Great Lakes - Eastern USA - page 1230

Without a captive breeding program, begun in 1991, the Florida panther would now be
extinct, and with only some 120 known to exist, they're not out of the swamp yet.
Wolf & Coyote
Wolves are rare in the Eastern USA. Those that are here wander mostly in northern Min-
nesota, particularly the Boundary Waters. The area's cold, boreal forest is prime territory,
as well as home to the International Wolf Center ( www.wolfcenter.org ) in Ely, Min-
nesota. Another small pack lives in Michigan's Isle Royale National Park. The wolf can
be every bit as fierce and cunning as is portrayed in fairy tales, although it rarely attacks
humans. If you're out in the wilderness, you may hear them howling at the moon.
The coyote looks similar to the wolf but is about half the size, ranging from 15lb to
45lb. An icon of the Southwest, coyotes are found all over the Eastern region too, even in
cities - Chicago recently had one that loped into a sandwich shop during the lunchtime
rush.
Deer
The white-tailed deer can be found everywhere in the region, from top to bottom. En-
demic to the Florida Keys are Key deer, a Honey-I-Shrunk-the-Ungulate subspecies: less
than 3ft tall and lighter than a 10-year-old boy, they live mostly on Big Pine Key.
In addition to its national parks, the Eastern USA holds eight national seashores (includ-
ing Cape Cod in Massachusetts), four national lakeshores (including Sleeping Bear
Dunes in Michigan) and 10 national rivers (including New River Gorge in West Virginia).
The National Park Service ( www.nps.gov ) has the lowdown.
Reptiles
Alligator & Crocodile
American alligators slither throughout the southeast's wetlands, mostly in Florida and
Louisiana. With snout, eyeballs and pebbled back so still they hardly ripple the water's
surface, alligators have watched over the swamps for more than 200 million years.
Louisiana has close to two million gators, and Florida counts 1.5 million among the
state's lakes, rivers and golf courses, mostly in the central and southern zones. The Ever-
glades are perhaps the best place to find them lurking. Alligators are alpha predators who
keep the rest of the food chain in check, and their 'gator holes' become vital water cups
in the dry season and during droughts, aiding the entire wetlands ecosystem. They live