It's Feeding Time For The SNC's Resident Great Blue Heron. Their Long, Sharp Beaks Are Perfect For Fishing.

More on the bees 🐝 The nature center at this park had an outdoor area that connected to the indoor hive (as well as a standard outside one) and several bachelor hotels for the solitary types.

Spike, the Burrowing Owl, has sparse feathers on his feet unlike many other owls who look like they are wearing leg warmers!

Art and nature go hand-in-hand more often than people think. Previous artist in residence, Jan Kolenda, came out to touch up our tortoise statue. This statue highlights some important tortoise features such as their leathery skin that is adapted to crawling across land, their dome shaped shells, and the scutes that make up their shell. 

A pair of red shouldered hawks we’ve been seeing around the nature center.

This is the same advice we give to people calling the nature center every day. Great content to share around for concerned citizens. 

Since it’s almost that time of year again!

What is a Native Species?

Here in Florida, we are privy to a ton of unique and exciting wildlife due to our proximity to two very important natural features: The Everglades and the ocean. These two exciting ecosystems provide us with animals like Key Deer, the Everglades Snail Kite, and the Florida Panther that may not be found elsewhere in the world.

Any ecosystem or habitat in the world has native species. This means that the species arrived and has evolved in an area by only natural processes.  Other species in the ecosystem often evolved together and adapt to sharing an environment. For example, Florida Panthers and deer have adapted to sharing an environment together despite one being predator and the other being prey. It is a relationship they share and rely on to keep each other’s populations in check.

Unfortunately, not every animal we see in the wild is meant to be here. Take, for example, the Burmese Python in the Everglades.

An introduced species like the Burmese Python could affect the environment is several ways. They could adapt poorly in the new environment and perish, they could live within their new home and cause no major harm, or they could thrive with the lack of natural predators and outcompete native species. That scenario could mean that they could take the food, water, space, and other resources that would typically go to native animals. This would disrupt the natural balance in the ecosystem that has evolved over time. When this happens, the non-native species becomes invasive.

Wildlife hospitals like the Sawgrass Nature Center and Wildlife Hospital (SNC) take in and treat native wildlife, but it is illegal for the SNC and anyone else in the State of Florida to release non-native species into the local ecosystem. That means, the SNC can only admit injured or orphaned native animals for rehabilitation and release. Unfortunately, any non-native animal that might come our way would legally have to be euthanized or provided a forever home. Since we cannot always guarantee the space for all non-native animals and do not prefer to euthanize a healthy animal, we encourage finding other places that are specifically meant for taking in and sheltering non-native species.

I am part of a club at my collage where we help to educate others on reducing their water and energy waste! Follow us on Instagram at chicogreencampus for more stuff like this!

Squirrels play an important part in seed dispersal, which is responsible for the planting of many trees. Their environmental niche is why it's so important to rehabilitate them properly and release them back into the wild.

Squirrels do not make good pets and should not be kept without a proper license. When they go through the squirrel equivalent of puberty, they become very aggressive, or nutty, if you will. 

Raccoons like the pool to cool off, but they also use it to wash their hands and food. 

Those of you that follow us on social media may already be familiar with Bumper and the reason he got his name. Bumper likes to bump shoes with the front of his shell. This is a territorial display that is meant to inform the keeper of the day that they are in his home and they are only welcome as long as there is food.

Bumper is with the Sawgrass Nature Center because he is considered an exotic species. That means his species is not native to Florida.

What is Bumper?

Greek Tortoise

The Greek tortoise is one of five of the Mediterranean species of tortoises. They can grow to an average size of 5-8 inches in length, making them one of the smaller species of tortoise. Even though they have an average lifespan of about 50 years, they have been recorded to live up to 125 years in captivity with proper care and treatment.

Want to see Bumper?

Even though these guys are small in size, they require a pretty big habitat space to be kept happy and healthy. This includes lots of dirt and vegetation. That’s why if you come by the SNC to visit Bumper, you may have a hard time spotting him in such a large exhibit area. The best time to see Bumper is feeding time Tuesdays-Sundays around 11am-12pm. You might even get to see him do his famous “Bumper” display.