tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77289676911095593842012-01-13T12:16:18.327-05:00"World famous" wildlife biologist Pete Corradino explores the swamps and marshes of the Everglades and gives a visual tour of the world's greatest wetland.Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.comBlogger3121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-14521655028246362012012-01-13T11:28:00.001-05:002012-01-13T11:29:52.565-05:00

I’ve told people to roll in Poison Ivy. To be fair, I’ve only asked people who insist they can roll in it but never develop a rash from it. So far no one has taken me up on my challenge. Flowing through the vascular tissue of Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) and its relatives are liquid resins called urushiols that are contained in the sap. If exposed to skin, these oils can cause rashes

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-71501387638759545032012-01-05T18:12:00.001-05:002012-01-05T18:13:44.403-05:00

Half of the Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) alive today will not survive to 2013. This does not ease my mind regarding the predicament I find myself in on the day when a small, slightly-furred and sightless creature was found on a boardwalk deep in the heart of the Everglades. What to do?The lifespan of a Gray Squirrel averages 11 to 12 months which means half of them can live longer and

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Naples, FL 34114, USA25.96126895812331 -81.4745831507812625.82263495812331 -81.55912915078126 26.09990295812331 -81.39003715078125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-56372545487336799452011-12-25T03:00:00.007-05:002011-12-25T03:00:10.312-05:00

As a child growing up in South Florida I had the good fortune of living on a 10-acre rural sanctuary for primates operated by my parents. The property was covered with native Slash Pines (Pinus elliotti), Cabbage Palms (Sabal palmetto) and Live Oaks (Quercus virginiana) but was persistently threatened by the noxious weed of a tree known as Brazilian Pepper (Schinus terebinthifolis). As a human

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0Lee Blvd & Sunniland Blvd, Lehigh Acres, FL 33971, USA26.617181 -81.69338900000002-10.433453000000004 -141.45901400000002 63.667815000000004 -21.927764000000025tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-59415798428151329462011-12-24T03:00:00.001-05:002011-12-24T03:00:11.002-05:00

There is no shortage of disparaging labels cast upon the Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus). The heavy-bodied, diving piscivore has been called a nuisance, a villain, a monster and a fish terrorist, mostly by fishermen and mostly undeserved. I call them nature’s graffiti artists. Their roost is their canvas. Their feces and cloaca is their paint and paintbrush. The name

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0Royal Fakapalm, Everglades, FL, USA25.83303484966883 -81.4192968616210925.58093384966883 -81.60277286162109 26.08513584966883 -81.2358208616211tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-53401655607248383892011-12-23T03:00:00.001-05:002011-12-23T03:00:09.744-05:00

Why don’t cannibals eat clowns? Because they taste funny. The same can be said for Monarch (Danaus plexippus), Queen (Danaus gilippus) and Soldier (Danaus eresimus) butterflies as well as other brightly colored showy species. Most predatory species, particularly birds will avoid the flashy flying insects because they do taste funny. Or awful. These three regal caterpillars feed on milkweed

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0Turner River Rd, Big Cypress National Preserve, Ochopee, FL 34141, USA25.8922719 -81.27608599999996-11.330452099999999 -141.04171099999996 63.1149959 -21.510460999999964tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-83650055005207654402011-12-22T03:00:00.003-05:002011-12-22T03:00:10.932-05:00

We can’t all be perfect. I dare say that no one is and the same can be said for the greater animal kingdom. Most people know what a Black Bear looks like. But not all Black Bears are black. Genetic mutations occur to the benefit or detriment of the species and express themselves in such ways such as color variations. The Kermode Bear, an all-white subspecies of the Black Bear is found in

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0Immokalee, FL 34142, USA26.4186898 -81.4172992999999726.3949343 -81.45694129999997 26.4424453 -81.37765729999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-90231206582116834212011-12-21T03:00:00.002-05:002011-12-21T03:00:06.277-05:00

“I don’t know how you stand living in Florida. I need the seasons”. This is typical response when people learn that I’m from Florida. Generally what they mean by “seasons” is six to eight months of long cold nights, one month of rainy spring and flooding, two months of grotesquely humid summer days and then eleven magical days where the chlorophyll-pigmented adornments to woody vegetation (

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1Big Cypress, FL, USA25.925137553013702 -81.2951922625000525.669510053013703 -81.54887676250006 26.1807650530137 -81.04150776250005tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-31517237522150692312011-12-19T19:57:00.000-05:002011-12-19T19:57:53.145-05:00

Having just returned from a Thanksgiving vacation in Massachusetts, I had hoped to write about something uniquely New Englandy. To me the greater Boston area is all about clams, lobsters, shorebirds and cranberry bogs. Granted it’s a narrow, stereotypical view but if I could expand my limited expectations then my trip would be a success. Unfortunately I only spotted a few dumpster gulls and

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0Hildene Lincoln Family Home, Green Mountain National Forest, 1005 Hildene Rd, Manchester Center, VT 05255, USA43.141268 -73.08183843.109953999999995 -73.140203 43.172582 -73.02347300000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-73873841487340845582011-11-12T13:38:00.000-05:002011-11-12T13:38:28.865-05:00

I have a book called “American Wildlife Illustrated” from 1940 that sits on my book shelf with all of my other aging natural history references. Some of the books are as new as 2010 but for every day that goes by there is a fact, a theory or a matter of taxonomic nomenclature that becomes wrong, disproved or obsolete. Printed material is old school. Your digital Audubon Guides can be updated

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-60381739689260148132011-10-31T19:28:00.000-04:002011-10-31T19:28:53.201-04:00

