New Records for the American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) for the Southern Dutch Antilles, Placed in the Context of the Species' Regional Range Re-Expansion

Following centuries of persecution and the destruction and degradation of wetland habitat, the coastal populations of the American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, of Colombia and Venezuela show signs of recovery, in part, due to conservation efforts. Here we first report on the sequence of events surrounding a crocodile arrival and death in the Southern Dutch Antilles in 2024, and discuss this along with three additional older records for the same island group. The results are then integrated regionally by discussing three remarkable crocodile records for the island of San Andrés, Colombia, since 2012, and nine for the Cayman Islands since 2006. The findings indicate the species' ability to disperse hundreds of kilometers across the open sea to colonize new and/or former habitat. We conclude by arguing that the islands we discuss should also be considered part of the current natural range of occurrence of the species, even though this has generally not been acknowledged, and the few animals noticed have typically been persecuted. Finally, we urge island governments and conservation organizations to prepare awareness and action plans to accommodate this vulnerable and valuable top predator in the wild.