FWC Warning - so what else is new?

In the news today:

 

Wildlife Officials Warn To Beware Of Gators

MIAMI (CBS4) ―

This 10-foot alligator was captured from the front door of a Tampa family's home. It's unlikely to have a gator in your yard, but if you live near water, experts say simple rules will keep you safe.

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A recent series of alligator bites has state wildlife officials warning Floridians to use "common sense" around water, especially lakes, ponds, canals, and other inland water waterways where gators can lurk.

Florida has had 6 reported alligator bites in 2010. Last year, there were 19 bites, but wildlife experts say there's no need for anyone to be bitten if they just follow a few simple gator protection rules.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist, Lindsey Hord, says people should swim only in designated areas, keep their pets away from the water’s edge, refrain from feeding alligators, and maintain a safe distance.

The main message: leave the gators alone. They were here first, and aren't going anywhere.

Hord says adult male alligators tend to prefer open water areas, like canals and lakes, where people usually swim. Females are found in marshy areas, which are better for the survival of their young.

Female alligators are nesting now, but Hord says there’s no link between breeding, nesting and alligator bites.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

All I can say is, well...d'uh!  Don't swim at dusk or dawn, scout the area before entering and stay aware of your surroundings.  EVERY body of water has the potential to have gators in it, and  probably does - so be careful!

A Salty Gator!

From the Sun Sentinel:

Diver has rare gator encounter -- on an ocean reef

Posted by Barbara Hijek on May 2, 2010 07:55 AM

Laz Ruda , a South Florida photographer, recently captured a rare sight on camera in the Atlantic Ocean off Palm Beach: an American alligator in a reef about a mile offshore.

Gators are routinely found in freshwater lakes and rivers, although they can tolerate salt water, but only for a short span of time, reports wpbf.com
Ruda said he was 60 feet below the ocean's surface when he saw the alligator. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was called out to investigate, but the alligator had swum away by then and could not be found, reports wpbf.com.
A University of Georgia website called EcoView states that alligators leave freshwater habitats to travel overland during droughts, in search of mates, and to avoid confrontations with larger male alligators. They will enter saltwater habitats on occasion and have even been found a mile or more out to sea. They do not live in the ocean but can tolerate saltwater for hours or maybe days without a problem.
Watch the salt water alligator video encounter on Ruda's website TheLivingSea.com.
Photo: Laz Ruda -- TheLivingSea.com

Our Annual Visit to Gatorama

Woke up this morning to ice on my car in Lake Placid. Brrr....! Thank goodness my friend, Susan, gave me a heater to use. That plus my super duper sleeping bag kept Aidan and I toasty warm all night. But was I surprised to see the ice in the morning!

On the way home, I decided it was time to make our yearly pilgrimage to Gatorama...one of the few remaining Florida roadside attractions. Located in Palmdale, it has been there as long as I can remember.

They have the biggest gators and crocs I have ever, EVER seen in my life! They always amaze me.



They also have two gorgeous panthers there. Their enclosure isn't the biggest, but they seem content. One cat was rolling around and stretching out on his back, just like an overgrown house cat.

Peacocks roam...
and they also have a few raccoons, a couple super cute Bobcats, parrots and a kinkajou.



At the end of the walk, there are a few cement buildings that they use to raise younger gators. Yes, they sell their gators for meat. Nothing wrong with that. Hmm....I'd sure like a gator quesadilla right about now....

I love gators. I respect them. I am amazed by them. I challenge anybody who stops at Gatorama to not be in awe at what they see there. Awesome creatures!

http://www.gatorama.com/

Shark Valley, Another's View

My friend and coworker, Lily, goes bike riding out at Shark Valley quite often.

These pictures were all taken by her...

Nothing is cuter than baby gators.

Lily has been completely enthralled by these baby Anhingas. I love their pinkish color.

I always love Woodstorks!

This Red Shouldered Hawk is actually on a nest.
None of her pictures of the babies came out too good, though.
I love this shot...you can really admire the beauty of this hawk.

A Fun Day at Work

Yesterday, we celebrated our re-opening at work (eventhough we've technically already been open for a couple months now). One of the commissioners came, our department director and LOTS of kids from neighboring parks. Our naturalist contacted the zoo and this very nice guy brought over an alligator, gopher tortoise, striped skunk and a BIG Eastern Indigo snake (all native to Florida).

