Lake Tarpon Crocodile Holds Florida Record, Experts Say

No doubt, when trappers successfully captured a 700-pound American Crocodile from Lake Tarpon last month, residents were a bit on edge.

However, officials seem to think this was a rare happening, but there's no way to tell if it will or won't happen again.

State wildlife experts told the Tampa Bay Times that the crocodile is about 14 years old and is from Turkey Point nuclear plant in Miami-Dade County. 

The 350-mile journey to Lake Tarpon makes it the farthest traveling crocodile on record in the state of Florida, according to the Times.

Experts from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told the Times they knew the croc was from Turkey Point because baby crocodiles in that area are marked by wildlife officials. The American Crocodile that was captured from Lake Tarpon had the marking.

Can East Lakers rest easy now that the big guy has been relocated to his original home? 

According to wildlife experts, there is no way to tell for sure considering animals sometimes return to where they wandered.

Gary Morse of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told the Tampa Bay Times that humans can't really predict what a crocodile is thinking.
 
Therefore, only time will tell whether or not the 11-footer will make an encore appearance in East Lake. 

Read the full story from the Times.