Turkey Point Saved American Crocodiles

A nuclear reactor’s hot-water discharge canals helped save the American crocodile by creating a round-the-clock breeding habitat in South Florida. In the 1970s, fewer than 300 American crocodiles remained in the state, but workers at Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station found a crocodile nest in the plant’s man-made cooling canals in 1977. Florida Power & Light then began monitoring and protecting the crocodiles, and the plant’s canal system became an unlikely nursery. By 2019, about 25% of the roughly 2,000 American crocodiles living in the US called Turkey Point home.

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