A Florida Keys homeowner had an early morning surprise when he woke up to find an 8-foot crocodile taking a dip in his backyard pool.
Monroe County sheriff’s office spokeswoman Becky Herrin says a resident in Islamorada, 83 miles (130km) south of Miami, called at about 7.30 am on Thursday to report the crocodile in his pool.
A photo provided by the sheriff’s office shows the large reptile floating languidly in the shallow end of the pool. Herrin said the animal was about eight feet (2.4m) long.
Herrin said deputies and officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission safely removed the animal and returned it to its native habitat.
The American crocodile is designated as a threatened species. It lives mainly in the brackish waters of South Florida and the Keys.
It is one of the larger crocodile species, with mature males growing up to 20ft (6m) and weighing nearly 2,000lb (907kg). An average-size mature male is about (13ft) 4.1m. Females tend to be smaller.
About 2,000 American crocodiles are thought to live in the US.
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