Alligators on the prowl

If you are out on the state's waterways in the coming weeks, keep an eye out for alligators. These reptiles are found in all of Florida's 67 counties. So don't consider any swamp, lake, river or stream gator-free.

Alligators and humans have co-existed in Florida for more than 10,000 years, but in recent decades, as humans encroach on more and more of their habitat, conflict has increased, especially during the warmer spring and summer months. 

But remember, state law prohibits the harassing or feeding of alligators. Also, keep a close eye on small children when they are playing in or near water. For more information on alligator safety, go to http://www.myfwc.com/docs/WildlifeHabitats/Alligator_Brochure.pdf.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission receives more than 16,000 alligator-related complaints each year and as a result, licensed trappers remove about 8,500 nuisance alligators. 

If you encounter an alligator that is more than four feet long and appears to be a threat, call the FWC's toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (392-4286). 

Wonders of Tampa Bay

Wonders of Tampa Bay
You've heard of the Seven Wonders of the World. Which of these local treasures should top a Wonders of Tampa Bay list?
Caladesi Island
Fort DeSoto
Honeymoon Island
Hillsborough River State Park
Egmont Key
Anclote Key
Weedon Island
Other (put your pick in comments section below)

Poll: Wonders of Tampa Bay

Wonders of Tampa Bay
You've heard of the Seven Wonders of the World. Which of these local treasures should top a Wonders of Tampa Bay list?
Caladesi Island
Fort DeSoto
Honeymoon Island
Hillsborough River State Park
Egmont Key
Anclote Key
Weedon Island
Other (put your pick in comments section below)

Record number of manatees

Manatee numbers are up, according to a recent count by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The FWC's Wildlife Research Institute counted 3,807 manatees statewide.

A team of 21 observers from nine organizations counted 2,153 manatees on Florida’s East Coast and 1,654 on the West Coast of the state. This year’s count exceeded the previous high count from 2001 by more than 500 animals.

This is good news for manatees appear to be increasing in Northwest Florida, along the Atlantic Coast and on the upper St. Johns River.

Researchers have been conducting the annual survey since 1991. Biologists tend to count the most manatees during the coldest months of the year, when the animals gather at warm-water sites, such as local power plants.

For more information about manatees, go to http://floridaconservation.org/. To report a dead or injured manatee, call the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC.

Kayaker paddles around the state

Matthew Keene, a 23-year-old from Cocoa Beach, has become the first person to complete the state's 1,600-mile saltwater kayaking trial. Keene, who paddled around the entire Florida peninsula, finished at Big Lagoon State Park last week. The Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail, which now has segments around the entire state, was mapped and developed by the Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Greenways and Trails.

Designated as a National Recreational Trail, the Florida Circumnavigation Saltwater Paddling Trail follows the Florida peninsula from Pensacola around the Keys to the Georgia border. Often described as the saltwater version of the Appalachian Trail, the trail highlights 37 of Florida’s 41 aquatic preserves and offers paddlers access to many state, national and local parks, seashores, wildlife refuges, marine sanctuaries and historic sites.

DEP’s Office of Greenways an Trails manages eight state trails, in addition to the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway, Florida’s longest green corridor stretching 110 miles from the St. Johns River near Palatka to the Gulf of Mexico near Inglis. Of the eight state trails, six are rail-trails, which are railroad corridors converted to recreational trails for hiking, biking, skating and equestrian activities. Through Florida Forever, the state’s premier land acquisition program, $4.5 million is allocated annually to purchase and preserve land for Florida’s greenways and trails.

For more information on the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail, go to paddle Florida.

Kids pick Osprey to be new state bird

I've probably seen a thousand of them in my lifetime, but every time an osprey flies overhead while I am fishing, I still get goose bumps.

You can keep your brown pelican, when it comes to a bird that represents all that is special about this great state, I'll vote for the osprey.

And apparently so will most of the middle schoolers in Florida. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has announced that the osprey is the winner in a statewide vote of fourth- through eighth-graders to be Florida’s new official state bird.

The FWC and the Department of Education dreamed up this little experiment in democracy to help get the state's youngsters more involved in the great outdoors.

Students across the state did their share of research on birds, and even held debates as they searched for an alternative the current state bird, the mockingbird.

But the lesson is not over. You can follow this initiative as the students’ selection will go through the legislative process to decide if the osprey should become the new state bird.

The FWC has prepared a bill that will go before the Legislature early next year. The bill must be approved by the House, the Senate and Gov. Charlie Crist before the osprey is officially designated as the state bird. To learn more go to http://www.vote4bird.org./.