In mid-dark hours under a starlit sky Porcelain apparitions flirt at edge of sight Spirits of the dead that poke and pry Rotten flesh-eating ghosts that haunt the night Fallen sea stars crash to shore An aquatic wish, a wish no more Scallops and whelks ground into sand A coastal cemetery where gulf grazes land Midnight monsters rise from sandy grave A four foot burrow and a

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-49591627792166164662011-10-09T14:36:00.002-04:002011-10-09T14:37:45.641-04:00

Animal identification can often be quite tricky. Differentiating a Yellow-crested Olive-sided Warbler from a Olive-cheeked Yellow-rumped Warbler can be nearly impossible without a 4-D 300 meter spotting scope, cannon-fired mist net and your own University of Cornell-trained Ornithologist. The larger animals on the other hand should be easily identified. Bears. Moose. Dolphin. How about the

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-27487091237699438872011-09-29T20:17:00.001-04:002011-09-29T20:18:55.304-04:00

I am often asked if I worry about alligators. As a hiker and an Everglades tour guide I see them often. In fact we guarantee guests that they will see them on our tour. I never take for granted that we have massive reptilians that can grow more than fourteen feet in length. I understand them and I respect them. I do not worry about them. Recently my wife and I took our baby for a stroll on

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-52991074359021554922011-09-22T03:17:00.001-04:002011-09-22T03:17:00.078-04:00

Willets are seemingly inconspicuous shorebirds that are easily ignored by the general beach going populace. Chances are if you’ve seen a wedding photo on the beach there is probably a Willet skirting the shoreline behind the bride and groom. Willets (Tringa semipalmata) are often the bird that some kid on the beach is throwing shells at because the bird ignored the bread thrown at it. (Don’

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-63027641963778208932011-09-20T05:00:00.001-04:002011-09-20T05:00:02.883-04:00

On Sunday, August 28th, the Weather Channel reported the last bands of rain and wind had passed through New York City. Hurricane Irene was dubbed a meteorological flop. From the often storm battered coast of Florida, I found it hard to believe that this storm had let so many off the hook. I checked my facebook page to see how friends and family in Vermont were doing. Photo after photo,

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-55441935849458903682011-09-18T15:12:00.001-04:002011-09-18T15:21:02.211-04:00

Centipede loosely translates to one hundred steps per second, which is the speed at which A) a person moves away from such a creature and B) the speed at which the creature can move. I say “loosely” because I made it up. Centipede combines the Latin roots for “hundred” and “foot”, referring to the many legs of this predatory arthropod. When this centipede darted across the shower stall

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-73672967204216833822011-08-27T13:46:00.001-04:002011-08-28T11:18:44.084-04:00

“Coffee” is usually the first thought that I have upon waking. On this particular day I awoke, panicked, thinking “I need to get my wedding ring off my finger now”. I didn't know why but the band was cutting off circulation to my finger which had swollen to a light shade of grape. The ring itself looked like a hula hoop on a hippo. Butter, Vaseline, WD-40, there was no way I was

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-49558105903516237352011-08-20T12:35:00.000-04:002011-08-20T12:35:12.615-04:00

They say a bird in hand is worth two in the bush but sometimes a bird in hand is worth a bite to the face. My recent trip to Vermont had me reminiscing about an incident that occurred in nearly the exact spot where I saw last week’s Porcupine. In the summer of 2005, as I made my way through the hilly roads up to Plymouth, I spotted what looked like a piece of litter in the road.

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-13404187982959581512011-08-06T15:24:00.002-04:002011-08-06T15:26:00.343-04:00

If you’ve ever seen a palm fly by at 60 MPH you were either in a hurricane or watching palms being transported on a flatbed truck. There are over 2500 palm species in the world and many have shallow root systems that allow them to bend in the wind but can be plucked from the ground and relocated by landscapers. A safer and more natural way to discover the beauty and diversity of palms is to

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-39117824777902262122011-08-01T06:00:00.000-04:002011-08-01T06:00:02.418-04:00

What makes a bird unique? Feathers. No one else has them. Beaks. Birds own it. Wings? They all have them too, as do bats and a variety of insects. But feet? Just about everyone in the animal kingdom has feet and yet birds feet come in an amazing array of shapes and styles. Each set says a great deal about a bird’s lifestyle. Purple Gallinules (Porphyrio martinica) and American Coots (Fulica

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-58970068286844189582011-07-31T06:00:00.002-04:002011-07-31T06:00:07.344-04:00

I’m not fond of going to the beach. I was born a few miles from it. I grew up going to it. I was just never enamored with sand-encrusted crevices or sunburn streaks where mom missed with sunscreen. Occasionally I’m inexplicably drawn to it and when I find a far flung beach devoid of umbrellas, noodles and men wearing black, knee-high socks, sandals and Speedos, I find I can handle it. When that

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0Don Pedro Island State Park, Grove City-Rotonda, FL, USA26.8852546 -82.3251801999999826.8836906 -82.32708619999998 26.886818599999998 -82.32327419999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-20577432361028324432011-07-30T10:04:00.001-04:002011-07-30T10:14:59.775-04:00

Bald eagles, hawks, owls and ospreys get a great deal of attention but of all of the raptors, the kites are often ignored. Part of the lack of enthusiasm for Swallow-tailed Kites (Elanoides forficatus) is that they never seem to land. As soon as morning thermal updrafts develop they take to the sky and soar like a kite – rarely flapping their wings. (In truth, the toy is named after the bird).

