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A $400,000 budget cut has caused the most diverse public collection of crocodiles in the world to become extinct at a Berkeley County owned park.

Spot and Blotch, a pair of African Dwarf crocodiles are now the only crocs on the block at Cypress Gardens. Their parents and other exotic crocodiles that once lived at Crocodile Isle at Cypress Gardens all left Monday.

“At the end of June, county council approved a budget that no longer includes Crocodile Isle and the reptile center,” according to Dwight Williams, the director of Cypress Gardens.

Removing the exhibit will save Cypress Gardens a $100,000 and will help prevent further debt, an important factor considering the gardens currently has $650,000 worth of debt.

Once all the crocs are gone, Crocodile Isle will be turned into a garden or a reception area for the many weddings held here at Cypress Gardens.

And another type of exhibit will be here too.

“The recent excavations at Dupont in the slave quarters have yielded about 50,000 artifacts and together with Dupont we're going to create displays,” according to Williams.

Cypress Gardens sits in the middle of what was once Dean Hall Plantation.

Still sights like this will go away. Pedro, a Galapagos turtle, virtually the only reptile you could interact with in the reptile center, is leaving too, along with a 30-foot anaconda. Williams says he'll miss these reptiles.

"We feel like we have some relationships with some of these animals," Williams said.

But there are plenty of other creatures that will remain that will continue to delight visitors.

The reptiles are going to various reptile centers throughout the southeast. Some will stay in South Carolina, at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia.

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