Crocodile causes chaos after refusing to 'budge' from navy airfield runway

A navy airfield in Florida experienced a hold up from an unlikely intruder when a sunbathing crocodile "refused to budge."

The Naval Air station (NAS) in Key West South Florida shared the disruption on Facebook with a photograph of the 7-foot-long croc while it basked on the runway. The airbase was forced to change runways because the reptile simply wouldn't leave.

The Facebook post read: "This airfield resident was soaking up some sun on one of our runways recently and didn’t want to budge. Wildlife Biologist Rosa Gonzales had to call in reinforcement from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation to move the stubborn American crocodile outside the fence line."

The croc has been said to have come from the nearby Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

NAS wildlife biologist Rosa Gonzales raised the issue and spoke with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to seek help. Luckily, the croc, which weighed around 110 pounds, was safely moved across the fence to the sanctuary.

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Facebook users were stunned by the incident and inundated the post with comments.

One former local claimed: "I spent a month shy of ten years in Key West and never heard of or saw one."

Another came quipped with puns, "So you're saying that the airfield had... 'A Reptile Dysfunction?' Sorry, everyone. I'll see myself out now."

While a third user asked whether this was a common occurrence. Gonzales responded: "Around the base yes, on the airfield, not to much... been here 11 yrs and this was my first removal."

Crocs in the US often reside in coastal areas around South Florida in coves and swamps. Key West in Florida's southernmost point tends to be surrounded by the reptiles.

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