- I'm Coyote Peterson, he's Mario Aldecoa.
And common sense might tell ya,
never wander into a nest full of crocodiles,
but tonight we're looking to do just that.
(jungle style music)
- [Coyote] Tonight we're in Homestead, Florida
on the grounds of Turkey Point
which is a nuclear power plant facility.
This location is home to one very unique conservation effort
that is helping revitalize the population
of American crocodiles in South Florida.
Working closely with Wildlife Biologist Mario Aldecoa,
our mission is to check nesting sights
to retrieve freshly hatched baby crocodiles
so they can be tagged and recorded
before being released back into the environment.
- [Mario] The cooling canals are meant
to provide water for the reactor,
however the property, which is like 4,000 acres
of just canal system turned out
to be excellent nesting habitat.
- Are any of these crocodiles radioactive?
- [Mario Aldecoa] No, no they're not radioactive.
- [Coyote] Okay, so we're not gonna run
into Godzilla out there tonight?
- [Mario] I'm always hoping to find Godzilla out there.
I don't think it's gonna happen,
but there are some monster crocs out there for sure.
- This is where Mario found a nest earlier today
and we just saw a hatchling right along the side here,
but it got away, so hopefully as we go up by the nest
we'll find a few that are still unearthing.
- This is exactly what I'm looking for.
You see this?
- Yeah.
- This trail, it's called a crocodile drag.
And it's basically the female coming up to inspect the nest.
So let's follow the trail and see if we come upon the nest.
Oh, this is interesting.
Unfortunately, hatchlings have a lot of predators.
Fire ants are a big predator.
- So we're standing in fire ants?
- We're standing in fire ants.
- Oh.
- I don't see any dead crocs here,
so luckily the female took 'em all into the water
before they got preyed on.
- [Coyote] Yeah, look at that.
There's just covered, ow, jeez.
Just, ow, wow, they really burn when they bite, too.
Ow, okay, no more handling of fire ants, jeez.
- [Mario] So one thing I always do, is I always wanna make
sure that there's nothing inside the nest.
- [Coyote] Kinda how you're just digging
in the fire ants there.
- Yeah, but I'm also making sure
that there's no hatchlings that were left behind.
- [Coyote] Okay.
- [Mario] Sometimes the female,
she'll try and grab as many as she can,
but she might forget some.
So I'm just gonna check real quick.
Nothing, okay.
We build ponds on some of these islands
and the ponds fill up with fresh water
and the females will transport the babies to those ponds.
- [Coyote] Okay.
- [Mario] That's where we're gonna go check.
That's our highest probability of getting some hatchlings.
- Sweet, let's go to the pond and find some hatchlings.
Mario gave me the signal
that he's go some hatchlings in this pond,
but there's so many mosquitoes.
We're getting eaten alive.
So we're gonna move quick,
get in there, extract the babies, get back on the air boat,
and get away from these mosquitoes.
All right come on, let's go.
- [Mario] Coyote.
- [Coyote] Yeah.
- [Mario] I got one here for you.
- [Coyote] Off the edge.
- [Mario] I got you.
- [Coyote] Ready?
Got 'em. Got 'em.
There we go, a little hatchling.
- [Mario] So what they do is they usually
stay in clumps for protection.
- [Coyote] Okay.
- [Mario] Especially when they're just born like this,
that makes it really easy for us
to come and just snatch 'em.
- [Coyote] Gotcha.
Baby crocodiles.
Listen to them chirpin'.
Now hopefully they're not calling mom.
So what we're gonna do now is head back to the lab,
get the data that Mario needs,
and then take them back out to release them.
- [Mario] Yep.
- Sounds good. Alright!
And get out of these mosquitoes too.
And this is the success of all the work that the
Crocodile research team is doing here at Turkey Point.
Okay, so we have the adventure in the field
and now it's time to collect the data.
- [Mario] First, let's put him on that scale there.
Let's get its weight.
Perfect.
What do we got?
- [Coyote] Alright, 53.8 grams.
- [Mario] 53.8, okay.
So this is an important aspect.
So these skids can be cut off, they won't grow back.
It's gonna be like a little pinch,
but they key is to do it fast and accurate.
- [Coyote] Kinda like the Social Security Number for
the crocodile.
- Yeah, yeah.
So, if we ever capture a juvenile or an adult
out in the system,
we could see if it's been recaptured just by looking
at its tail.
- [Coyote] Okay.
- [Mario] Okay, so 1,752.
Now, we've got our tag or chip.
- Oh.
This is the little tracking meter that you put in these guys
so when you're out in the field and we're scanning them,
that's what shows us their number?
- [Mario] Yep.
So that's gonna go at the base of the tail.
Just like that.
Done.
So he's good to go, we could actually release him now.
- So that is a crocodile ready to be released back
into the wild.
Mario, I can't thank you enough for this experience tonight.
This is conservation at its finest right here,
the American Crocodile heading back off
into the wilds of Turkey Point.
You guys ready?
They say get me in the water.
We're ready to thrive.
Alright, a hand full of crocodiles.
And off you go.
I'm sure you guys have plenty of questions for Mario and I.
Leave your comments below and let us know what else
you need to know about crocodile conservation.
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave, stay wild.
We'll see ya on the next adventure.
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And happy holidays from our pack to your pack!
- [Coyote] If you enjoyed this adventure,
make sure to check out the time I helped stamp
Northern Elephant seals.
And don't forget, subscribe then click
the notification bell so you can join me and the crew
on our next wild adventure.