Florida wildlife officials nab 10-foot crocodile from homeowner’s pool
Florida wildlife officials were called to a residential home early Sunday morning to remove a 10-foot crocodile from the pool.
The homeowners called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission who sent well-known trapper Todd Hardwick and his team from Pesky Critters Wildlife Control.
The team arrived at the home in Plantation Key, around 2 a.m.
A video released by Pesky Critters shows Hardwick and his assistant, Jeff Peterla, roping the crocodile, which fights back. The water splashes all over the pool deck, creating a slick and dangerous footing situation.
Hardwick can be seen tugging on the rope to drag the resistant croc out of the pool. Eventually, the team gets the beast out of the pool, and drags it across the wet asphalt.
A Monroe County sheriff’s officer assisted the team with removing the crocodile from the premise and releasing it back into the wild.
Hardwick can be seen in the video removing its restraints and encouraging the animal to go back into its habitat.
“One more example in Florida of why everyone should turn on the pool light before they jump in for a swim at night,” Hardwick told the Miami Herald.
Crocodiles are a threatened species in Florida and endangered throughout the United States, per Pesky Critters.
