Crocodile spotted (again) in Melbourne Beach, third time in 6 months

It's pretty common to see alligators in Florida. But, crocodiles? Not so much.

However, an American crocodile was spotted recently in Melbourne Beach, according to the town's police department. And it's at least the third time a crocodile has been seen in that area in less than six months.

On May 9, Melbourne Beach Police posted photos of the crocodile and warned people not to feed the reptile, according to its Facebook page: "Florida Fish and Wildlife is aware of this croc hanging around Sixth Avenue River Access and the Key Streets. They (estimate) his age to be about 10 years old. ... This crocodile has been tagged with a telemetry unit to track him. There are less than 12 statewide that are wearing this unit. They picked him because he's one of the northernmost American crocodiles, and they want to follow where he goes in the winter.He is federally protected, so please do not mess with or feed him; it is a felony."

Ahem! If you see a crocodile in Florida, use proper caution. Here's what you should know about them

(Lots of) rare sightings: Over the years, Brevard residents have spotted an American crocodile

The American crocodile is one of the largest crocodile species. Males can reach lengths of 20 feet, weighing up to a ton. Like any other large crocodilian, they can be dangerous to humans, especially if we feed them, but tend not to be as aggressive as Asian and African crocodiles.

Here's a roundup of crocodile sightings in Brevard.

Crocodile from Key Largo ended up at Melbourne Beach

Ian Gronosky, a commercial drone pilot, posted a video April 16, 2023, of a crocodile swimming in his backyard in Melbourne Beach (see above video). His caption states: "The American Crocodile. (Yes, in our backyard) He is 9 feet long. He was born in Key Largo and is 16 years old. When he was a juvenile, he was hit twice by cars back to back and spent some time in rehab before being released. Since being released, he traveled from Key Largo over the years and ended up on our beachside around December this last year (2022). FWC said he got pretty beat up when trying to live in the ocean and ended up being captured, had a transmitter added and released in Archie Carr."Information from FWC, via Joy Gilbert.

Crocodile was sunning himself on the sand in Melbourne Beach

On Dec. 4, 2022, Pedro Tellez, a land management technician with Brevard's Environmentally Endangered Lands Program, saw an 8-foot crocodile hanging out on the dunes near the county's Barrier Island Sanctuary in Melbourne Beach.

Waves crash over crocodile on shore in shallow waters by Sebastian Inlet

In November 2022, Tiara Weethee spent an hour hanging around the beach at sunset − and words can hardly describe what she saw. Weethee found an American crocodile getting lapped up by waves on the beach south of Sebastian Inlet by McLarty Treasure Museum in Florida. Sebastian Inlet is just past Melbourne Beach and is on the border of Brevard County and Indian River County, or the Space Coast and the Treasure Coast.

At first, Weethee thought it was an alligator in the shallow waters needing help to get back into freshwater. Once she realized it was a crocodile − this one without a tracking device − she kept her distance and filmed it on her phone. "I won't probably ever get to see this again in my life. I'm going to hang out until the sun is gone," she said in her video (see above), which has gotten thousands of views on YouTube and TikTok.

Crocodile chills on a dock in Indialantic

Just ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic, a crocodile, estimated to be 8- to 10-feet-long, was spotted on a dock in Indialantic on Feb. 25, 2020. A few days later on March 3, 2020, there was another sighting of the reptile. Sara Sutton, then 18, hopped on a kayak to get a closer look: “He likes to bask at certain times of the day," Sutton, a 2019 graduate of Melbourne Central Catholic, told FLORIDA TODAY.

Crocodile starts residents at South Patrick Shores neighborhood

On Dec. 17, 2019, a crocodile lingered in a neighborhood in South Patrick Shores, causing a stir among residents. The reptile was seen in the Berkeley Street canal in South Patrick Shores. He laid in the sun, walked in backyards and swam in the canal. South Patrick Shores is south of Patrick Space Force Base, between Cocoa Beach and Satellite Beach.

Crocodile caught at the Cocoa Beach Pier and in Cocoa

In a December 2022 story, trapper Frank "Alligator" Robb told FLORIDA TODAY about the time he caught a crocodile at the Cocoa Beach Pier.

"They're a secretive animal just like the alligator is," Robb had said about crocodiles. "Historically their range was supposed to be into the Carolinas. In 2009, I captured one in the surf at the Cocoa Beach Pier. That was the farthest north one has been documented."

But, he added, they've shown up in this area for decades: "In 1991, my uncle Bill Robb caught a 10-foot, 4-inch female at the Sheriff's Farm in Cocoa," Robb said. "The one I had captured in the surf was marked and from the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant."

Contributing: Jim Waymer, FLORIDA TODAY

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Crocodile in Melbourne Beach: Do not feed or mess with him, police say