Today we left St. Augustine and headed further south to Titusville. Once we pulled into the campground, we found out that we could not pull onto our campsite until 3:00 p.m.
In order to pass the time, we went to a nearby wildlife preserve. There is a crushed shell road which you drive on, with a creek on both sides. There are many types of birds such as cormorants, pelicans, and cranes. There also are alligators! We saw three small alligators (about four feet long), and towards the end of our drive, we saw one that was about 10 feet long! It is best to go when the weather is warm and the sun is shining, because the alligators like to come out of the water and sun themselves. Because they are reptiles, they need to come out and sun themselves for several hours a day in order to maintain their body temperature.
After we finished our scenic drive, we visited a manatee viewing area. It is located on the Banana River, and the section of the river is a manatee rehabilitation habitat. Frequently, manatees are sighted at this observation area. We saw five on our visit to the Banana River today. One of them was a mother, and she had her calf with her. Even as babies, these “gentle giants” probably weigh about 300 pounds. They are gigantic! They are also an endangered species, which is why the park service set up the protected stretch of river. Since then, the Banana River manatee population has slowly risen to 400 (1993 estimate of population).
We then visited the Visitor’s Center and viewed many exhibits and experienced some hands-on activities. I also had the opportunity to talk to one of the Park Rangers about examples of mutualism, which is the topic of a research paper I’m doing for Biology.
In order to pass the time, we went to a nearby wildlife preserve. There is a crushed shell road which you drive on, with a creek on both sides. There are many types of birds such as cormorants, pelicans, and cranes. There also are alligators! We saw three small alligators (about four feet long), and towards the end of our drive, we saw one that was about 10 feet long! It is best to go when the weather is warm and the sun is shining, because the alligators like to come out of the water and sun themselves. Because they are reptiles, they need to come out and sun themselves for several hours a day in order to maintain their body temperature.
After we finished our scenic drive, we visited a manatee viewing area. It is located on the Banana River, and the section of the river is a manatee rehabilitation habitat. Frequently, manatees are sighted at this observation area. We saw five on our visit to the Banana River today. One of them was a mother, and she had her calf with her. Even as babies, these “gentle giants” probably weigh about 300 pounds. They are gigantic! They are also an endangered species, which is why the park service set up the protected stretch of river. Since then, the Banana River manatee population has slowly risen to 400 (1993 estimate of population).
We then visited the Visitor’s Center and viewed many exhibits and experienced some hands-on activities. I also had the opportunity to talk to one of the Park Rangers about examples of mutualism, which is the topic of a research paper I’m doing for Biology.
1 comment:
I love manatees. We would see them in FL while in college there. Not actually in the classrooms you know but...at the marinas. But you had guessed that right?
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