-foot female and at least one of the two males who have lived in the waters west of West Lake Park for more than a decade. Because the reptiles are federally protected, they must be caught alive and relocated, probably to the Keys.
"We try to encourage people to co-exist with [the crocodiles], and they've been doing a pretty good job there since at least the mid 1990s, said biologist Lindsey Hord, of the Florida Fishing and Wildlife Commission. "But the situation changed, and they were crossing the road, going into an area where the houses were, and people got concerned.''
A manager at one of the apartment complexes called the state alligator hotline last month, and soon the chase was on.
There are an estimated 1,000 American crocodiles in Florida, compared to about 200 to 400 in the 1980s when they went on the Endangered Species list.
They have long, thin snouts, are lighter in color than alligators and are generally more skittish around humans, making them little danger to people.
The three crocodiles, including a 10-foot male, have "been there carefree, a part of the natural landscape for years, without problems,'' said Kurt Volker, a natural resource specialist for Broward County.
"It's unfortunate that some people don't understand nature and get scared. It's been cold, and they were just doing what crocodiles do.''
And that meant sunning themselves with their toothy mouths wide open near a clubhouse area of one of the condos Monday.
"They are the guardian angels. Gorgeous creatures who should not be removed,'' said resident Tamaki Hosokawa. "I don't think any of us wants to see them go.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-scroc7feb07,0,2691997.story?coll=sns-ap-basketball-headlines&track=mostemailedlink