The skunk was so cool...very friendly and social, and NO he didn't smell bad at all! His musk gland had been removed. The tort was, well...a tort... and the Indigo was just gorgeous and very well-behaved.

I got to hold the little gator all day. His name was "Tootsie Roll" and he was a sweetie. I even removed the rubber band that was on his mouth. He never snapped (though I know he could've!) and was very patient with all the llittle hands feeling his rough, bony back and long tail.


All the kids loved being able to actually touch a gator, as well as the other critters, though the big snake freaked alot of folks out. One little girl was amazed and told me how cool it was to be so "close to nature", then she whipped out her cell phone and started taking lots of pictures. Touching that one girl in a positive way made the whole thing worthwhile.

It was a good day!

Last weekend, a bunch of us went for a cache called "The Ghost Orchid" in the Fakahatchee Strand. I'll post about that adventure later as I am trying to get things together to go kayaking up at Oleta River State Park. Just a few m,iles north of here and yet I have never been there!

Ya'll have a great weeked!!

Off on a tangent

Gopher Tortoise. Ain't he cute?

Checking on my guavas today, I noticed I've got bananas! Yay! Not many, but coming from a tree I take absolutely no care of, I'd say it's pretty good to be getting any.

My sister, who lives in Broward Co., took this picture today. She didn't know that the cute little things hanging out on her rose bushes were baby iguanas. They are cute, but not native and very invasive.

South Florida has an over abundance of non-native critters, the iguana being one. They have been in the news alot lately. The only way to really control them is to kill them. Now, I'm an animal lover, but there are some who may doubt that when I say I agree about killing the iggys. There are too many of them and there is just nothing else to do. Sure nature helps a bit by sending us cold snaps once or twice a year (they don't survive too well in extreme cold temps). But something else needs to be done. It would be nice if a vet volunteered to euthanize all iguanas brought to him, but that's not ever going to happen. It's a sad thing that has happened just because people bought those cute little babies (like my sis has in her yard), but then when they got too big decided they couldn't keep them anymore and turned them loose. Bad move.

Iguanas, parrots and parakeets, various lizards and geckos, boas and pythons... I think the pet industry really needs to be better regulated. The state has taken steps, at least as far as large snakes go, but I don't know if anything's being done about the other problems we have.

And I've learned our bear population has grown tremendously in recent years. Could they be thinging of possibly having a bear season? Most likely. The sad thing is, it's not the bear's fault. It's ours. South Florida's continued building and growth really sucks for our native creatures. More and more bear encounters are happening because we have moved into their territory.

I have hunters in my family. Most animal lovers think bad things about hunters. I do not. Hunters are actually some of the most environmentally conscious people around. They are also some of the biggest animal lovers. I do not like people who hunt for the "thrill" of it. Hunt for food. Eat what you kill. Honor the life you've taken. If we didn't have hunting seasons, our deer population would be horribly over populated and sickly. Hogs are not even native here, but we don't go out and allow random killing of them. We have hog seasons. We have turkey season. Rabbit, too (oh, I could never eat a rabbit!). And alligator season! At one time, gators were protected here. As a result, their population exploded and now no body of water in Florida is exempt from them...including swimming pools. So we now have a heavily regulated gator season, which is based on a lottery for a permit. It hasn't hurt their population at all. I love alligators. And...they taste pretty good, too. Would I hunt one? Nope. I have no desire to ever hunt anything. But I am not against it. There are very valid and good reasons for hunting and I support them 100%.

Now, if I was in the Everglades and came across a python, I would kill it without a second thought. (and I have a particular fondess for snakes and have owned 2 pythons)

Wow...what was the point of this post? I think I got off tangent a bit! Anyhoo...if you have an exotic pet, wherever you live, never EVER release it into the wild!

I gotta go make dinner now. 'Night All!

Honey, have you seen the cat?

Florida - you gotta love it!

OLDSMAR, Fla. -- This alligator made himself at home in Pinellas County.
Authorities say 69-year-old Sandra Frosti of Oldsmar found the 8-foot long alligator in her kitchen late Monday night.
She says the gator must have pushed through the back porch screen door and went inside through an open sliding glass door. It then walked through the living room, down a hall and into the kitchen.
A trapper with Animal Capture of Florida removed the alligator, which had been cut when a plate was knocked to the ground. But no one inside the house was injured.

Information from: The Tampa Tribune, http://www.tampatrib.com