Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I’m glad to hear that Gus is adding a page with Native wildlife on it. We sometimes over look the native wild life right outside our doors. I’m lucky in that I live in South Florida and between the native wildlife and the introduced species I never know what I will run into.
Just the other day I stopped off at Vanderbilt Beach which is in the district where I hunt my prey (bad guys). I stop here a lot because of this little corner mangrove swamp that’s there. It sits on about a city blocks worth of land. To one side is the Ritz Carlton Hotel, across the street is a stop and rob store and the beach is directly to the west of it. Leading from the Parking lot to a small wooden walkway there is a bridge that crosses a small section of the tidal swamp. The water is a brackish mix of both salt and fresh and it get a huge diversity of wildlife. I was there for about 20 minutes the other day. Walking to the bridge I saw a small school of native Blue Tail Sail fin Mollies. Another 10 feet up was a collection of 7 yes 7 Florida Banded Water Snakes, two large females and 5 smaller males all trying to get in line to mate. Walking closer towards the beach you will find dozens of Striped Basilisks Lizards. They are firmly established and there are several fully crested adults along with lots of Juvenile running in and out of the mangroves. Over head was an Osprey (fish eagle) and male and female cardinal and at the swamps edges was a yellow billed coot (a really pretty wading bird). I was just about to say ok this is as good as it could get in twenty minutes of looking, but just then a big male gopher tortoise lumbers out of the brush and wandered across the parking lot. I heard the call of a bull gator coming from somewhere in the swamp but could not see it any where. With that I hopped back into my vehicle and continued on my own form of a hunt. I had a nice smile on my face the rest of the day.
At any given time I have the ability to see Black bear, Wild Hog, deer, snakes and lizards of all kinds, gators and crocs, panthers, bob cats, turtles and tortoises and just about anything else you can imagine. In my county (Collier County) there are two different populations of established Monkeys, the Green’s Monkeys have been in the everglades since the 1960’s and a colony of Spider Monkeys live near by the Jungle Larry’s Zoo where they escape/were released in the 1970’s. We have introduces, Green Iguanas, Mexican Spiny Tailed Iguanas, Water/Nile Monitors, Cuban Anoles, Jamaican Anoles, Basilisks Lizards, Geckos of several kinds (house, tokay and day), Two separate locations of Burmese Python populations (the Everglades Swamp and the East Blocks of Golden Gate) and just an amazing amount of loose Boas and Ball Pythons. Flocks of BB and Quaker Parakeets are common as well as budgies and cockatiels, more imported ducks then I can name and a freakin flock of flamingos to boot!
Oddly enough, with all this wildlife roaming my parts, I still want to get abroad to see what else is out there. If you have time, stop and see what is just around the corner of your house. You might be surprised.
Thanks for reading
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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com

np

It would save on airfair to countries abroad.
lol
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Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com
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