American Crocodiles in Miami: Where They Live, How to Spot Them and Who to Call

Yes, American crocodiles live in Miami-Dade County, part of the historic core range of the species in the United States (USFWS final rule, 2007), and South Florida and the Keys are the northern end of a range that runs through the Caribbean (FWC).

Miami has the oldest crocodile record in the country. The first documented occurrence of a crocodile in the United States was a collection from the Miami River off Biscayne Bay in 1869, and the historic core range included Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe Counties (USFWS final rule, 2007).

In Miami-Dade the animals belong to brackish and salt water. FWC says American crocodiles live in ponds, coves and creeks in mangrove swamps, and are occasionally encountered inland in freshwater areas of the southeast Florida coast as a result of the extensive canal system (FWC species profile). That canal link is why a crocodile can turn up well away from Biscayne Bay.

South Florida is also unusual for having two native crocodilians in the same water. Everglades National Park says only 2 of the world's 23 crocodilian species are native to the United States, and South Florida is the only place where both coexist (Everglades National Park). Around Miami that means a large reptile in a canal or lake is far more often an alligator than a crocodile.

Around Miami, crocodile habitat centers on Biscayne Bay, where the Turkey Point Power Plant cooling canals are a common nesting site, and on the mainland shore of Florida Bay in Everglades National Park (USFWS final rule).

The primary historic nesting area in Florida was the mainland shore of Florida and Biscayne Bays, including small nearshore islands, in what is today Everglades National Park (USFWS final rule). Nesting has extended back into Biscayne Bay and now commonly occurs at the Turkey Point Power Plant (USFWS final rule). The rule describes the plant, owned and operated by FPL, as an extensive network of cooling canals built in 1974 on a site of about 3,000 acres, the majority of it considered crocodile habitat (USFWS final rule).

Federal protection of that shoreline goes back to the 1970s. The 1975 proposal for crocodile critical habitat included portions of Biscayne Bay south of Turkey Point, northeast Florida Bay and the Keys, and the mainland as far west as Flamingo; the final rule designating critical habitat was published September 24, 1976 (USFWS final rule).

Biscayne National Park, the federal water park off the Miami-Dade mainland, lists the American crocodile among its reptiles (Biscayne National Park reptile list). Farther south, Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge on North Key Largo was acquired in 1980 to provide over 5,000 acres of crocodile nesting and nursery habitat, and Everglades National Park set up a crocodile sanctuary in northeastern Florida Bay the same year (USFWS final rule).

In Miami-Dade a crocodile is grayish green with a narrow tapered snout and a lower fourth tooth showing when the mouth is closed, while an alligator is black with a broad rounded snout (FWC species profile).

The table draws on the FWC species profile for color, snout, teeth and the caiman, and on Everglades National Park for size and habitat (Everglades National Park). In the Miami canal network the third animal matters: the common or spectacled caiman, a nonnative species, looks more like the crocodile than the alligator, is found mainly in freshwater canals and lakes, and rarely exceeds 5 feet (FWC species profile).

Size helps too. Everglades National Park says male crocodiles can reach about 20 feet but rarely exceed 14 feet in the wild, breeding females are about 8 to 12 feet long, and crocodiles typically live to an age of 50 to 70 in the wild (Everglades National Park). Alligators are more numerous in Florida, darker, and typically found in freshwater, so a big reptile in a Miami-Dade freshwater lake is usually an alligator (Everglades National Park).

American crocodiles are a shy and reclusive species, and anyone in Miami-Dade concerned about one should call the statewide FWC crocodile line at 866-392-4286 (866-FWC-GATOR) so a crocodile response agent can respond (FWC).

Two common sights around Biscayne Bay are often misread. A basking crocodile surprised by a person may enter the water quickly and noisily, which signals that the animal is frightened, and crocodiles that sun with their mouths open, called gaping, are regulating body temperature rather than acting aggressively (FWC). Everglades National Park adds that conflict with humans rarely occurs because of the shy nature of American crocodiles (Everglades National Park).

Feeding is where trouble starts. Florida Administrative Code Rule 68A-25.001, adopted by FWC, is titled Feeding or Enticement of Alligators or Crocodiles Unlawful (Florida Administrative Code). Biscayne National Park warns that feeding wildlife of any kind is illegal and that crocodiles fed by humans begin to associate humans with food and can become aggressive (Biscayne National Park).

On the water off Miami, Biscayne National Park notes that spearfishing and snorkeling can draw the attention of predators, and the scent of bait or fresh catches or the sound of splashing can entice sharks and crocodiles, especially near mangrove stands or sandy embankments (Biscayne National Park). A buddy and a look around before entering the water are the park's own advice.

FWC lists Everglades National Park, Biscayne National Park and Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge as places to observe crocodiles (FWC), and the two closest to Miami both have entrances in Homestead (Everglades National Park fees; Biscayne National Park directions).

Everglades National Park sells a private vehicle pass for $35.00 good for 7 consecutive days at all park entrances, and the park does not accept cash; non-US residents 16 and over pay an additional $100 per person unless admitted with an annual or America the Beautiful pass (Everglades National Park fees). Its mailing address is 40001 State Road 9336, Homestead, and the park phone is 305 242-7700 (Everglades National Park).

Biscayne National Park has no entrance fees (Biscayne National Park fees). The Dante Fascell Visitor Center is open 7 days a week from 9 AM to 5 PM, and the canoe and kayak launch at Convoy Point is open from 7 AM to 5:30 PM (Biscayne National Park hours). The park sits at 9700 SW 328th Street, Homestead; from the Florida Turnpike, take exit 6 (Speedway Boulevard), go south to SW 328th Street and drive four miles to the end of the road (Biscayne National Park directions).

Florida's crocodiles, the population that nests in Biscayne Bay, recovered from a few hundred animals when they were listed as endangered in 1975 to as many as 2,000 adults today, and the Florida population is now classified as threatened (FWC).

Hide hunting between 1930 and 1960 did heavy damage, and FWC now names habitat destruction from development and illegal hunting as the main threats, with raccoons, birds and crabs taking nests (FWC species profile). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service moved the Florida population from endangered to threatened in a rule effective April 19, 2007, which counted 91 to 94 nests in South Florida in 2005 and said about 95 percent of nesting habitat in Florida was protected (USFWS final rule).

Readers comparing numbers should note their age. The federal estimate of 1,400 to 2,000 crocodiles not including hatchlings comes from 2005 expert estimates cited in that 2007 rule (USFWS final rule), the Everglades National Park species profile was last updated September 7, 2023 (Everglades National Park), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service species page for the crocodile gives no newer count (USFWS). No agency source checked for this Miami page publishes a current Miami-Dade nest total.

The calendar is the practical tip for Biscayne Bay boaters and anglers. Males court females in late January and early February, nesting happens in late April and early May on soil nests above the high tide mark, and females lay 20 to 60 eggs that incubate for about 85 days (FWC species profile), so hatchlings appear in late July or early August (Everglades National Park). Nest temperature sets the sex: 88 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit yields mostly males, lower temperatures mostly females (Everglades National Park).