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed, Naples, FL 34120, USA26.316338632879837 -81.6207752065429326.21971913287984 -81.75146320654294 26.412958132879837 -81.49008720654292tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-44301640497781515682011-07-20T13:26:00.001-04:002011-07-20T13:41:42.819-04:00

In the next few weeks, baby alligators, cramped in chicken-sized, leathery eggs that look like deflated balloons will begin to grunt. It’s really more like a bark. It tells mama alligator, who has patiently defended the nest for the last sixty-three days, that her babies are ready to bust out of their eggs and crawl into the light. Female alligators often make nests in secluded areas of a

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed, Naples, FL 34120, USA26.33126864873656 -81.6242984707031426.234649148736562 -81.75498647070314 26.42788814873656 -81.49361047070313tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-81843743494496954262011-06-28T01:37:00.004-04:002011-06-28T01:37:01.290-04:00

There are a variety of benefits to doing things in groups. Consider the last cookout you attended. Someone else bought the food. Someone else cooked and cleaned up. There was less risk of being eaten by a predator. Communal roosting makes sense too. Eating and roosting together makes sense for Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets and White Ibis. More ears and eyes means predators are at a disadvantage

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-59015056118257842452011-06-26T01:36:00.003-04:002011-06-26T01:36:00.368-04:00

“Someone just shot a Sandhill Crane in the marsh” I said with disgust. “Is that bad” a friend asked. Yes that’s bad. A)    The Florida Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis pratensis), is listed as Endangered in Florida due to habitat loss and over hunting. B)    Hunting of Sandhill Cranes is no longer permitted in Florida. C)    The marsh where it was shot is off limits to hunting. D)    The

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-16383119973508345132011-06-24T13:33:00.001-04:002011-06-24T13:46:34.113-04:00

People don’t appreciate squirrels. One person’s pest is another person’s treasure. Such was the case as I drove past a golf course on my way out of a gated community in Fort Myers. Bounding across the fairway was a large Big Cypress Fox Squirrel (BCFS). I slammed on the brakes and jumped out, camera in hand. The tan-bellied, salt-and-pepper backed squirrel was as interested in me as I was of it

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-21905428767842327592011-06-10T09:04:00.001-04:002011-06-10T09:05:14.985-04:00

I’ll be honest. I was just playing Angry Birds, the horribly addictive app I can play on my iPhone. It’s right next to Audubon Nature Florida. I’m supposed to be writing about a moth. I had intended to simply look up the scientific name for the moth in question on the Audubon app. No I don’t know all of the scientific names of every plant and animal. Gorilla is easy. But in doing that quick bit

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-48485071878781692192011-05-18T08:27:00.000-04:002011-05-18T08:27:00.901-04:00

Florida is currently experiencing the worst outbreak of Love Bugs in 50 years. The astute naturalist will recall last year’s crop was also the worst in 50 years. In fact every year seems to herald a never-before-seen airborne apocalypse of amorous insects. For most of the year, Love Bugs (Plecia nearctica) go unnoticed in their larval form, living in the soil just under a layer of decaying

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-18951760002826165182011-05-17T22:04:00.001-04:002011-05-17T22:04:00.818-04:00

If you’re the kind of person that has to peek under the Christmas tree before the day has arrived, go ahead and skip to the end. If you read the last page of a novel first or if you fast forward through the movie because you have to know “what is in the box!”, go ahead and skip to the end. I wouldn't want the suspense to kill you. What is the fine specimen we have before us? It is a

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-37250572888969170582011-05-15T22:01:00.001-04:002011-05-15T22:01:00.166-04:00

“Watch this magic trick” a friend said as he took a marble-sized nickerbean and rubbed it on a rough surface. I watched as he placed it on my skin. The burning sensation caused by that brief amount of friction, reminded me of a searing hot branding iron scorched on a cattle’s hide. I jerked my arm away. ‘We used to do that to each other when we were kids” he said with glee. Never mind that

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-17801264767438211532011-05-13T22:01:00.000-04:002011-05-13T22:01:30.740-04:00

Few trees are as showy as the Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia). Native to Madagascar, the Poinciana is a beautiful shade tree that was introduced to Florida decades ago. It’s a nice enough tree throughout the year, but as the rainy season kicks into full gear this month, the Poinciana – also known as the “Flamboyant Tree”, bursts with showy orange blossoms and gives color to a generally green

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-14060277212816227382011-04-28T05:00:00.003-04:002011-04-28T05:00:01.623-04:00

Americans drive a lot. Every year we build new roads and expand old ones. Wildlife is always in danger and the need for rescue is constant. Where the rubber meets the road, there is often a critter in between. I make no judgments when a rescue is required. My safety is the number one priority. Getting the animal to safety is number two regardless of the species. There are times when my safety

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-55865416468170614152011-04-28T05:00:00.001-04:002011-04-28T05:00:01.876-04:00

It would be easy for the casual observer to dismiss a tall white wading bird in Florida as a Great Egret (Ardea alba-top photo). The long, black-legged wader has a slim frame, thin beak and is found in a variety of shallow wetlands around the state. But in the fringes of southern Florida, every all-white wading bird requires a second look. It might be a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodia-bottom

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-39814141234320038972011-04-26T05:00:00.002-04:002011-04-26T05:00:08.097-04:00

That which we call a pine by any other name might not be a pine. Growing along the coast of South Florida is an invasive tree known locally as an Australian Pine (Casuarina equisetifolia). It is in fact found in Australia as well as other locations in that region. It is in fact not a pine. Despite the peaceful sound the wind makes as it passes through the tree’s pine needle-like branchlets, it

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-59065977553338088652011-04-24T15:01:00.001-04:002011-04-24T15:06:07.045-04:00

Several years ago I went camping at the Myakka River State Park. After a campfire dinner we took a walk down to the river to look at the stars and watch for gators. When we returned to our seats around the campfire we were showered with garbage! In the short time we were gone we had been raided by one of the locals, a Northern Raccoon (Procyon lotor), who had grabbed our garbage and dragged it

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-72906368115797427052011-03-29T07:00:00.002-04:002011-03-29T07:00:14.158-04:00

