We said a reluctant goodbye to our fantastic suite at the Hilton and drove out to the Everglades. We took route 41, the Tamiami Highway. This was not "Alligator Alley" but we kept our eyes open anyhow, and soon after we left civilization, we started seeing them along the canal.
I've always been uncomfortable about alligators, crocodiles, and other large dinosaur-like carnivorous reptiles. One could say I have an irrational fear of dinosaurs. Normally this isn't much of a problem, except that movies like Jurasic Park give me nightmares. So I was a bit apprehensive about seeing alligators up close and personal. I kind of figured we'd see big alligators kind of like we saw bears in Kings Canyon. When there was a bear, there was usually a traffic jam and a mob of people photographing it from the side of the road. I think we saw 10 bears in 5 days, and we thought that was a lot.
We drove past several alligator farm type places offering alligator shows and airboat rides, and went directly to Everglades National Park. Shortly after we turned into the Shark Valley entrance, traffic came to a standstill. They were only letting cars in as other cars left. We waited for about 20 minutes, and during that time, we watched the birds and alligators in the small canal beside the road. There were plenty of long lenses pointed out car windows.
When we got in, we didn't have long to wait before our two-hour tram tour. I'd been under the impression that there would be at least a snack bar by the visitor's center, but there wasn't. Luckily we'd taken with us some snacks and plenty to drink. The tram tour was operated by a concession. We got seats in the first row to better hear the narration. Our guide was entertaining and informative, but clearly not a biologist.
He talked about the different habitats and seasonal variation, how fast the "river" flows, how the road was built, a bunch of different birds, and of course, alligators. He had a very interesting analogy. In the winter, water is scarce. The large alligators thrash around in the mud making pits where the water is deeper. These alligator pits become home not only to alligators of all sized but fish, turtles, and birds as well like a concentrated ecosystem. Because of the low temperature, the alligators only need to eat about once a month. So about once per month, he eats one of his neighbors, and the rent is paid. Everyone lives peacefully until next month when the rent comes due again.
Much to our surprise, our guide waded into the swamp to show us the blue-green algae. He wasn't worried about alligators, but the snakes could be a real problem.
At the end of the road was an old observation tower where they used to watch for fires. Since the park service realized that fires were a natural part of the ecosystem, they stopped doing this, but the tourists had a destination where they could walk up for a better view of an otherwise phenomenally flat landscape. I was amazed by the number of huge (>4 m/12 ft) alligators that we could see from here. Unlike crocodiles, alligators don't usually eat anything larger than their heads because their teeth don't fit together for cutting. Alligators are also mellow in contrast to their aggressive cousins, crocodiles. There was a 6 foot alligator right next to the trail, and people were walking right by it, but it didn't blink an eye.
Back at the visitor center, a ranger gave a talk about vultures, a very important part of the ecosystem. They were all very well fed because the cold weather a couple weeks before had killed a lot of fish. In some areas, there were still dead fish floating around.
I've always been uncomfortable about alligators, crocodiles, and other large dinosaur-like carnivorous reptiles. One could say I have an irrational fear of dinosaurs. Normally this isn't much of a problem, except that movies like Jurasic Park give me nightmares. So I was a bit apprehensive about seeing alligators up close and personal. I kind of figured we'd see big alligators kind of like we saw bears in Kings Canyon. When there was a bear, there was usually a traffic jam and a mob of people photographing it from the side of the road. I think we saw 10 bears in 5 days, and we thought that was a lot.
We drove past several alligator farm type places offering alligator shows and airboat rides, and went directly to Everglades National Park. Shortly after we turned into the Shark Valley entrance, traffic came to a standstill. They were only letting cars in as other cars left. We waited for about 20 minutes, and during that time, we watched the birds and alligators in the small canal beside the road. There were plenty of long lenses pointed out car windows.
When we got in, we didn't have long to wait before our two-hour tram tour. I'd been under the impression that there would be at least a snack bar by the visitor's center, but there wasn't. Luckily we'd taken with us some snacks and plenty to drink. The tram tour was operated by a concession. We got seats in the first row to better hear the narration. Our guide was entertaining and informative, but clearly not a biologist.
He talked about the different habitats and seasonal variation, how fast the "river" flows, how the road was built, a bunch of different birds, and of course, alligators. He had a very interesting analogy. In the winter, water is scarce. The large alligators thrash around in the mud making pits where the water is deeper. These alligator pits become home not only to alligators of all sized but fish, turtles, and birds as well like a concentrated ecosystem. Because of the low temperature, the alligators only need to eat about once a month. So about once per month, he eats one of his neighbors, and the rent is paid. Everyone lives peacefully until next month when the rent comes due again.
Much to our surprise, our guide waded into the swamp to show us the blue-green algae. He wasn't worried about alligators, but the snakes could be a real problem.
At the end of the road was an old observation tower where they used to watch for fires. Since the park service realized that fires were a natural part of the ecosystem, they stopped doing this, but the tourists had a destination where they could walk up for a better view of an otherwise phenomenally flat landscape. I was amazed by the number of huge (>4 m/12 ft) alligators that we could see from here. Unlike crocodiles, alligators don't usually eat anything larger than their heads because their teeth don't fit together for cutting. Alligators are also mellow in contrast to their aggressive cousins, crocodiles. There was a 6 foot alligator right next to the trail, and people were walking right by it, but it didn't blink an eye.
Back at the visitor center, a ranger gave a talk about vultures, a very important part of the ecosystem. They were all very well fed because the cold weather a couple weeks before had killed a lot of fish. In some areas, there were still dead fish floating around.
1 comment:
Hej!
Tack för din komentar i min blogg. Det är så svårt tycker jag att ta bild på svarta djur, då mina hästar och hundar i snö.Fina bilder har du alltid.
Hoppas vi ses snart
/Mimmis
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