American alligator

Saturday
Today we went to Big Cypress National Preserve, which adjoins the Everglades. In fact, when Everglades National Park was established in 1947, Big Cypress was originally intended to be included. However, because the land had not been purchased from its private owners, Big Cypress was ultimately released from the park system. Ecologically, the preserve is slightly more elevated than the western Everglades, and Big Cypress has historically served as home to Native Americans, including the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes, as well as early settlers who hunted herons and egrets to supply feathers to hat-makers in New York and Paris, and poachers who hunted American Alligators and Crocodiles to near extinction. Big Cypress differs from Everglades National Park in that the Miccosukee and Seminole people have permanent rights to occupy and use the land, that the Native Americans and hunters may use off-road vehicles, and home and business owners have been permitted to keep their properties. Its drawing to the close of the dry season down in Florida, and things are probably drier than usual this year, so the alligators and other creatures are gathered wherever there is water. This one was in the canal water at the back of the Visitor Center, together with around 30 of his buddies - I've never seen so many alligators all in one place! In case anyone is wondering, we were quite safe, up on a boardwalk! We did a couple of short walks (again, mainly on boardwalks), admiring all the epiphytes (air plants), especially the bromeliads which were just coming into flower. Besides the alligators, we also saw plenty of fish, turtles, ibis, and at one spot we saw quite a number of wood storks. Then we went on down to Everglades City and found a place to have lunch (all you can eat shrimp and salad bar!) and then took a boat trip into the Ten Thousand Island part of the Everglades.

One year ago: Blossom