FILE - Storm clouds form over the Florida Everglades which are facing an environmental storm caused by pollution and man's interference with the ecosystem. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed work on a $339 million Everglades restoration project aimed at cleansing water runoff before it flows into a troubled Florida river. Corps and local officials held a ceremony Friday, Nov. 20, 2021, for the 12,000-acre (4,800-hectare) project in Martin County known officially as the C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area. It's a key part of a broader effort to rescue the vast Florida Everglades. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin, File)PHIL SANDLIN/AP

Man bitten by a crocodile after falling off his boat at Florida Everglades marina

by · ABC Action News - WFTS - Tampa Bay

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HOMESTEAD, Fla. — A man visiting the Florida Everglades is recovering after being bitten by a crocodile after falling off a boat, officials said.

The attack occurred Sunday afternoon at the Flamingo Marina in Everglades National Park, according to a National Park Service news release.

The 68-year-old man capsized his sailboat in the marina basin and was attempting to swim to shore with his boat when witnesses saw him go under the water, officials said. Park rangers responded and treated a laceration on the man's leg. Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue transported him to a hospital in stable condition. There was no further information released on his condition.

Rangers and park biologists were investigating and monitoring the suspected crocodile.

A federally threatened species, crocodiles are less common than alligators in Florida although their habitats do overlap. Alligators are darker, have broader snouts and are typically found in freshwater, while crocodiles have narrower, more triangular heads and often prefer coastal, brackish and salt water.

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