Hanging from the vent on my car’s console is an air “freshener”. It’s empty. The artificially scented liquid that once sloshed around inside and slowly emitted itself into my contained atmosphere merely “masked” the scent of swamp and who knows what else I’ve been dragging from here to there.Tonight as I make a beeline through the quiet, barren roads of the Everglades I am soothed by the most

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-25057043978473192082011-03-27T07:00:00.002-04:002011-03-28T09:11:13.403-04:00

Alligators eat turtles. It’s not their number one choice on the menu but they have no qualms about eating them. Sliders, cooters, softshells, snappers. If they can chomp them and swallow them – down they go. But that doesn’t mean they can’t tolerate each other.Alligators have one of the most powerful bites in the natural world. Their teeth are not sharp, nor can they chew, but an adult alligator

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-81812579139010594332011-03-25T10:53:00.000-04:002011-03-25T10:53:28.074-04:00

It was a bright and sunny day. I was on assignment down on Fort Myers Beach when I got word of a murder at a local hotel. The place is a tourist trap. Neon vacancy sign. Tiki bars and hot tubs. Not a bad place but nothing to crow about.Word was that a murder of crows numbering about one hundred had come to roost and was causing a commotion about a mile away…as the crow flies. Hard to believe. I

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-87794993105371040782011-03-01T09:13:00.000-05:002011-03-01T09:13:06.122-05:00

I’m heading west across the Everglades tonight. As the sun sets, an ochre skyline seems to reflect a washboard, sandbar at low tide. It’s hard not to be hypnotized by the patterns of grey and orange bands of clouds. Out of the corner of my eye I see an s-shaped piece of tire on the roadside. And then another. And another. These are not pieces of spent rubber….they’re snakes.I slow from 70 mph,

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-70563018666651031502011-02-20T09:35:00.000-05:002011-02-20T09:35:59.776-05:00

This photo of Pigs on a Scooter was taken on 10/31/2010 in Washington, D.C. by me in the company of trusted friends Eric, Rebecca, Frank and the less trustworthy Mandy. Recently a second photo of Pigs on a Scooter has surfaced lending additional credibility to the first photo.  Some have derided it as a hoax, a composite of a bustling DC scene and an unrelated photo of two costumed Pigs on a

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-68893017197250525192011-02-15T18:06:00.000-05:002011-02-15T18:06:02.920-05:00

The bill of a bird often says a lot about how a bird feeds and what they feed on. If you’d never seen a Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) before you could certainly tell they have a unique beak. The upper mandible is considerably shorter than the lower mandible. They don’t sift their food like a spoonbill. They don’t probe the mud and worm holes like an ibis. They don’t tear their food like a

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-24175939088314872462011-02-09T18:56:00.001-05:002011-02-09T18:56:35.882-05:00

It’s generally considered bad behavior to scream at birds and yet there I was flailing my arms and yelling at an endangered Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) who was gracefully flying near my home. Everyone knows that the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) brings babies and pickles, but the bald, black-headed, wrinkle-skinned Wood Stork brings ugly babies and my wife was due in two weeks. The Wood

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-36945818761604589012011-02-03T10:47:00.000-05:002011-02-03T10:47:33.647-05:00

There are few good reasons to pull a stove away from the wall in anyone’s house. Maybe there’s a portal to a secret dimension where you never grow older or there’s a treasure vault hidden by a bootlegger in decades past. I was simply looking for the stove model # and what I found was horrifying. Typically the items discovered behind any large appliance include Chinese takeout menus,

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-18948019744041242222011-01-27T13:53:00.004-05:002011-01-27T14:16:34.170-05:00

As my friend and I approached the wetland, we could see activity near the water, mostly obscured by a perimeter of tall cattails. As we ascended an artificial rocky berm that formed the bounds of this human made wetland we could see an armada of floating ducks and we both responded with an excited “scaups!” and then danced around as if we had just scored a touchdown. Shouting while birding

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-49420924636345528332011-01-18T18:20:00.002-05:002011-01-18T18:21:44.606-05:00

There’s a great book called “100 Birds and How They Got Their Names.” I don’t need it today. Although I’ve never seen the bird perched before me, I know exactly what it is and why it’s called a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus). At the end of a long day touring the Western Everglades, I’m driving a van of tourists back to Fort Myers. My tour narration has ended and most are

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-14364064899179498612011-01-13T15:35:00.000-05:002011-01-13T15:35:34.027-05:00

As our boat rounded a sandbar in the 10,000 islands portion of the Everglades, I noticed a flock of twenty five, massive American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) resting and preening their feathers on an ephemeral tidal island. As the boat navigated around the backside, a flock of Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) came into view along the waters edge and the

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-69302403368230150102011-01-06T16:22:00.000-05:002011-01-06T16:22:20.132-05:00

There’s a fine line between “Wow! that’s cool!” and “Run for your lives!” While I couldn’t be a bigger bat enthusiast and have spelunked, paddled and hiked to the remotest places in the continental United States to see swarms of bats, I recognize that there are still some out there that are squeamish about the night flyers. For some, the sight of thousands of bats flying overhead might

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-71388597387868212612011-01-01T14:27:00.000-05:002011-01-01T14:27:12.007-05:00

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." The same can be said for poop in a sense. Call it scat, droppings, excrement, dung, feces, manure, guano. It’s still poop. Calling it sweet might be a stretch. I’m fascinated by animal scat. Absent of the animal, it tells us who passed by, when they passed by and what they ate. It comes in many telling shapes

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-26487810552345827882010-12-21T18:42:00.000-05:002010-12-21T18:42:03.653-05:00

