Later Alligator

We did get to go see the gators today and we had to get ready quickly in the morning in order to make the hour and a half long drive. I made lunch for everybody and then we were on our way. Once we checked it, we sat down to eat our lunch, since it was around noon and we thought it would take a while for our group to be called since it seemed that there were lots of people. Well, we thought wrong and only had about 15 minutes to eat, put away the lunch kit and go to the bathroom. We managed to catch our boat and off we went with Captain Dylan at

the wheel. The captain was really funny and had a lot of personality. The tour started off with some safety rules before we were off on the first “speed trail”, basically an area with nothing exciting to see. The first attraction was Vulture Island, which has an enormous population of black vultures and turkey vultures. Sure enough we saw about forty black vultures, all roosting in trees. There were also quite a few male iguanas we saw, as well as one female, who was harder to spot because she was green instead of orange. Then we sped along back onto the main

river of the Everglades, called the endless river of grass. It’s the slowest moving, shallowest river in North America. It’s lined with miles of cattail grass and sawgrass, the majority being cattail. A little further along, we saw our first American alligator, who was about 8ft long, so around 8 or 9 years old. Apparently they’re born at about 12 inches long and then will grow 12 inches every year for 6 years. However, they grow for they’re whole lives and can get up to 15ft long. We got right up next to him and I got some great pictures. Then was another “speed trail”, where the captain got us right up to the grass and I got whipped by it a bit. After a while, he cut the engine and climbed down from his seat to teach us a bit about the plant life. He showed us the difference between cattail grass and sawgrass, how cattail grass cannot cut you, no

matter which way you rub it. Sawgrass, on the other hand, can cut right down to the bone if you rub it down. No thank you sir. Then he cut open a cattail to show us how the white stuff on the inside is quit stretchy and absorbent, very much like gauze, and you can use it to bind cuts if you ever find yourself stranded in a swamp. I sincerely hope I will never have to use that little bit of advice. He also picked a spatterdock plant, a water plant that resembles a waterlily, but it heart shaped, not round, and can stick up out of the water. He told us how there are worms that live inside them that some of the birds like to eat. He cut it open, and sure enough there was a gross worm inside. He pretended like he was going to eat it so we could get some pictures before

passing it around the group. He then took a spatterdock bud, which is a yellow flower, and showed us how to make a necklace out of it and hung it on one of the tourists necks. During the next part of the tour, he told us about the Burmese Pythons, which are causing a problem in the ecosystem since they aren’t native to the area. Apparently the largest one ever caught was 18ft long and had the

ability to swallow a 6ft long alligator whole. On the way back to the docks, we spotted another gator. This one was smaller and didn’t want anything to do with the boat. Poor little guy. When we got back we headed over to the back of the property so we could watch the Gator Show, hosted by one of the Gator Boys from Animal Planet. He told us how all his gators are nuisance alligators, ones that have been pulled out of pools and backyards. He’s one of the few trappers that keeps his gators. Most of them sell them to be killed and turned into clothing products, since that’s the only way they can get payed. All trappers trap for free. He then dragged a gator onto dry land my the tail and showed us some gator wrestling moves. He opened the gator’s mouth and stuck both his hand and his head inside the gators mouth. Since alligators can’t see in front of them, he had not idea what our host wast doing. It was quite an interesting show. We headed back after that and I had a shower and then Skyped my friend Zach for the first time since I left. It was good to talk to him. Peace out m8s.

#camping #hobesound #florida