TALLAHASSEE — The American crocodile, which can be found in coastal regions of southern Florida, is a conservation success story. Hunting and habitat loss resulted in severe declines in Florida’s crocodile population throughout much of the 20th century.

To protect the species from extinction, crocodiles were listed in Florida as a protected species in 1967 and later federally as an endangered species in 1975. Crocodile populations have since increased from a few hundred individuals to about 2,000 nonhatchling crocodiles today and have been downlisted from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act.