Manatee: The slow moving gentle giant
Most of their time is spent eating, resting, and in travel. With no system of defense, they are completely harmless and can be found in shallow, slow-moving rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, canals, and coastal areas, particularly where seagrass beds flourish. Within the United States, they are concentrated in Florida during the winter, but can be found in summer months as far west as Louisiana and as far north as Virginia and the Carolinas. Manatees are completely herbivorous (they eat Aquatic plants) and can eat 10-15% of their body weight daily. A Manatee can grow to 13 feet long and a weight of over 3,000 pounds.






Gators
Florida wouldn't be complete without it's gators! (Right Mamom?)These creatures were always nearby in the lakes where we went swimming. We always kept a respectful distance and were never allowed to feed them. We were told that if people fed them, they would lose their natural fear of humans and could become dangerous. They look slow, but actually can travel to speeds reaching about 35 MPH. We had neighbors who lost their dogs and cats to a gator's dinner.








The Endangered Florida Panther






Gopher Tortoise
(Every known species of the gopher turtle is considered threatened)
I have one of these living in the woods behind my house. He is friendly and often wanders through the yard. Growing up, I was taught to be very careful of the gopher burrows because it is a favorite place for the Diamondback Rattlesnake (thought to be the most dangerous snake in the U.S.) to make it's home.






The Brown Pelican
(I spent a lot of time as a child throwing these birds small fish to eat) The brown pelicans declined drastically in mid-20th century, as pesticides caused eggshell thinning and failure of breeding. After the banning of DDT, the species made a strong recovery. They are now common and increasing on southeast and west coasts.






Black Racer (non-venomous)
Florida has many different venonmous and non-venomous snakes. I have a Black Racer who lives around my house. He really doesn't bother anything, but is polite enough to keep his distance from me. (smile)






Armadillo
These wander all over my yard and dig little holes looking for grubs.

Florida the Beautiful	Florida, My Florida	Florida in the War Between the States
The Suwannee River	Florida Sunsets	Florida's Critters

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tailormaid@hotmail.com

March 2, 2001