Mouth full of teeth

It's that special romantic time of year! We're about a month out from alligator mating season. These delightful creatures will frolic and prance about the swamps exchanging that knowing glance, gator digits, and glasses of cheap sawgrass wine. The largest in Florida was only 14' 5/8". They really don't pose any harm to humans do they? Well, since 1948 there have been 275 documented attacks on people resulting in 17 deaths. The Fish and Wildlife Commission in Florida receives approximately 15,000 alligator related complaints each year. Here's a complaint...Cut the costs of permits to hunt alligators. They make it tough for the little guy to get out and take one. The estimated number of alligators in Florida is currently around 1.25 million. That's a lot of gator tail. Remember-a gator less than four feet long is not usually a danger to pets or children, but from about four-foot and up- its time to reconsider. They can quickly become a nuisance and even dangerous. REMEMBER never let children or pets play near fresh or brackish water in Florida... ©

Listen to the sounds of this species below!

http://video.fws.gov/sounds/27alligator2bellow.mp3

The Sandhills of Florida

It's been awhile..."Blogging is HARD!"
So anyway, these are Florida sandhill cranes, (Grus canadensis pratensis). The adults are male and female, mother and father. The little fuzzy one crying is their offspring. This family of cranes were very patient with me as I followed them around. They foraged and fed the little ones while simultaenously keeping a close eye on me. If you get to close i figure they'll poke your eyes out with their big sharp beaks. However, I did get in close to get the shot of this little one. Remember, you should never harass or stress wildlife, and if you just cant keep yourself from getting in close-then I suggest doing it and then leaving them alone. Furthermore, I suppose it should go without saying that some species will not be patient with you and will defend their young to the death. So if you have any fancy-smancy ideas about getting out of the truck and photographing an alligator, bison, rutting buck, ferel pig, or woolly mammoth, use caution and THINK before you approach Wild and Woolly wildlife of any kind. © Listen to the call of this species:
http://www.savingcranes.org/images/stories/audio/Sandhill_Crane_Unison_Call.wav