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CROCODILES ARE MAKING A
COMEBACK. THE REPTILES ARE
BREEDING IN AN UNLIKELY
ENVIRONMENT. FOX NEWS
CORRESPONDENT PHIL KEATING
EXPLAINS.
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"I'll release them right
here, and off they go."
AMERICAN CROCODILES ARE
CRAWLING BACK FROM THE BRINK
OF EXTINCTION, AND THRIVING
AT, OF ALL PLACES, SOUTH
FLORIDA'S TURKEY POINT NUCLEAR
POWER PLANT. ONCE ENDANGERED,
THEY ARE NOW LISTED AS
"THREATENED," THANKS IN LARGE
PART TO THE FLORIDA POWER AND
LIGHT "CROC TEAM." DURING
HATCHING SEASON -- JULY AND
AUGUST -- THE CROC TEAM HOPS
ON THEIR AIRBOATS, ZIG ZAG-ING
UP AND DOWN TURKEY POINT'S ONE
HUNDRED AND SEVENTY MILES OF
NUCLEAR COOLING CANALS,
LOOKING FOR NESTS AND RESCUING
HATCHLINGS. THIS YEAR, THEY'VE
FOUND TWENTY-SEVEN NESTS, AND
TAKEN ABOUT THREE HUNDRED BABY
CROCS BACK TO THE LAB.
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WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST MIKE
LLORET MEASURES THEIR LENGTH,
WIDTH AND GIRTH, AND INSERTS A
TINY MICROCHIP INTO EACH TAIL
IN ORDER TO TRACK THEM OVER
THEIR LIVES.LLORET says:
"They're not radioactive.
That's definitely a question
we get asked all the time."
THE CROC TEAM THEN RELEASES
THE HATCHLINGS BACK INTO THE
WILD. TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT
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OF THE CROCODILE POPULATION
CALLS THIS NUCLEAR CROCODILE
SANCTUARY HOME, WHICH IS
PERFECT FOR THEM THANKS TO THE
CANALS, BERMS AND MINIMAL
HUMAN ENCOUNTERS SINCE IT IS A
HIGH-SECURITY FACILITY.
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THIS RIGHT HERE IS AN OLD
CROCODILE NEST, AND YOU CAN
STILL SEE SOME OF THE
EGGSHELLS LEFT BEHIND. ADULT
FEMALES LAY BETWEEN THIRTY AND
FIFTY EGGS EVERY YEAR, BUT,
MOST WON'T END UP SURVIVING
DUE TO PREDATION BY BIRDS,
FISH EVEN OTHER CROCS.LLORET
says: "Besides the fact that
they're important for the
environment, our whole lives
are dedicated to these
crocodiles, and, and we wait
all year for this moment where
we put them back in their
natural habitat, and that's
the ultimate satisfaction."
AND FROM THERE, THESE CUTE
BABY CROCS -- AT LEAST CUTE
FOR NOW -- ARE READY FOR THE
WORLD. IN HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA,
PHIL KEATING, FOX NEWS.
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NEWLY RELEASED VIDEO
SHOWS THE
3
COAST GUARD CHASING DOWN
