Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
scaly species are wreaking havoc with Florida's native, delicate ecosystem. Uninvited
guests arrive regularly, many establishing themselves after being released by pet owners.
Some of the more dangerous, problematic and invasive species include Burmese pythons,
black and green iguanas and Nile monitor lizards.
The American alligator is Florida's poster species, and they are ubiquitous in Central
and South Florida. They don't pose much of a threat to humans unless you do something
irredeemably stupid, like feed or provoke them. With that said, you may want to keep
small children and pets away from unfamiliar inland bodies of water. South Florida is also
home to the only North American population of American crocodile. Florida's crocs num-
ber around 1500; they prefer saltwater, and to distinguish them from gators, check their
smile - a croc's snout is more tapered and its teeth stick out.
Turtles, frogs and snakes love Florida, and nothing is cuter than watching bright skinks,
lizards and anoles skittering over porches and sidewalks. Cute doesn't always describe the
state's 44 species of snakes - though Floridian promoters emphasize that only six species
are poisonous, and only four of those are common. Feel better? Of the baddies, three are
rattlesnakes (diamondback, pygmy, canebrake), plus copperheads, cottonmouths and coral
snakes. The diamondback is the biggest (up to 7ft), most aggressive and most dangerous.
But rest assured, while cottonmouths live in and around water, most Florida water snakes
are not cottonmouths. Whew!
Naturalist Doug Alderson helped create the Big Bend Paddling Trail, and in his book
Waters Less Traveled
(2005) he describes his adventures: dodging pygmy rattlesnakes,
meeting Shitty Bill, discussing Kemp's ridley turtles and pondering manatee farts.
Sea Turtles
Most sea-turtle nesting in the continental US occurs in Florida. Predominantly three spe-
cies create over 80,000 nests annually, mostly on southern Atlantic Coast beaches but ex-
tending to all Gulf Coast beaches. Most are loggerhead, then far fewer green and leatherb-
ack, and historically hawksbill and Kemp's ridley as well; all five species are endangered
or threatened. The leatherback is the largest, attaining 10ft and 2000lb in size.
During the May-to-October nesting season, sea turtles deposit from 80 to 120 eggs in
each nest. The eggs incubate for about two months, and then the hatchlings emerge all at
once and make for the ocean. Contrary to myth, hatchlings don't need the moon to find