The tide of development continues to lap at the shore of wilderness. There are surges of construction that erode the natural landscape, recede and swell again. As cypress, pine and palm fall to the waves of encroaching bulldozers, buildings rise and along with them warning signs. Watch your speed. Go slow. Wildlife may be present. Did you just hit something? Panther Crossing signs along

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-74770731287089352292010-12-16T17:27:00.002-05:002010-12-16T17:27:52.799-05:00

State Road 29 slices through the Big Cypress Swamp portion of the Western Everglades in South Florida. The two lane highway is also known as Panther Pass and bisects the largest tract of suitable habitat for the endangered Florida Panther. This is where many of them live and this is where many of them have died. In 1998 the Florida Department of Transportation began constructing wildlife

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-43260069585664715342010-12-10T16:55:00.000-05:002010-12-10T16:55:18.033-05:00

It’s hard to say if laziness, divine intervention, or concern/apathy for the environment led me to turn the mower off and leave my lawn alone. Probably a little bit of everything. Here in south Florida things are still growing. Flowers still bloom and insects still hop, fly and flit across the lawn. During the summer months you can in fact “watch the grass grow” but with shorter days and

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-47797064800420572322010-12-03T10:56:00.000-05:002010-12-03T10:56:33.786-05:00

Do you like movie trilogies? The first episode is so incredible/profitable that a second episode is rolled out regardless of a cohesive plot. Typically Part II is the dour, depressing, hopeless drama in the saga. A requisite cheery ending is doled out despite the passage of decades/principle actors and we spend endless wasted hours complaining about how it didn’t live up to the initial movie

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-12349817986610074482010-11-26T17:55:00.001-05:002010-11-26T17:56:18.169-05:00

When I was a kid our family made an annual summer migration from South Florida to Upstate New York and back again in the fall. It was an arduous trek that I liken to that of the Monarch Butterflies that are completing their southern migration as I type.The circadian cue that prompted our northern departure was an overdose of vitamin D and the ability to roast ants with a magnifying glass at 9 pm

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-45517055717500590572010-11-16T17:29:00.001-05:002010-11-17T09:40:20.504-05:00

After a long nature walk with a group of kids, a young boy asked me “How do you know so much?” and I replied “I don’t know that much, but I’m telling you what I know”. We could learn a million things a day and the world would still be full of amazing mysteries at the moment we draw our last breath. When I personally discover something I have never seen before I presumptively claim it as a

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-46281063918118654862010-11-09T08:43:00.000-05:002010-11-09T08:43:18.857-05:00

Helping a turtle cross a road is easy. Placing a starfish stranded at low tide back in the ocean is simple. Removing a fishing line from the beak of a pelican is somewhat problematic. Helping a wild snake shed its skin? Sometimes it’s better to let them take care of their wardrobe changes. I nearly stumbled upon a Gray Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta spiloides) at the lighthouse in the St. Mark’

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-44055820510852873542010-11-03T11:40:00.000-04:002010-11-03T11:40:19.719-04:00

When you’re in the woods do you ever get the feeling you’re being watched? Do you feel unseen eyes gazing upon you and following your every step? You feel nervous. Hairs stand up on end. You want to run. You need to get away! I imagine that is how this Bobcat felt as I watched it cross a field, spring across the trail dart into the woods and crouch down, waiting for me to leave. Bobcats (

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-15513442148856907772010-10-27T13:41:00.000-04:002010-10-27T13:41:32.445-04:00

I can’t stand being sick, but when I have a stuffed up nose I’m grateful I have an extra nostril to breathe through. If they’re both plugged up I can still breath through my mouth. It’s good to have a back up system when things don’t work. Nature has provided us with a pair of lungs, ears, arms, legs, etc. I wish I had a second brain for the times when the one I have fails me. Which leads

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-21724567517379145862010-10-20T22:24:00.001-04:002010-10-20T22:24:51.890-04:00

The prevailing sentiment seems to be that the only good spider is a dead spider. With over 40,000 species worldwide, that’s a large group of animals to drop the shoe on. Some people have expressed that it’s ok to have some spiders around but they just don’t want them in their house. Others go so far as to not want any of them anywhere near their home. For many people every spider is

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-63265391632635488002010-10-18T21:38:00.006-04:002010-10-18T21:48:56.668-04:00

40 years. Time for a post-mid-life crisis. In the meantime - here's a nice montage put together by my sister of 40 years of birthdays. Some have reported this to be a tear jerker but I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying I don't die in the end of the montage. Thanks Tiff and everyone who has shared them with me.

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-24609207321620204612010-10-13T13:28:00.000-04:002010-10-13T13:28:55.701-04:00

When I was single I rented a one-bedroom apartment. It was the perfect amount of space for a social hermit. When I got married, more space was required and we moved into a two-bedroom apartment with two cats. With a baby on the way, the space requirements have leaped considerably and we now have a spacious three-bedroom house. As space requirements changed I constantly looked around for

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-48707391882028586742010-10-05T20:34:00.000-04:002010-10-05T20:34:46.236-04:00

In the middle of Estero Bay, half way between the Fort Myers mainland and Fort Myers Beach in Florida is Mound Key, a 140-acre island comprised primarily of the discarded remains of shellfish. Centuries ago, the Calusa lived along the gulf coast of Florida from Tampa south to the Everglades. Mound Key was thought to be the ceremonial center of their civilization and over the course of

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-90155266605608611782010-10-01T10:05:00.000-04:002010-10-01T10:05:36.538-04:00

If you have never seen a black bear at the urologist’s waiting to get a prostate exam there are two good reasons why. A) I would imagine most doctors have a “no bears” policy and B) from late summer through fall, American Black Bears (Ursus americanus) in the southeastern United States are feeding heavily on Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens) berries – a food source that has been shown to have

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-4437758581946766542010-09-22T18:12:00.000-04:002010-09-22T18:12:14.207-04:00

