- Huge reptile appeared on Hollywood Beach between Miami and Fort Lauderdale
- Some people were not too keen to be moved on, prompting police intervention
- Officer warned woman taking photographs that crocodiles can run up to 18mph
- The message was received loud and clear and the beach was quickly emptied
- The crocodile was successfully snared by wildlife officers using noose and tape
Wildlife authorities had clear a popular Florida beach after a 6-foot crocodile turned up on the shore.
Some sun-seekers were not too keen to be moved on from Hollywood Beach between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, which prompted the officials to give them an ultimatum.
A police officer trying to get a woman who was taking photos to retreat asked her: ‘Can you run 18 miles an hour?’, and when she said, ‘No,’ the officer responded with, ‘He can,’ referring to the crocodile, which quickly emptied the beach.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer tries to capture a six-foot crocodile along Hollywood Beach near the Dania Beach pier in Hollywood, Florida
After the huge reptile was eventually snared by the wildlife officers, they taped its mouth shut
Wildlife authorities had clear a popular Florida beach after a 6-foot crocodile turned up on the shore.
Once the area was safe, the authorities had to fish the 6-foot crocodile out of the water.
Hollywood spokeswoman Joann Hussey said it was first spotted near the pier in nearby Dania Beach as it drifted south in the Atlantic Ocean.
Before the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded, lifeguards were keeping people a safe distance from the creature.
Watching on, Joe Fusco who was on vacation with his family from Detroit, told the Sun Sentinel: ‘We were planning to go for a swim, but probably not now.’
A wildlife officer managed to snare the huge reptile by using a noose before taping its mouth shut.