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It's their new home - and Monica Bodden found out why it is an important initiative:..

Monica Bodden Reporting
This baby crocodile - weighs about 40 lbs. He is a Morelet crocodile - or what we call, fresh water crocodile. He can live up to 75 years - and even though his species of crocodile is small in size compared to some other crocodiles. Give him time and he can grow up to 18 feet long. Now imagine an 18 foot crocodile lurking around your neighborhood.

This little fellow along with his 21 other buddies - were living in ponds, swamps and other areas around residential communities in rural Belize.

But today the 22 were removed and relocated to a new habitat - one that is much safer and healthier for them.

Jasmine Ramos - Wildlife Officer, Forest Department
"We relocated a total of 22 crocodiles."

Monica Bodden
"Where are these crocodiles from?"

Jasmine Ramos - Wildlife Officer, Forest Department
"These crocodiles are crocodiles that we rescued from misfit environment."

The 22 crocs were removed and relocated with the help of the Forest Department and Aces (a nonprofit organization) to their new habitat on Caribbean Shrimp Farm in Ladyville.

Cherie Rose - Resource Biologist, Aces
"As far as I know they all from the Belize City district area, I am not sure about the complete set of circumstances but they are right now in a much better habitat than where they came from."

Monica Bodden
"Why where they relocated?"

Cherie Rose - Resource Biologist, Aces
"Because the Belize Forest Department - all these animals they don't belong to ACES, it's not our decision - The Belize Forest Department, we just work with them, we volunteer with them, it was their decision that they needed a better environment and some time ago you might have heard that both ACES in the south - Belize Vivarium received grant from Assembly Foundation, thats where the grant money went, to this habitat to give these crocodiles a better home."

Rose says, it was quite a lot of hard work to capture these reptiles and transport them to the farm.

Cherie Rose - Resource Biologist, Aces
"It was very exiting this morning; it was a lot of work and a lot of snapping (laughing)."

Monica Bodden
"I understand one of the guys actually got snapped by one of the crocodiles."

Cherie Rose - Resource Biologist, Aces
"Yes and I didn't get to see it, I was too busy collecting data, by the time I saw him, he was already bandage up. But he wasn't on ACES team, he was in the other team that was rescuing the the larger crocs. (laughing)."

So far it seems like these crocs are enjoying their new habitat.

Cherie Rose - Resource Biologist, Aces
"This habitat is extremely healthy, this is I just did a test and it is fresh water, completely fresh water and because it's a natural habitat and not made of concrete. Concrete habitats tends to whole bacteria and it ruffs up their skin when they are sliding over the surface and then that bacteria gets in their skin and they actually get diseases like browning disease and pox almost like chicken pox but they call it red pox and these crocs had signs and symptoms of those diseases at the onset. They were treated with povidone-iodine and then relocated here with this fresh water. They should clean up immediately. This is a contain source, the one croc that is more ill than the others he has Mouth rot, he is in solitary confinement, so that he doesn't put that disease into the healthy population."

The shrimp farm is open to the public by reservation for tours, parties, and gatherings please where a cook prepares the shrimp while guests learn about the crocodiles which are safely viewing in natural secured habitats.