Alligators and the Everglades, Florida, USA

Everglades National Park protects the largest wilderness area east of the Mississippi River. The wilderness area is named for Marjory Stoneman Douglas who was instrumental in creating the park, and who coined the phrase "River of Grass." It has been designated a World Heritage Site

Although primarily freshwater animals, alligators will occasionally venture into brackish water.Alligators live in wetlands and this is the vital habitat that holds the key to their continued long-term survival. Alligators depend on the wetlands, and in some ways the wetlands depend on them. As apex predators, they help control the population of rodents and other animals that might overtax the marshland vegetation.

American alligators are less susceptible to cold than American Crocodiles. Unlike the American Crocodile, which would quickly succumb to the cold and drown in water of 45 °F (7.2 °C), an alligator can survive in such temperatures for some time without apparent discomfort.[10] It is thought that this adaptiveness is the reason why American alligators spread farther north than the American Crocodile. In fact, the American alligator is found farther from the equator and is more equipped to deal with cooler conditions than any other crocodilian

We were kindly hosted and given a wonderful tour of the Everglades by Susie Goh, A Malaysian living in Miami, whom we bumped into a few days before in Orlando, where she had been on holiday.

** Due to the massive oil spill in the Gulf Of Mexico, The Everglades was pronounced an Endangered Area on 30 July 2010

Alison at Everglades National Park
Miami. FL
11 July 2009

Alligator
Everglades
Miami, FL
11 July 2009

Adrian at the Everglades
Miami, FL
11 July 2009

Alligator
Everglades
Miami, FL
11 July 2009

Susie and Adrian
11 July 2009


A slide show on our trip to the Everglades and The Florida Keys
can be found on the blog entry titled
Way Down South : Key West, USA