1979). Young feed chiefly on aquatic inverte- 

 brates (Martin de Lucenay 1942, Alvarez del Toro 

 1974, Ogden 1979). In general, crocodilians feed 

 on any prey items that can be caught and over- 

 powered (Cott 1961,Neill 1971). 



SHELTER REQUIREMENTS 



Not known. 



NESTING OR BEDDING 



Nesting site preferences appear to be hardwood 

 thickets at the edge of small sand beaches or the 

 banks of narrow coastal creeks (Ogden 1979). 

 Loose soil that can be scraped into mounds ap- 

 pears to be a general requirement, although the 

 Florida Bay population appears variable in this re- 

 gard (Campbell 1972, Ogden 1979). Fifty meters 

 between nests may be required for successful 

 nestin ; (Alvarez del Toro 1974). 



Dens consisting of burrows dug into creek 

 banks are often constructed, but the relation of 

 these dens to nesting areas or hibernation/estiva- 

 tion needs is unknown (Alvarez del Toro 1974, 

 Ogden 1979). 



RITUAL REQUIREMENTS 



Crocodihans exhibit the most elaborate nest- 

 protection behavior of any reptile, including assis- 

 tance to the young during the hatching process 

 and posthatching protection of young (Alvarez 

 del Toro 1969, 1974; Neill 1971;Kushlan 1973; 

 Ogden and Singletary 1973; Pooley and Gans 

 1976). Ogden and Singletary (1973) document 

 this behavior for the Florida Bay population. 



Requirements for this ritualistic behavior are 

 unstudied, but Dixon and Staton (1976) have evi- 

 dence that disturbance of the female while 

 guarding the nest will disrupt her behavior and 

 may lead to higher egg mortality. Freedom from 

 human disturbance during the period of incuba- 

 tion and hatching may thus be a critical factor. 



OTHER CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL 

 REQUIREMENTS 



Hatchling crocodiles may require access to 

 freshwater during their early lives (Neill 1971, 

 T. Ellis andW. E. Evans personal communication); 

 Lang (1975) differs from this view. 



Home range/territoriality requirements are 

 unknown, but crocodiles wander over considerable 

 areas at times (Neill 1971). Local or seasonal vari- 

 ation in food supply may prompt these moves 

 (Ogden 1979). 



POPULATION NUMBERS AND TRENDS 



Present population structure in Florida may 

 be slanted toward larger individuals with no evi- 

 dence of recruitment of young into the popula- 

 tion. No data are available on the structure of 

 natural, healthy populations of American croco- 

 diles. 



Population trends in Florida are clearly down- 

 ward. The estimated population in Florida is be- 

 tween 200 and 400 individuals with fewer than 25 

 known breeding females (Ogden 1979). Loss of 

 several breeding females on Key Largo has been 

 documented over the past 5 years. 



REPRODUCTION 



Courtship and mating are described by Lang 

 (1975). Females in south Florida begin construc- 

 tion of nests in April and eggs are laid in April or 

 May. Twenty to 80 eggs may be layed in a clutch 

 (Ogden 1979). Hatching occurs in July and 

 August. 



An adult crocodile, presumably the female 

 parent, opens the nest and assists the young in 

 hatching (Ogden and Singeletaryl973, Alvarez del 

 Toro 1974). A close early protective relationship 

 between the parents and young is known for 

 several crocodile species (Kushlan 1973, Alvarez 

 del Toro 1974, Pooley and Gans 1976) and has 

 been postulated for the Florida population 

 (Ogden 1979), although its duration and extent 

 are unknown. 



The survival rate of young is unknowm under 

 natural conditions but is very low for the Florida 

 population (Lang 1975). 



MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION 



Crocodilians in general, with their high repro- 

 ductive potential, usually respond well to effec- 

 tive management/ conservation programs, as the 

 rapid recovery of the American alligator in the 

 United States indicates. However, no population 

 of the American crocodile has as yet received 

 such protection and thus its potential for response 

 to specific programs cannot be evaluated. The 

 State of Florida and the Everglades National Park 

 have given legal protection to crocodile popula- 

 tions for some time, yet the population has 

 continued to decline. These data indicate that 

 enforcement or protective legislation alone is 

 inadequate to rebuild the Florida crocodile 

 population. An active program to decrease 

 accidental mortahty and increase recruitment 

 in conjunction with a public information 



