The Everglades is primarily made up of water, and is actually a flowing river. Water flows from north to south from Lake Okeechobee. It is a very slow moving river. These days, its dimensions are 60 miles wide and 100 miles long. It used to be even larger!  Unfortunately, due to construction and drainage projects, close to 50 percent of the wetland has been destroyed. Natural areas of the Everglades were replaced with residential areas, urban areas, and farms.

Now, an Everglades Restoration Plan is in place to restore the water flow to its historic, natural flow. On Earth Day, one of these plans, building the Tamiami Bridge, began construction. Why is a restoration plan needed? Well if it’s never restored, the area may disappear.  Because of humans, Lake Okeechobee became connected to estuaries through the Calooshatchee and St. Lucie Rivers. When this occurred, the rivers began receiving water from the lake that compromised the fragile estuarine ecosystem. Other Everglades areas now receive polluted water from the Lake that came from the farming areas. Vegetation and wildlife have changed in these areas because of it. Since the Everglades is home to 16 endangered or threatened species, it’s even more crucial to get the water flowing properly. One small change in the ecosystem and an entire species can disappear, and no one wants that to happen.

This Restoration Plan contains around 60 components that will restore the ecosystem, provide flood protection, and ensure water supplies. Some plans include: Kissimmee River restoration project; building additional storm water treatment areas and flow equalization basins, the Picayune Strand Restoration Project, Tamiami Bridge, and the C-111 Spreader Canal.

Explore The Beautiful Everglades

The Everglades is one-of-a-kind place of wonder; it has been designated biodiversity global hotspot, because it is one of the richest and most threatened areas with plant and animal life on the planet. Protection of this area is crucial, especially if people want to continue to benefit from its water and beauty in the future. It’s a must-see place. To explore the area, an airboat tour brings people up-close-and-personal with the wetland. To book an airboat tour, click here. or call Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours at 239-695-3377.

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The first question you are probably asking yourself is why do snakes shed their skin in the first place? The simple answer is that snakeskin is not like human skin – as humans age and grow from infancy, our skin expands along with us. Snakeskin does not expand as a baby snake grows into adulthood, so from time to time a snake must shed its skin in order to allow for new growth. It’s all part of a natural process called moulting, which although it is practiced in various forms by many members of the animal kingdom, snakes are perhaps the most notable, with their skin often even picked up by collectors.

It’s important to note that during the process of shedding, a snake is only actually shedding the outermost layer of its skin. Furthermore, while snakes do tend to grow at faster rates when they are young, just like humans, unlike humans, they never stop growing, even after they reach adulthood. For this reason, a snake will continue to shed its skin until the day it dies, although with much less frequency than when it was young. The average adult snake will shed its skin approximately once every 30-45 days.

In order for a snake to shed its skin properly, some level of humidity must be present. This is especially true of tropical snakes, who would likely have trouble surviving in drier climates. If a snake lacks proper moisture or is dehydrated, it may have trouble shedding its skin, and sheds may accumulate uncomfortably over time. While this may not seem like a serious problem initially, for a snake, it definitely is. The biggest problem arises when skin accumulation leads to multiple caps over the eyes, which can lead to blindness and ultimately to death. Furthermore, healthy snakes will generally shed their skin in one piece, and a broken or incomplete shed can also be a sign of a snake in poor health.

While snakes are terrifying to some people, no one can deny that they are incredibly fascinating creatures, whether or not each person’s fascination leans towards love or hate. If your personal fascination draws you to observe snakes in their natural habitats, then a Florida Everglades tour is an excellent place to start. From the safety of an airboat ride, you can view snakes, alligators, and plenty of fish and birds while zipping across the water at top speeds, all the while getting up close and personal with some of Florida’s most interesting wildlife.

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Because the only natural predators of Florida panthers are American alligators and American crocodiles, the drastic decline in Florida panther populations can be blamed almost entirely on human encroachment. Southwest Florida is one of the fastest developing areas in all of the United States, and the addition of major roads and housing communities within prime panther habitats has been an issue of controversy in the area for some time. When you consider that one of the leading causes of death amongst Florida panthers is automobile collisions, it is obvious that this construction is having a major impact. What is less obvious is the fact that roadways also separate male and female panthers from each other and prevent breeding. Recent studies have shown that the great majority of panthers hit on the road are male and that females tend to be more reluctant about crossing roads in general, offering them protection from accidents but unfortunately also separating them from the males and inhibiting the future growth of their species.

In addition to roadside collisions, the other leading cause of death amongst Florida panthers is territorial disputes between panthers. While this aggression has always naturally existed between panthers, it becomes much more of a danger when panthers are limited to smaller areas, a natural result as more and more of their prime habitats are destroyed to make way for more humans. In addition to the territorial disputes that arise in such close quarters, Florida panthers are also heavily prone to inbreeding. In fact, of all puma species, the Florida panther has the lowest genetic diversity, and inbreeding leads to such complications in individuals as cardiac defects and weakened immune systems, further lowering the survival chances of those who manage to pass infancy.

Furthermore, in addition to the threats previously mentioned, because of their weakened immune systems Florida panthers are also more susceptible to certain diseases, such as feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus. Pollution in and around their environments has also exposed Florida panthers to harmful chemicals, chemicals which further inhibit their reproduction. In some cases, tests have even shown that male Florida panthers have the ability to become feminized after certain levels of chemical exposure. Unfortunately, what you end up with is a feminized male, who because he thinks of himself as female, is highly unlikely to then reproduce with the true females around him.

Despite the rareness of an encounter with a Florida panther, these beautiful and large cats can still be occasionally observed in South Florida, though more and more instances of sightings are occurring around homes or public parks, places where it is more than likely that a lost panther just happened to wander into a zone inhabited by humans. To take your chances of spotting a Florida panther for yourself in the wild, you can always try a trip on a local airboat tour, where much of the local Everglades wildlife can be viewed from a safe distance. Everglades tours are a great opportunity to not only observe an abundance of animals and plants unique to the area, but you will also step off the boat with a newfound appreciation for the native species that call this area home and a greater understanding of why exactly these animals need to be saved and protected.

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