Beached crocodile tagged and released in Broward

HOLLYWOOD – A crocodile that became a temporary celebrity on Hollywood beach Monday was released unharmed somewhere in Broward County, the state wildlife service said.

The toothy visitor turned out to be a healthy, 8-foot female, weighing 145 pounds, said Katie Purcell, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It was tagged before being released Monday evening.

The wildlife commission wouldn’t exactly say where the big reptile was let go, only that it was in “suitable habitat.”

Suitable habitat for a crocodile would be coastal or inland habitat with salt water or brackish water. Crocodiles have been seen in the Intracoastal Waterway and among the mangroves of tidal lakes and waterways.

The crocodile turned a routine day at the beach into a public spectacle Monday. It drew hundreds of beachgoers, many of whom didn’t know crocodiles lived in Florida. News helicopters hovered overhead and police cordoned off the area, as the crocodile, apparently unconcerned by the crowds, basked in the surf and gradually swam and drifted south.

The American crocodile, which is distinct from its freshwater cousin, the alligator, is a native South Florida species. Once reduced by development and hunting to a last stronghold in Florida Bay, it has made a robust recovery in the past 30 years.

Its numbers have increased from 300 or so in the 1970s to about 2,000 today, and it has expanded it to parts of its historic range on both coasts of the Florida peninsula, with sightings — such as the one Monday in Hollywood — becoming more common.