While bobbing in the ocean recently I heard a young boy scream “TIBURON!” I know some Spanish, but it was the frantic tone in his voice that helped me quickly translate a word that I normally associate with a local golf course or a Hyundai coup. In this case – Tiburon meant “SHARK!” Neck deep in the Gulf of Mexico, I turned away from the beach and watched a pod of Bottle-nosed Dolphin (

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-47980638667228693262010-09-16T12:19:00.000-04:002010-09-16T12:19:55.232-04:00

I was driving north on SR-29 in the Everglades when a pair of Limpkin (Aramus guarauna) caught my eye as they surveyed the canal for Apple Snails. I pulled onto a bridge spanning the waterway and took a few pictures. If the water in the canal beneath me was clean and clear, I wouldn’t have this irrational fear of falling in, but the narrow concrete wall I’m standing on descends down into the

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-43508526023176206592010-09-13T10:56:00.000-04:002010-09-13T10:56:00.276-04:00

Life is short. Enjoy every moment. Clearly that is what this Common Housefly (Musca domestica) was thinking when it lit upon the radiant, pinkish-purple, rain-kissed Glades Morning Glory (Ipomoea sagittata). Right?With only 2-4 weeks to enjoy life as a winged adult, there is so much to see and do! There’s the perfect mate to find – oh those compound eyes! Garbage to locate – does this smell

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-53810796573204571602010-09-01T17:30:00.001-04:002010-09-01T17:30:49.289-04:00

You know you’ve done it. You ate the whole thing. And you can’t believe it. Now you’re trying to digest the 32 ounce steak and a double serving of apple pie (with a slice of cheese) along with the side of vanilla ice cream. You couldn’t help yourself. I do it too, from time to time. I get overwhelmed by the notion that I might never eat again so I better eat everything in front of me. Snakes

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-25871437478316841432010-08-03T10:46:00.000-04:002010-08-03T10:46:15.620-04:00

How long does it take to eat a few cheeseburgers and a shake? If you’re going to eat junk food you should eat least take the time to savor the grade D beef and triple-thick, corn syrup shake that requires a ¼ inch wide straw to drink it through. I watched incredulously the other day as the man in the car next to me at an intersection devoured his lunch like a gator eating a softshell turtle.

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-85707996388569469152010-07-30T11:05:00.004-04:002010-07-30T15:07:41.776-04:00

After an exhausting six hour swamp walk in search of Ghost Orchids, my friends and I emerged from the blazing, sweltering sawgrass prairie and arrived back at our vehicles. The desolate dirt road they were parked on paralleled a drainage canal in the Everglades that carried the life blood of the “River of Grass” from points north towards civilization. Water does not flow naturally out here like

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-19777728840204627682010-07-16T09:00:00.009-04:002010-07-16T09:00:11.877-04:00

There is no shortage of danger in the Everglades. Our quest to find the rare and endangered Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii) in the swamps of South Florida has led us to a tiny slough in a remote area of the Big Cypress National Preserve. I have seen one Ghost Orchid in the wild – the now famous Corkscrew Swamp “Super Ghost” that can be seen at Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples,

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-47317146431390804222010-07-15T09:56:00.003-04:002010-07-15T10:02:49.061-04:00

The exact location of my whereabouts on this Sunday morning shall remain a mystery. A map to Shangri-la would only entice a stampede of curious explorers, whom however well-intentioned could cause the downfall of this subtropical Floridian utopia. Our quest is the rare and endangered Ghost Orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii), an epiphytic bloom that resides in the most far-flung swamps and sloughs of

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-80368422003144952722010-07-07T16:58:00.000-04:002010-07-07T16:58:10.279-04:00

During a recent trip I was lucky enough to see a Black Bear up close. While I took pictures, a family stopped and brought their toddlers over to the bear despite my objections. I don’t have kids of my own yet, but I know bears and kids don’t mix. Humans have perfected the art of bad parenting. Balloon Boy and the teenager who attempted to sail solo around the world are famous examples, but how

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-3373582490046691302010-06-24T13:05:00.000-04:002010-06-24T13:05:46.127-04:00

My wife is trilingual. As an Ecuadorian, her first language is Spanish but she speaks fluent English and German. This does not mean she always understands me or the odd American idioms I spout out. I once attempted to calm her frustrations by suggesting she not get “bent out of shape”. She heard “banana shake” and the conversation thankfully turned to desserts. After a close encounter with a

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-70558474486840568622010-06-17T12:15:00.001-04:002010-06-18T08:24:19.006-04:00

A few years ago my dad and I sat on a park bench on the boardwalk at the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers, FL. We watched a male Green Anole flaring its dewlap in the hopes of impressing a female. We spotted a Red-bellied Woodpecker excavating a rotting snag where it would soon nest and we watched and listened as a Black Racer slithered between the cypress knees a few feet below.

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-82284756223239518992010-06-01T23:45:00.000-04:002010-06-01T23:45:19.043-04:00

On a muggy, May afternoon in Hillsborough River State Park in Thonotosassa, FL, I find myself wiping rivulets of sweat off my face. As we amble down the trail, I swat away an entourage of mosquitoes that gravitate towards me and retreat with every swing of an arm. There is a hypnotic fragrance that wafts through the woods on the slightest of breezes. I raise my shoulder to wipe away the sweat.

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-5889697774579574602010-05-20T18:38:00.002-04:002010-05-20T18:41:37.318-04:00

I’m a sucker for big trees. For an ecologically young environment, Florida has some big ones. Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) and Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) are the Redwoods of the southeast and the behemoth pictured below is one of the largest Live Oaks in Florida. Located in Lake Griffin State Park in Fruitland Park, FL, the tree stands over 83 feet tall and has a 131 foot crown spread.

