Saturday, January 31, 2009

Florida Panter

The Florida panther is the last subspecies of Puma still surviving in the eastern United States.
Why is the Florida Panther ENDANGERED?
FloridaPanter.org
(video in English)
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Another video in Spanish(3)

American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)

American crocodiles can be distinguished from American alligators by their longer, more narrow snouts and by their lower teeth, which are visible even when the crocodile's mouth is closed.
Status:Endangered.
Population: There are approximately 500 to 1,200 American crocodiles in Florida.(National Parks Conservation)








Photos by Juan Aguero (juanKa)
Flamingo, Everglades National Park
Cameras 20D,40D
Lens Canon 100-400mm L IS,Canon 300mm L IS

Friday, January 30, 2009

Momentos

Cormorant


Anhinga


Photos by Juan Aguero (juanKa)
Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park
Camera Canon 40D, Lens Canon 300mm L IS

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Anhinga Safari (tuesday 27)








Photos by Juan Aguero (juanKa)
Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park
Camera Canon 40D, Lens Canon 300mm L IS

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

Conservation Status:
Snapping turtle populations are not close to extinction or even threatened. Habitat destruction could pose a danger to snapping turtle populations at a later time. Some individuals are killed for food which does impact the population, but in a very minor way.(read more)
Bosch, A. 2003. "Chelydra serpentina" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed January 27, 2009 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Chelydra_serpentina.html.

Photos by Juan Aguero (juanKa)
Everglades National Park
Camera Canon 40D, Lens Canon 300mm L IS
Tripod and Flash




Monday, January 26, 2009

Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)










Photos by Juan Aguero (juanKa)
Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park
Camera Canon 40D, Lens Canon 300mm L IS

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Sandhill cranes draw flocks of snowbirds

OrlandoSentinel.com
Cathy Zollo | Sarasota Herald-Tribune
January 25, 2009

SARASOTA - Dusk descends quickly over the Celery Fields, and just as quickly the birders line up like paparazzi along Palmer Boulevard, their cameras trained on the shallow ponds immediately north.

There are swarms of birds on the marshlike 300 acres that once was a working celery farm. But the main event each day is the return of the sandhill cranes, large gray birds with 6-foot wingspans made for soaring.

"They stand in the ponds overnight because it's safer," says Jeanne Dubi, a lifelong bird-watcher and Sarasota Audubon Society president.

The cranes come by the hundreds, which makes this place a birding hot spot in what Dubi calls one of the "birdier" states in the nation.

This is birding season, when some birds flock to West Florida for the winter and many more will pass through, in coming months, on their way to their summer haunts.

Along with them come the bird lovers, who must eat and stay in hotels and spend money with the region's local businesses. Florida is second only to California in the revenue it collects from the bird-loving public. Wildlife viewers, of which birders make up the majority, bring $3.1 billion to the state each year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

"It's a big enough draw that we include it in our mainstream advertising," said Virginia Haley, president of the Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates, a Fernandina Beach-based company that consults on the economics of fish and wildlife, says the definition of what a birder is has shifted and grown in the 20 years he has been surveying the wildlife-viewing public.

"As people live in more urbanized areas, they want to see the wildlife they don't see there," he said. "They want to go near it, but they want their comfort."

Roy and Marjorie Linden and Susan and Steven Risk, Canadians awaiting the return of the sandhill cranes one recent evening, fall into that group.

They left the golf course to reach the Celery Fields in time to see the graceful birds swoop in for the night, disappointed they forgot the binoculars. They do not keep life lists of the birds they see or know the birds' calls.

Roy Linden ponders what it is that brings them out on a chilly and windy evening to see birds.

He shrugs and says, "Haven't you always just wanted to fly?"

American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)













Photos by Juan Aguero (juanKa)
Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park
Camera 40D, Lens Canon 300mm L IS

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Bobcat attacks Florida man and is killed with hammer

By Keona Gardner | TCPalm.com
10:33 AM EST, January 24, 2009
SunSentinel.com

INDIANTOWN - Two men fought and killed a 30-pound bobcat that was attacking one of the men Thursday, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission news release issued Friday.

Romeo P. Gomez, 28, of Indiantown, and an unidentified friend were working on a fence at a private ranch near the southwest section County Road 510 and County Road 76 in Martin County when they saw the bobcat near the fence line, according to reports from Okeechobee County Animal Control.

Gomez moved toward the fence while moving his arms to scare the bobcat away when it jumped on the man and began attacking him, the press release states.

That's when the other man grabbed a hammer and killed the cat, the release states.

Gomez was scratched and bitten by the cat but was treated and released from Raulerson Hospital in Okeechobee County, said FWC spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro.

Okeechobee officials plan to test cat for rabies, the release states.

"In normal circumstances bobcats are shy and reserve," Ferraro said. "They don't want to have anything to do with humans. But in most cases when an bobcat attacks it has rabies."

In December, about 10 bobcat sightings were reported in the Town of Sewall's Point and residents voiced their concerns at a Town Commission meeting.

At the meeting, Dan Martinelli, executive director of the Treasure Coast Wildlife Center, said he could not find evidence showing that unprovoked, healthy bobcats were significantly dangerous.

TO TRAP OR NOT TO TRAP

Property owners are allowed to trap bobcats and other "nuisance wildlife" under certain conditions that went into effect on July 1. Here is what the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rules say:

Definition of nuisance wildlife: Wildlife that causes or is about to cause property damage, presents a threat to public safety, or wildlife causing an annoyance within, under or upon a building.

Relocation and Transportation of Nuisance Wildlife: Live captured nuisance wildlife transported under authority of this section may be done only for the purpose of euthanizing the nuisance wildlife.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

The largest and most widespread heron in North America, the Great Blue Heron can be found along the ocean shore or the edge of a small inland pond. An all white form is found from southern Florida into the Caribbean, and used to be considered a separate species, the "Great White Heron."(read more)









Photos by Juan Aguero (juanKa)
Everglades National Park (2006-2009)
Cameras Canon 20D,40D
Lens Canon 100-400mm L IS,300mm L IS