American crocodiles are generally rare and elusive, but the Tarcoles River bridge is a permanent attraction for the crocodile-viewing public. Local farmers have encouraged the crocs by tossing in the occasional chicken, and the crocs have no intention of leaving now.

American crocodiles can sometimes be seen in and near the town of Flamingo at the southern tip of Florida's everglades; this is the only ecosystem in the world where alligators and crocodiles both live. I've seen crocs from a distance there, but I've never got a good picture of them.

Everglades National Park is the only place in the world where crocodiles and alligators hang out in the same ponds. Alligators are far more common there, but it's not too hard to find a crocodile or two like these lounging around near the Flamingo marina.

We also saw a much larger, much less tame-looking crocodile basking on the shore of Nine Mile Pond, through which we were paddling at the time in our inflatable kayak. For some reason, my wife wouldn't let us paddle close enough to get a good photo of that behemoth.