So, post number 4 in this "mini-series" – are you getting bored yet? I still have quite a few more, but I must admit, most are birds of some sort or another… Now I have learnt how to dive, I hope that once I get some dives under my belt, that I can invest in an underwater camera and take some photos under the sea (or in a river).
For now however, I have a reptile for you all – a snake. This photo was actually taken last year, at Lettuce Lake Park in Florida. And lets get one thing straight – I’m a little wary of snakes, so if this thing had moved significantly, these photos would never have come out!!
The snake in question is the Southern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor priapus). I was also glad to find out through my research, that it is non-venomous (very glad 
)
Why is it called a "racer"? Because apparently they move very fast, although this one was just chilling out in a bush, and not moving anywhere… They make good climbers (apparent from the bush I suppose), but also good swimmers (don’t want to see one of those in the water!). Apparently they quite often get mistaken for the Cotton Mouth (Water Moccasin), and I can understand that – I wouldn’t be asking for its scientific classification if it was in the water with me. Even if their diet doesn’t consist of humans, but more like frogs, toads and rodents, it would still freak me out.
In spite of all of this, when I’m at a safe distance, they make a fascinating subject to photograph. Enjoy!
Because the previous two posts were received so well – (at least they were by Loz…!!) I thought I’d post number 3 in this ongoing series. I don’t know how long I can carry it on for, but probably a good few weeks – I’ve got quite a lot of nature photographs in my collection. Keeps me busy at least !!!
So – on we go to the Florida Manatee (T.M Latirostris) which is actually a sub-species of the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus Manatus). Although they seem fairly common around the Tampa region, they are actually extremely endangered – the total adult population is around the 2500 mark. There is a no wake zone around Tampa for the safety of the manatees, which otherwise can get injured by the boats or jetskis.
In the winter they tend to find the warmer water, so often a good place to see them is around the power stations, where the cooling towers dump out warmer water. There’s a TECO station that has a free viewing area for the manatees.
These photos however, were again taken at Homosassa Springs, around feeding time – so the manatees were eating some carrots and lettuce or cabbage. They’re generally herbivores, but sometimes have been known to eat fish out of nets.
Here are the photos – 2 this time! One at a distance to show the rough size of them, and one close up. Hopefully I should be going diving at Weeki Wachee soon, and I hope to get a chance to get to interact with these "sea cows"!
This photo was taken at Homosassa Springs in Florida. Its a beautiful place, with the clearest water you have ever seen, and is inhabited by a whole host of wildlife – birds, fish, reptiles and mammals.
The Great Blue Heron (Ardea Herodias) is the largest North American heron. It eats a range of small fish, shrimp etc, and is happy to live near fresh water or saltwater.
I thought it might be a nice idea to post a series of nature photos I have taken, either scenery or particular animals, and a little information about them. I thought it would make a nice feature or something… *shrug*.
Not sure if I can promise them daily, or weekly, but I’ll try my best to post them often!
So, to begin with:
The Scarlet Skimmer (aka Crimson Darter). (Crocothernis servilia) This photo was taken at my apartments in Tampa. Obviously I spotted it due to the vivid red colour, it would have been more difficult to miss it!!!
Apparently it is a native of Asia, that was introduced to the US sometime around the ’70s.
On my RSS feed aggregator today, I noticed this story from TBO regarding a ban on people keeping exotic animals such as cheetahs and lions.
www2.tbo.com/content/2009/jun/20/na-exotic-animal-rule-criticized/news-breaking/
The debate that has spawned in the comments is quite interesting too – and I thought people reading this blog might also have something to say on the matter. As a point of interest, I have personally visited Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, and found it an extremely informative visit. The guide who took us around was clearly very knowledgeable, and also very enthusiastic about what he did. The animals there are in a kind of limbo I suppose, being too tame to ever be released to the wild, yet too wild to be pets. In many cases the animals were ex-circus or such like, although the vast, vast majority of the animals were the smaller species of wild cats – bobcat, lynx etc. Ex "pets" – because the owners suddenly realised that what appeared to be a cute cuddly "kitten" turned into quite a dangerous animal that tore their house up.
Still, I won’t defend the place without knowing the full story, but thats just my opinion of the situation…
Back to the point at hand – is opening up the term "sanctuary" to apply to private collections that are never displayed, and removing the need for the $10000 bond, potentially taking away the point of having a ban on keeping exotic pets anyway (ok, so they DO have to register as not-for-profit as well.)? What is your opinion on keeping exotic pets altogether?
If ever there was a need for a poll – now is it!!
Loading ...If you choose option 2 I’d be interested in knowing what your restrictions are. Obviously some of us at egerbil keep what could be considered "exotic" pets, but generally of the smaller, less deadly size, but it would still be interesting to know what your opinions are!