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-32021478774434010782010-05-14T13:55:00.000-04:002010-05-14T13:55:03.380-04:00

I remember lying flat on my back on the soccer field, staring up at an oval formation of heads. Teammates. Coaches. Refs. And my mom who warned me “you better not be faking it.” I was twelve and apparently prone to such behavior, but in this case I wasn’t. In a spectacular attempt to score a goal, I had torn my ACL. I think about my mom when I see certain birds exhibit “distraction displays” and

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-46287003483963450552010-05-07T21:59:00.004-04:002010-05-07T22:01:28.198-04:00

I never realize how different I look today compared to 20 years ago until kids see pictures of me from way back when. “You used to have hair?” is often the brilliant observation, as if I was bald from the day I was born. Yes we change. In some cases drastically and others quite subtly but when you look in the mirror it’s still you that peers back.I imagine Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) 

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-62834264987945973982010-04-17T17:15:00.004-04:002010-04-17T17:18:13.906-04:00

It’s not unusual to see a congregation of birds feeding in and around the canals and lakes of Fort Myers, FL. But this particular frantic, swirling, tornado of egrets and ibises caught my eye. One by one and in quick repetitive motions the birds would leap into the air, plunge into the canal feet first and fly away. They each struck the same area with a similar determined intensity. I pulled to

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-27688825626038662012010-03-26T09:38:00.000-04:002010-03-26T09:38:43.596-04:00

I was twelve at the time, as were many of the boy scouts. As their guest, I was seated front row and center in a natural horseshoe amphitheater where I surveyed the nocturnal scene around me. Tiers of earthen benches rose up behind me and around me, covered by the huddled masses of scouts who had descended from their tents to listen to the evening presentation. In front of us, a six foot deep

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-31609371517271152292010-02-26T08:55:00.003-05:002010-02-26T09:00:58.747-05:00

In 1986, I learned as a teenager never to exaggerate anything that can be proven to be untrue. After our home in Venice, Florida escaped the passing of a tropical storm, I investigated the wind and rain damage and infamously reported discovering “100 dead squirrels”. My family was full of fact checkers and when I couldn’t turn up one live squirrel, they decided to torment me for the rest of my

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-4056357089015052262010-01-20T07:58:00.003-05:002010-01-21T18:36:31.474-05:00

I was wrong. I can admit it. Normally I would say “I don’t know what that is.” but in this case I was quite sure that the Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) that had landed near me during my alligator presentation at Lake Trafford, FL, was eating a snake. I don’t mind being shown up so I placed the juvenile American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) back in its exhibit and directed all eyes to

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-72729998897016391982009-12-22T09:05:00.004-05:002009-12-22T09:46:21.939-05:00

Like a hermit crab, we outgrew our home and had to move to a bigger place. Although L.A. was originally scratched from our home search back in April of 2009, it quickly became obvious that Lehigh Acres, FL would be the only place in Lee county that was suitable and on November 20th, 2009 we moved into our new home. I'll post more on "Sunniland" tomorrow for those interested in named places, oil

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-27490189678641923852009-12-10T21:36:00.003-05:002009-12-10T21:54:41.907-05:00

Coincidence - the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection.Example - I write a post about Vultures and later in the day rescue an injured Turkey Vulture on the side of a busy highway.Disgusting - a marked aversion aroused by something highly distasteful Example - A black fly in your Chardonnay Ironic - incongruity between the actual result of

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-65241516350304119752009-12-09T22:59:00.006-05:002009-12-09T23:07:45.485-05:00

I was in a dumpster the other night. Each time a car would go by I would duck to avoid being spotted. I’d like to think friends would understand but strangers might pass by and judge. So I persisted in playing dumpster prairie dog until my goal was achieved.This whole situation had me thinking of vultures. If one man’s trash is another man’s treasure the same logic might apply to the reviled and

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-34171688592556759752009-11-25T22:09:00.008-05:002009-11-25T22:29:34.175-05:00

The Piper High School Bengals never had a chance. The Fighting Owls dug in at the 25-yard line and never gave any ground. Literally. A few weeks ago a pair of Burrowing Owls dug a hole in the middle of a football field, forcing the Piper High team to play out their season on the road.As a species of special concern, the pint-sized bird benefits from the protection of the Florida Fish and Wildlife

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-77385095257545916372009-11-03T21:49:00.002-05:002009-11-03T22:20:12.954-05:00

If a black cat ran on a basketball court on Halloween and a player kicked it to death it would be hysterical right? And if a sinister python slithered among the players until it was beaten to death it would be a hoot. So no doubt when Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs whacks a bat to death during an NBA game it's a laugh riot. The problem is - it's not. I enjoy ESPN's Mike and Mike in the

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-37046580244705254742009-10-26T23:10:00.004-04:002009-10-26T23:17:27.388-04:00

I pushed my little sister off a roof once when we were kids. It wasn’t malicious behavior. My sisters and I were filming a backyard action movie and the scene required a spectacular eight foot plunge. The youngest sister had changed her mind at the last minute and with fading light, I gently nudged her. I got the shot. Looking back it reminds me of Bald Eagle chicks and the eldest who

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-1855483164244695182009-10-12T23:00:00.004-04:002009-10-12T23:17:47.058-04:00

It’s hot – somewhere between 93°F and 97°F degrees on the last day before the Autumnal Equinox. I know this because I have an acute sensory organ known as my skin that is covered in sweat and getting browner by the second. The momma Rattlesnake that just poked her head out from her limestone den can top me. She has a two-chambered pit found between the eye and nostril and on both sides of the

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-87269534264602652832009-10-01T09:21:00.004-04:002009-10-03T21:19:18.245-04:00