More than 77,000 students voted for the top ranking birds which included the snowy egret, great egret and black skimmer.

Camping weather

When I woke up this morning, the air was cool and dry. Time to break out the tent and head for the woods.

Like many campers, I've been waiting months for an excuse to build a fire and sleep outside. Sure, you can camp during the summer, if you have to, but I would much rather wait until Autumn, when the nights are crisp and the skies are clear.

For at least two thirds of the year (September through April), Florida is a great place to camp. Granted, we don't have mountains, but we do have barrier islands. Grab a kayak, paddle out to Anclote Key and pitch your tent beneath the pine trees. You'll forget pretty darn quick that you live in a major metropolitan area that is home to four million people.

Florida has hundreds of good camping spots, but the best book early. I try to enter the fall with my "camping plan" firmly in place. I've already booked more than a half dozen campsites for my scout troop and at least a half dozen more for official "work" adventures with my crazy gang of friends. (Yes, when you're the outdoors editor, you do get paid to camp.)

Some of my favorite spots to camp locally include Pinellas County's Fort Desoto Park, Myakka River State Park in Sarasota County and Lake Kissimmee State Park, east of Lake Wales. If you don't mind a drive, Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine can't be beat.

Holy sturgeon!

Jeff Summers, an officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, was enjoying a day on the Suwannee River with his family last Saturday when he saw a three-foot-long sturgeon jump out of the water and land in a boat that was passing by.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt, except the fish of course. The boat sustained some minor damage, and the fish was returned to the water, apparently no worse for the wear.

But every year about this time reports such as this start to filter in from the Suwannee, one of the last breeding grounds of the rare Gulf sturgeon. The fish, once found throughout the Gulf of Mexico, is now largely confined to the West Florida River. State officials estimate that as many as 7,500 sturgeon, averaging about 40 pounds each, spend about two thirds of the year in the Suwannee.

The fish, which can get seven feet long and weigh more than 170 pounds, have had some pretty nasty collisions with people on personal watercraft in recent years. That is why state officials urge boaters to slow down during the spring and summer months when travelling along the Suwannee.

Nobody knows for sure why sturgeon jump. One theory is that they might be engaging in some type of dominance display. Another is that the fish are attempting to communicate. But then again, strugeon may jump simply because they are happy.

(Times photo - Lara Cerri, 2006. Click to enlarge.)

The gator hunt

The great gator hunt is on, but once again, I will be forced to watch from the sidelines. For the third year in a row, my friend, the fish-catchin', frog-giggin', gator-gettin' guide Dave Markett called an told me to go out and buy a permit, but once again I dropped the ball.

As I explained to Markett, a Tampa native who knows the lakes of Central Florida like I know each and every Starbucks in downtown St. Pete, that I have the attention span of a second grader. That is why I use those little yellow stickum notes to remind me of things like buy a new fishing license or dry out that tent before the next camping trip.

But gator huntin' isn't easy. You can't just knock them in the head with a stump. You need to take this sport seriously, for unlike snook, trout or redfish, these reptiles can bite your left arm off clean up to the elbow. Just ask Amos Moses.

That is why I, being the rookie gator hunter, took a class on the finer points of how to stalk, kill and clean, the King of the Florida Swamps.

Permits won't go on sale again to next June, but you can learn all there is to know at one of several classes soon to be offered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commmission.

(Times photo - Scott Keeler, 2006. Click to enlarge.)

Guilty of animal cruelty

I confess. I am guilty as charged. Several times in my life, I have been guilty of feeding wild animals. Yes, this is a big no no.

But I was young, stupid, uneducated, and hey, it seemed like fun.

Chipmunks, squirrels, birds, fish, raccoons, even bears have all suffered as a result of my unintentional cruelty. But at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission pointed out this week, giving people food to an animal is like pumping your five year old full of Mountain Dew and Oreos.

"Food being fed to animals usually offers inadequate nutrition," said Anni Mitchell, an WC biologist in Lake city. "This people food is junk food to animals."

Many of the things that we eat can be toxic to animals. Other items, such as the bones from a chicken, can splinter and actually cause death if ingested. Other foods, such as potato peels, nuts and some vegetables can actually make animals very sick.

And if that isn't enough to convince you not to feed wild animals, consider this, in Florida it is illegal to to feed sandhill cranes, bears, raccoons, foxes and alligators.

But before you think about turning me in for feeding that black bear, please cut me some slack. I was only eight years old at the time and I was a garbage dump in Maine. Hopefully, the statue of limitations has run out.

For more information on the problems associated with feeding wild animals, go to myfwc.