How Doth the Little Crocodile

"American Voices" on The Onion today is "Florida Crocs Make Nuclear Comeback." (The Onion is a satirical parody of American news publications -- you can read more about it in general, and about its American Voices feature in particular in Wikipedia's The Onion entry.)

Satire and parody require some basis in reality. So. There really are crocodiles at FPL's Turkey Point nuclear power plant south of Miami. Since it began operation in 1972, the plant's cooling water canals have proven to be good homes for American crocodiles.

In March 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Commission reclassified the American crocodile as a threatened rather than endangered species, at least it the crocodile's South Florida range. (You can read the official final rule here).

Crocodile fact sheet (pdf) from FPL-Turkey Point Plant.

April 21, 2007, story on NPR's All Things Considered -- "American Crocodiles Make a Comeback"

(and Thanks to Lewis Carroll.)