As we told you at the top of the newscast, the rains have inundated low-lying areas of Belize City. And in those newer communities, built over what used to be wetlands and mangrove swamps, which means all kinds of animals from crabs to crocodiles have been flushed out of their homes.
Early this morning on Faber's that spelled out trouble for one large crocodile.
Here's why:
Jules Vasquez Reporting
Looking at the White Ibis and Northern Jacana wading in these waters - you might think what you're seeing is some kind of wetland preserve…
But this is really a low-lying football field in Port Loyola - inundated after the rains and a suitable habitat for this creature - an eight foot crocodile that this colorful duo caught in the drain.
Sheffield Brown - Caught Crocodile
"My friend and I caught this (crocodile) last night. There were two of them. They are running around here illegal and free."
But they've got to get paid to get rid of it.
Sheffield Brown
"This is for the Chinese. They love this; this is a delicacy for them. Listen to me, we told this man that this thing has 400 pounds, and he will tell us that it has about 200 pounds. This thing is bigger than me. I know these things by the amount they weigh, by holding its weight, because I am a fisherman."
Jules Vasquez
"So how much are you going to get paid for this?"
Sheffield Brown
"It depends by the weight, because this thing goes by the pounds. We are looking to sell this for at least $1.25 per pound. And the way I see it, this looks like at least 400 pounds, the most or the least."
And the croc proved that it also knows how to throw its weight around, tossing Brown to the ground:
Sheffield Brown
"That power that it has, I was trying to hold it from the front, and it just boxed me down, right off my feet. I didn't know that he had so much power."
Belize City Resident - Caught Crocodile
"He is very strong. He almost damaged from the police truck as well this morning."
And now, this Croc - despite wildlife protection laws - doesn't have a chance - he's a ticket to some easy money in hard times:
Sheffield Brown
"We were going to take it to the zoo, but there are lots more of them are around for us to take to the zoo. So we are dealing with business right now because the Ministers are playing as well. I want these men to know that nothing is really happening, and we were going to give it to the zoo, but we need to eat. So we are dealing with 'paper'; this is our 'come up.'"
And this poor croc, it seems, chose the wrong football field to come up in...
We were unable to get back to Sheffield Brown to find out how much he managed to sell the Croc for.
