Florida's Wildlife

This morning, we went out in search of wild 'gators at Gator Park, near Miami. There we took a fun, forty-five minute airboat tour over the Everglades. We say, "over," and not, "through," as the flat-bottomed boat skimmed along on the surface, even in areas so thickly covered in sawgrass that we couldn't see the water between the blades.

The tour began with a slow cruise through a channel, where we spotted two young alligators, three turtles, several large fish, and an enormous great blue heron, the largest bird in the Everglades. Our tour guide pointed out many species of plant life, including a few trees full of "swamp apples," which are apparently more toxic than were his bad jokes. He has been giving these tours for awhile and seems to enjoy his job, but there were more groans than guffaws on this boat.

After the leisurely channel cruise, the airboat picked up some impressive speed, and we went looking for alligator nests. We found two, each of which held thirty to forty alligator eggs. We didn't see the mothers, but that doesn't mean that they didn't see us.

Following the airboat tour, we were treated to a wildlife show. In this show, the handler brought out a few cute little critters (and some ugly ones, too), and described to us their methods of self defense and survival. Lance, a young porcupine, munched on a treat as we heard all about the porcupine's method of delivering his quills to a perceived attacker. We also got a close-up look at a giant toad of South American origin which, due to a mishandling of airplane cargo in the 1950s, has become the only type of toad in Miami. These toads have eaten up all of the native toad species, and the poison they carry in their neck pouches could kill a dog or cat! Anyone thinking of moving to Miami?

We watched a few more animal demonstrations, including the portion of the show in which the handler plays with ("wrestles") the alligators, and then we were able to touch an alligator ourselves. The show ended, and we left Gator Park and headed for Monkey Jungle, a few miles away.

At Monkey Jungle we found many different species of (who would have guessed?) monkeys and apes. The zoolike facility also features sloths, lemurs, iguanas, and several bird species. The place was set up in such a way that a guest could feed many of the monkeys by putting raisins into their cages through feeding tubes or by placing the food into stainless steel cups that hung from the ceiling (a wire covering over the walkway) by thin chains. The monkeys, when hungry, would drop the cups as people came near and then pull the cups back up to grab their treats.

The shows at Monkey Jungle were basically just feedings that the keepers allowed the guests to watch, but they were fun. The orangutan, Miss Mei, made gestures asking for more applause as she interacted with her keeper. Once the applause reached her desired level, she signed, "I love you."

During his feeding, King, the resident silverback western lowland gorilla, delighted the crowd with his antics, which included making some funny faces and doing a little dance. King had been rescued from a circus over twenty years ago and now enjoys a year-round outdoor habitat.

Once King had finished eating, we decided that food sounded like a pretty good idea to us, too. We returned to Fort Lauderdale for a hearty meal at the local deli and a quiet evening at home with the grandparents.