A reward of up to $6,000 is being offered in connection with a suspicious crocodile death in the Florida Keys over the weekend, authorities said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it is investigating after a female American crocodile called “Blue #9” was found floating in Florida Bay near Islamorada on Sunday.
Officers recovered the crocodile’s carcass along the mangrove-covered shoreline near mile marker 74, the FWC said in a statement Wednesday.
She was a longtime resident of the area and recently laid eggs in a planter box near U.S. 1, the agency said.
The FWC’s Wildlife Alert Reward Association and the Humane Society of the United States are together offering up to $6,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who killed the croc.
9-Foot Crocodile Common Sight at NOAA on Virginia Key
The FWC asks anyone with information on the death of the crocodile to call it at 1-888-404-FWCC or the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-346-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
The American crocodile in Florida is listed by the federal government as a threatened species, and killing one is a third-degree felony.
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