Wildlife

[orlandobabe]

Although not an attraction as in the paying kind-new visitors to Florida may not be aware that Florida is a very natural state and the area is teeming with wildlife -so much so that it spills over into the estates.

Animals and birds we have seen are the elegant cranes that wander around the open plan estates and make a sort of honking sound when they fly off.
Vultures-they were picking at a dead armadillo carcass on one of the sand roads.
Armadilloes
Snakes
Racoons
Scorpions
Alligators and when a friend was clearing some of her land-she spotted a little brown bear.

(Not Winnie the Pooh either!)

There's a little rhyme about the snakes as Florida has 45 native ones-with 5 with fatal venom if untreated
red and yellow hurt a fellow
red and black venom lack!

I just hope one never gets to close for me to see what colour it is.

Guests leaving rubbish out need to be sure it goes in the bins as the raccoons will scatter it all over

And don't ffed the alligators-they lose their natural fear of humans and then become aggressive and have to be shot.




Orlandobabe

[esprit]

Sometimes the wildlife gets too close for comfort. We had a snake wrapped around our pool heater. We didnt know if it was dangerous or not so had a cold pool until it decided to move off. My husband also caught a quite large snapping turtle. It was walking ( very slowly) down the road in the front of our villa. We thought it would get squashed so he managed to catch it in a garbage can. They have these huge snapping jaws and they were going all the time as it was not pleased to be caught. We then trundled it down to our lake and released it at the edge and off it went, without even a thank you. We were told afterwards by our American neighbors that they can be quite dangerous so we were risking it ( typical English).
Our lake has a sign up about not feeding the alligators. I have never seen one in there, not even a little one, which is probably a good things as we have bought an Indian kayak and go canoeing on it.

Julie Carty

[blott]

Orlandobabe

Cranes which honk? Are they grey with red beaks? If so, they are sand hill cranes which make an appallingly loud noise if they are disturbed.

Also worth a mention are:

Cattle egrets - small white birds with long(ish) necks
Anhingas - which are dark brown birds and fish in the lakes (often hold their wings out to dry after diving)
Bald eagles - white heads and no spaces in between the feathers of their wings at the ends when they fly (vultures have spaces so you can tell the difference!)
Herons - generally taller than cranes and often blue/grey but also other varieties
Pelicans - white with large beaks (often seen at coastal regions)
Frogs - come in all sorts of colours from green to brown and sometimes appear in gardens (it's very difficult to spot a brown one in the dark so be careful not to tread on one!)
Bobcats - wild cats about the size of a medium dog


Blott

[blott]

Just thought you'd like to know that we had visitors today. A Mum and Dad sand hill crane with a fluffy baby one which looks as if it might grow to match the size of its legs eventually! It was about two feet high and a fluffy beige colour (color) and really quite cute!

Mum and Dad were taking it around in what looked like an introductory tour of the neighbourhood (neighborhood) and all the vacation homes where they obviously (very naughty of everyone) get scraps of food.

You should never feed, chase or try to catch any wildlife!



Blott

[tinkerbell]

When we were at Sea World in feb this yr, I was going up the big hill on Kraken, and my brother and I saw a gator lying beside the road outside the park!!! We were so amazed but didnt get a good look as we were off round the track!!!!! First big one I've seen in the wild though!!!

Tink

[blott]

There's a new law which makes it illegal to feed bears, racoons, foxes and sand hill cranes (it's already illegal to feed alligators) so the best advice is not to feed any wildlife in Florida. If you do, Florida residents are encouraged to report you and earn a reward and you get a fine!

If you see anyone feeding any of the above, the number for reporting them is 1-888-404-3922.



Blott

[steph_goodrum]

If you can't bear to stay away from Disney, while you'r watching the wildlife, there is a Disney Wilderness Preserve, which only costs a couple of dollars entrance. I'll try and find the link for it.

Babblin Boo

[blott]

It's here Steph http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/florida/preserves/art5523.html

Blott

[steph_goodrum]

thanks Blott
the one i've got is something like www.natureconservancy.org
I've just checked that and they link through to the same.

Babblin Boo