And people wonder why I hate the beach.... Nothing gets my attention quicker when I'm floating around in the ocean than someone racing out of the water screaming. "JELLYFISH! JELLYFISH!" - Suddenly I felt a sting on my leg. I was nowhere near this person screaming so apparently my psychosomatic empathy was kicking in. MaLe and I had been relaxing in the ocean for a while so we decided to head out

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-48662228731435400772009-09-17T21:54:00.015-04:002009-09-17T23:09:42.814-04:00

Don't come down here. There's something in the cave! It's rattling. I think it's a Rattlesnake. Everybody stay where you are! It sounds weird. More like a hisssssssssssssss. Are there Rattlesnakes in New York?For the Labor Day Weekend we drove up from Florida (yes drove) to Glass Lake, New York for a family reunion. We used to spend our summers here and one of the big adventures was to climb

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-85779763278595785242009-08-30T20:24:00.005-04:002009-09-17T23:16:13.665-04:00

South Florida is home the 2nd largest mangrove forest in the world. The largest is in Indonesia and typical of mangrove forests the diversity of trees is low. The forest is often dominated by Red, Black or White Mangroves and in the following short video I explain the difference between the reds and the blacks.All mangroves grow in a salty or brackish water and each has a unique adaptation to

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-28851442548499504872009-08-24T22:27:00.003-04:002009-08-24T22:43:57.253-04:00

While readership of Jungle Pete's Earthbound blog grows like mold on cheese, the diversity of readers couldn't be greater. The blog is read on 5 continents (come on Africa!) and nearly all of the continental United States except the ones with free range pig laws. What's most exciting is to hear that even toddlers "read" the blog, or just look at the pretty pictures. This is the demographic I'm

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-49483579108596003602009-08-23T21:05:00.003-04:002009-08-23T21:30:10.016-04:00

Buying a house in Florida these days is like playing Russian Roulette. You might get a break on a foreclosure. You might get a house at 50% of the asking price from 2 years ago. And you might get a house tainted with Chinese Drywall. As MaLe and I continue to search for an escape from the beehive (apartment complex) here in Fort Myers, we have had to cast a wider net to find the "house of our

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-20463954157804460532009-08-19T22:55:00.003-04:002009-08-19T23:30:56.843-04:00

If you did not have the full function of your arms or legs how would you manage? You might have the opportunity to regain certain abilities. You might remain in that condition for the duration of your life. I've thought about it and my mobility is something I don't take for granted. Nor do I dismiss the great achievements of those that have overcome a perceived disability. Birds will tuck a leg

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-65256280436953643302009-08-13T22:13:00.005-04:002009-08-14T08:52:13.858-04:00

Why is Jungle Pete riding the leg of a 26-foot tall aluminium nurse in this photo? Static electricity experiment? Publicity stunt for the Meat Blog? Bad Mexican food? Do you give up?The statue "Unconditional Surrender" brings dimension to the famous World War II photo of a sailor smooching a nurse in Times Square. The classic impromptu moment captured the thrill of victory as Japan announced

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-80008069490781760412009-08-06T20:43:00.014-04:002009-08-06T21:56:42.771-04:00

OMG! I went to step out into the garage to bring laundry out and a 4 1/2 foot Komodo Dragon Lizard was on the entry ramp!This was my Aunt ReRe's Facebook status update Sunday night. I laughed when I read it. She lives in SW Ranches in Broward County, FL. I figured it was an Iguana or a Basilisk.I must apologize I stand kind of corrected.While a Komodo Dragon would be CNN worthy (or America's

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-2682719012010094102009-08-02T23:33:00.005-04:002009-08-03T00:20:26.183-04:00

Part three of my never ending series of fish that just brushed up against your leg is the Trunkfish a member of the Boxfish family. They are essentially hydrodynamic, floating squares with wee little fins and bony armor plates that protect them from prey. The one in hand is a juvenile.The Trunkfish is basically the turtle of the fish world - a slow moving, creature with protective plates. They

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-46961576266942878712009-07-26T12:27:00.009-04:002009-07-27T18:38:28.024-04:00

What has blue blood, feet around its mouth and 10 eyes and legs? The Horseshoe Crab - which isn't a crab at all, but an arthropod that shares a few similarities with other arthropods like spiders and crabs. They predate the dinosaurs and are most closely related to trilobites. We didn't catch any in our seine netting on Saturday, but a walk in the mud flats at low tide revealed a few bulldozing

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-81466990064466324722009-07-25T14:44:00.004-04:002009-07-25T15:11:47.413-04:00

Do you have any idea what's darting beneath the waves when you wade into the ocean? Things that blend in like aquatic ghosts. Things that sting when endangered. Things that blow up 3 times their normal size when alarmed...I'm taking a Florida Master Naturalist course through the University of Florida extension and program and this morning we went seining on Lover's Key State Park on Fort Myers

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-16655255937425537902009-07-19T22:00:00.002-04:002009-07-19T22:05:35.817-04:00

Ghosts are fast. Blink and you'll miss them. Some people have no idea they exist. Their white, ephemeral appearance helps them disappear before your eyes. Their stalked eyes make watching you all easier. Glance at them and they dart away at up to 35 mph. But not without a trace. Fast and cautious, the Ghost Crab retreats to a sandy burrow in a flash.

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-56391865049209204142009-07-01T19:37:00.003-04:002009-07-01T20:33:04.927-04:00

A 2-year old was strangled to death by a pet Burmese Python yesterday in Orlando, FL (story). The 12 foot exotic snake from SE Asia escaped from an aquarium and was found with the lifeless child. The boyfriend of the child's mother owned the snake and did not have the proper permit to posses a "Reptile of Concern", nor did he have the good sense to secure an obviously dangerous animal.The Burmese

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com4