PLANTATION KEY -- How many friends do you have on Facebook?

Crocodolly, the Upper Keys crocodile, had 112 as of Monday afternoon.

"I like basking in the sun, although I am nocturnal. Swimming is up there too," reads Crocodolly's Facebook page. "... I lay with my mouth open to regulate my temperature, not to be threatening."

The 8-foot, 130-pound 7-year-old with a penchant for hanging out in the water of Plantation Key is making a name for herself, and not just on Facebook.

Crocodolly first got a dose of fame back in July 2010, when she was twice relocated out of Plantation Key's Indian Waterways neighborhood by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The second of those capture-and-relocate operations was filmed and featured on the Discovery Channel program "Operation Wild."

But though Crocodolly was fitted that day with a magnet designed to disrupt her natural honing skills and then transported some 25 miles from Plantation Key, she found her way back.

The crocodile made more news last week when the FWC decided to relocate her again, this time from a neighborhood just a couple miles north of Indian Waterways, where residents complained she was preventing them from getting near the water.

The new bit of attention being heaped on Crocodolly comes amid much talk and concern about the increasing number of crocodiles being seen in Upper Keys canals.

Due in large part to federal and state protection efforts, the number of crocodiles in Florida has increased from a low of less than 300 in 1975 to an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 now.

Fears especially heightened after a March incident in which a crocodile attacked and drowned a dog in Key Largo, leading to cries from homeowners for a more aggressive crocodile removal program.

In response, the FWC has gone on the defensive, reminding people that the reptile has been in Keys waters longer than people and that the American crocodile is a reclusive creature, known to avoid direct human contract.

As for Crocodolly, she, like her species, seems to have both friends and foes among Upper Keys residents. A narrator in the "Operation Wild" feature speaks in dramatic cadence about Crocodolly "terrorizing" a family, including biting the family's dog.

After she's captured, the camera cuts to relieved mother Nancy deGunter.

"It's out of the canal and not a threat to my family anymore," she says.

The Facebook page, which is not the doing of the FWC, displays a much friendlier approach.

"Still enjoying life here in the Keys and every now and then I get to go for a scenic ride. I always come back home though. I have not bothered anyone, so please don't bother me," reads the Crocodolly bio.

Photos show various crocodile scenes, including one of Crocodolly lounging on a Plantation Key dock.

"Are you getting relocated again? Not fair!" quipped Crocodolly Facebook friend Patricia Tricorache.

rsilk@keysnews.com