Mexican Fishermen Capture 7.5-foot Crocodile in the Rio Grande

[CharlieJ]

Mexican Fishermen Capture 7.5-foot Crocodile in the Rio Grande
KLTV / Texas

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico Authorities said today that Mexican fishermen captured a seve-point-five-foot-long crocodile in the Rio Grande, the river that divides Mexico and the United States. They turned the animal over to a local animal shelter.

The animal was caught on a fisherman's line yesterday in a sparsely populated stretch of the river on the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas.

The crocodile weighed about 130 pounds and appeared to be in good condition. That's according to a commander of the Nuevo Laredo fire department, where the fishermen first brought the animal in the back of a pickup truck. It was then turned over to the local Animal Protection Society. Federal environmental officials were informed of the capture, and will eventually decide what is to be done with the animal.

Crocodiles do not normally inhabit the Rio Grande. Authorities believe it may have been brought to the area as a pet and then released into the river by its owner.

[TammyJamaica]

Caramba! Sure hope this little guy has a good chance of a happy life now. He was probably quite getting used to life in the Rio Grande - could have done worse.....

[VoodooChile]

Unless they decide to euthanize him..

[tjhammerhead]

Crocodiles do not normally inhabit the Rio Grande.

American Crocodiles are not native to Texas and have never "normally" inhabited the Rio Grande. The only place I know of where you can find them in the US is in Florida and there's only about 1,000 of them there. Naturally that is.

[RioBravoReptiles]

Originally Posted by tjhammerhead

American Crocodiles are not native to Texas and have never "normally" inhabited the Rio Grande. The only place I know of where you can find them in the US is in Florida and there's only about 1,000 of them there. Naturally that is.

.
C. moreleti is found on the gulf side of Mexico and anecdotal evidence suggests they may be seen very infrequently as far north as south Texas. Certainly it is most liklely that this croc had help getting into the Rio Grande but if it is found to be Morelet's crocodile then it is not entirely impossible for it to occur naturally.
.
Gus.

[tjhammerhead]

American Crocodiles or Crocodylus acutus live in areas where fresh and salt waters mix. They are found in southern Florida, the Caribbean, and southern Mexico.

I did not know the the Mexican Crocodile or Crocodylus moreletii has been found as far north South Texas.

Thanks for the information Gus!

Do C. moreleti prefer the same type of waters? Laredo is a bit aways from the Gulf.

[RioBravoReptiles]

I'm well aware of how far it is up the river from the Gulf to Laredo, Texas, and I bet it is a lot farther than even you think. But that in itself doesn't preclude an animal making the trip.
.
We're not going to get into any debate over this.. I'm sorry if you took my post as some kind of a correction, it wasn't. I agree that it's completely unlikley the croc went up the Rio Grande river by itself. Very probably it was dumped into Falcon lake by somebody.. whatever kind of croc it ends up being.
.
However, in your post you omitted some facts about the Morelet's croc, I added them. That was the reason I first posted.
.
Gus.

[tjhammerhead]

Originally Posted by RioBravoReptiles

I'm well aware of how far it is up the river from the Gulf to Laredo, Texas, and I bet it is a lot farther than even you think. But that in itself doesn't preclude an animal making the trip.

Not at all.

We're not going to get into any debate over this.. I'm sorry if you took my post as some kind of a correction, it wasn't. I agree that it's completely unlikley the croc went up the Rio Grande river by itself. Very probably it was dumped into Falcon lake by somebody.. whatever kind of croc it ends up being.

I'm sorry if my post came across in a negative way. I'm here to learn. I assumed that it was a C. acutus. You know what they say about assumptions!
.

However, in your post you omitted some facts about the Morelet's croc, I added them. That was the reason I first posted.

I dont remember mentioning in my reply to the original post the Mexican Croc, I specifically mentioned the American Cr