Wanted: Crocodile handlers, no experience required
June 13, 2012
Looking for a job with a little adventure to it? Florida conservation officials are recruiting "crocodile response agents" to help corral the wayward reptiles. No experience required.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is planning to hire two to four more part-time agents - there is currently just one - to respond to calls when crocodiles stray onto human turf in the Florida Keys, the string of wetland islands at the southern tip of the state.
Crocodile response agents "assist in handling human-American Crocodile conflicts," wrote Carli Segelson, spokesperson for the Florida commission's south region, in an email response to msnbc.com questions. "Their duties include, site visits, captures, translocations, carcass recoveries, other duties as needed."
The agents apparently are part of an attempt to address an increasing number of crocodile sightings, and calm alarm caused when a 10-foot-long crocodile snatched a family dog near Key Largo in March. The crocodile drowned the pet - as they typically do before eating their prey - before locals chased down the creature and retreived the canine carcass, the Miami Herald reported.
The conservation commission's challenge is not only to protect humans and their pets from crocodiles, but also to prevent harm to the crocodiles, which are slowly recovering from near extinction.
The saltwater-dwelling American crocodile was listed as endangered in 1975 when numbers dropped as low as 300. It is now considered threatened, numbering around 1,500, according to Segelson.
Florida and other parts of the Southeast U.S. also have a large population of the freshwater American alligator, a cousin of the crocodile, and they also make unwelcome appearances.
According to the conservation commission, learning to handle these reptiles is relatively easy. A crocodile response agent earns $25 an hours and works as needed. Experience is preferred but not required, and training is provided.

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Posted by Ken at 1:43 AM