One Florida pet-owning family is in mourning after a massive crocodile attacked and killed a dog they considered part of the family.
Here's what to know
Enrique Pomares told CBS News Miami that he was out walking Kygo, his nine-year-old Dutch Shepherd, and two French bulldogs as part of his regular morning routine. However, shortly before 9 a.m., a crocodile seized Kygo near the canal shoreline.
Pomares described the reptile as enormous.
"This thing was somewhere between 13 and 15 feet, so it's not a small animal," he told CBS News Miami. "I was going to put my kayak in the water to try to get him, and then the crocodile came back out and came toward me."
Neighbor Dexter Lovett helped recover Kygo's body and was the one who notified the family that it had been found.
More background
Before the attack, Lovett said he had filmed the crocodile while fishing and warned neighbors who walked dogs near the water.
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"I warned everybody about it," he told the outlet. "There is a big crocodile, and he looks, he sits and he watches."
Police said in a statement, "Residents, pet owners, and visitors in the area are advised to remain vigilant around nearby canals, waterways, ponds and other bodies of water where a crocodile may be present."
What can be done?
Because crocodiles are a protected species under both state and federal law, there is little that authorities can do to remove the animal.
South Miami Detective Jackeline Del Sol said, "Crocodiles are protected, and there is nothing much that we can do," pointing to the legal and wildlife management constraints surrounding the reptile.
Lovett said his warning to the neighborhood had been consistent.
"Everybody who walks their dogs, don't take them by the water," he said, per CBS News Miami.
Additionally, animal experts have said that relocating crocodiles to other areas further from human development rarely works.
"These animals have an incredible homing instinct," said Ron Magill of Zoo Miami, per CBS News Miami. "It's not very easy to say we are going to move it, we are going to relocate it because we have generally found that if it's less than 100 miles or so, they are going to find their way back."
Where can I learn more?
Potentially dangerous crocodile encounters aren't limited to South Miami.
• In Florida, officials responded after a giant crocodile surfaced with a dog in its mouth.
• Across South Florida, scientists found surprising patterns in urban crocodiles as safety concerns grew.
• In Sri Lanka, a boater filmed a terrifying saltwater crocodile encounter that nearly turned deadly.
• In Mumbai, officials took immediate action after a crocodile appeared in an urban pond.
• At a zoo in the Philippines, a tourist crossed the barrier and approached a crocodile.
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