Hoy newspaper reports that preservation efforts to save the American Crocodile from extinction in the DR have been fruitful. The crocodile, which was bred at the National Zoo and then released and has multiplied at Enriquillo Lake, is no longer considered an endangered species. Cocodrylus Acutus has been subject of national and international efforts. Previously it was abundant along all Dominican coasts, and existed in large numbers in Monte Cristi and Samana Bay some 50 years ago. Today, the only existing population, some 400, is concentrated in the Enriquillo Lake and its Cabritos Island. Efforts to save the crocodile were enacted by the Ministry of Agriculture’s Wildlife Program with the assistance of the International Migration Service of Germany and the Helvetas, a Swiss agency. The crocodiles have made their own Enriquillo Lake that is located between the mountain ranges of Neiba and Bahoruco, in the Southwest of the DR. The 200 square kilometer lake has an altitude of two meters below sea level. It measures 35 kilometers long and 12 kilometers wide and has a maximum depth of 24 meters. The olive green and brown-colored crocodiles coexist with a population of flamencos and iguanas at the lake and Cabritos island, the 12 kilometer by 2.5 kilometer inner island. They have a 50 year life span and measure about 2.5 meters long. The crocodiles breed in November and December, but only 10% of the babies survive. They eat insects, fish and animals, such as goat meat. Some 24 guards assigned to the Department of Parks and the Ministry of Agriculture Wildlife Program watch over their preservation. The article also attributes to an increase ecological awareness the success of the program to save the crocodiles.
