An 11-foot American crocodile captured last month by Florida wildlife officials doesn't seem to be able to stay put. According to wildlife experts, the animal was born in 1999 in Miami-Dade County and traveled some 350 miles around the southern tip of the state before it was finally seized in Lake Tarpon located 10 miles west of Tampa, the Tampa Bay Times reports.
In doing so, the creature has set a record for the farthest documented distance traveled by a crocodile in Florida, according to the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Spokesman Gary Morse.
Officials were able to determine the birthplace and thus the animal's travels based on its clipped scutes, or armored tiles, on its tail -- a practice performed by biologists to mark newborn crocodiles around Turkey Point where it was born.
The croc's most recent capture isn't its first either: in 2008, it created a disturbance when it showed up on a golf course in Naples, according to the Times.
It was promptly released into the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Reserve south of Naples where, officials say, it quickly swam away.
At the time, however, the state's top crocodile expert told the Times that she had a feeling the animal would turn up again.
Sure enough, the croc was back on the course again a year later, though officials decided to try a new tactic of simply leaving it alone. It disappeared and was later identified roaming the backyard docks of Lake Tarpon, though apparently even the 2,500 lake wasn't enough for this croc as it was later seen enjoying the lawns in a gated community bordering Tampa Bay.
Finally in July, officials were forced to respond due to rising concerns among Lake Tarpon residents, trapping the 700-pound croc and hauling it all the way back to the area where it began its journey nine years ago.
As to why the animal seems so stricken with wanderlust, animal experts say they're not sure, though, as Morse told the Times, "Croc minds are not particularly large" and peering inside it may not reveal all too much.