Crocodylus acutus
Silhouette: Beth Reinke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas, with populations present from South Florida, the Caribbean islands of Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola, and the coasts of Mexico to as far south as Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.
The habitat of the American crocodile consists largely of coastal areas. It is also found in river systems, but tends to prefer salinity, resulting in the species congregating in brackish lakes, mangrove swamps, lagoons, cays, and small islands. Other crocodiles also have tolerance to saltwater due to salt glands underneath the tongue, but the American crocodile is the only species other than the saltwater crocodile to commonly live and thrive in saltwater. They can be found on beaches and small island formations without any freshwater source, such as many cays and islets across the Caribbean. They are also found in hypersaline lakes; one of the largest known populations inhabits Lago Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic.
The American crocodile is one of the largest crocodile species. Males can reach lengths of more than 7 m (23 ft 0 in), weighing over 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb). On average, mature males are more in the range of 2.9 to 4.1 m (9 ft 6 in to 13 ft 5 in) in length weighing up to about 400 kg (880 lb). As with other crocodile species, females are smaller, rarely exceeding 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in) in length even in the largest-bodied population.
Like any other large crocodilian, the American crocodile is potentially dangerous to humans, but it tends not to be as aggressive as some other species. American crocodiles coexist with the American alligator in Florida, and with the smaller spectacled caiman within Central America and South America. The IUCN lists the American crocodile as vulnerable, and is a federally threatened, flagship species and ecological indicator within the Florida Everglades World Heritage Site. Wikipedia →
Recording0:17
United States · 2026
© Isaac Lord · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
No species of the same family or order lives in Tayrona National Natural Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an American Crocodile sighting in Tayrona National Natural Park on a given day, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 21st most-seen of the 26 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an American Crocodile in Tayrona National Natural Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, May and August, the lowest months. That is one of Tayrona National Natural Park's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 180 mm in October.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most American Crocodile sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
18th of 28
Of the 28 parks where we can rate American Crocodile sightings, Tayrona National Natural Park ranks 18th at about 20%. The best odds are in Coiba National Park (Panama, about 80%), Palo Verde National Park (Costa Rica, about 70%) and Everglades National Park (United States, about 70%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the American Crocodile is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Tayrona National Natural Park (38 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
