That's really a croc

Brief by Central Staff

Wildlife - November 2006 - Colorado Central Magazine - No. 153 - Page 12
Copyright © 2006 by Central Colorado Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
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Given the promotional talents of the reptile farm near Mosca, just about everybody knows there are alligators in the San Luis Valley. And now a crocodile has been found in the Rio Grande -- but nowhere near here.

Mexican fishermen caught the 7.5-foot crocodile on Oct. 8 in the river near Nuevo Laredo, which sits across the Rio Grande from Laredo, Texas. The anglers, who caught it on a fish line, put the 130-pound reptile in the back of a pickup and took it to the fire department, which then turned it over to a local animal shelter.

Crocodiles do not naturally inhabit the Rio Grande, so authorities speculate it may have been bought by someone in the area as a pet, then released into the river after it grew past housepet status.

Immigration authorities have not weighed in on whether the croc entered Mexico legally or not.


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