(Note: This blog is out of sequence because of the amount of pictures.)
Today we decided on a little adventure to Pioneer Park Hardee Wildlife Refuge and the trail by the Peace River.
"From small beginnings came great things" represents the creation of the Hardee County Wildlife Refuge. From a few rough cages located around the perimeter of Pioneer Park to a model Refuge, dreams became reality when we relocated to our new facility in 2001. Today the Refuge is home to native Florida wildlife and a few exotic species, each housed in natural-type habitats.
Coming from various walks of life, each animal has been placed in our care with their own unique story. However, they do have one thing in common - they were in need of a forever home and could not survive in the wild. Now they are thriving in their refuge home, which provides nutritional food, shelter, and large physical areas for enrichment activity. Guests are encouraged to visit the Refuge and take a leisurely stroll among the tree tops on the elevated boardwalk and become educated about the animals that make the Hardee County Wildlife Refuge their home.”
This is this Sulcata Tortoise. This species inhabits the southern edge of the Sahara desert. It is the world’s third largest, only smaller than the giant island dwelling Galapagos and Aldrabra tortoises. They can weigh up to 200 pounds. This was a big guy.
And Alligators… There are two in this swamp.
Alligators are found in the U.S. from North Carolina to the Rio Grande in Texas. They are usually found in freshwater, slow-moving rivers, swamps, marshes and lakes.
You can distinguish an alligator from a crocodile by the teeth. The large, fourth tooth in the lower jaw of an alligator fits into a socket in the upper jaw and is not visible when the mouth is closed. This does not happen in crocodiles.
The largest alligator ever recorded in Florida was 17’ 5” long. The largest alligator ever recorded measured 19’ 2” and was found in Louisiana.
Based on fossil records, scientists have determined that alligators have existed for about 150 million years.
WOW!
How about these characters:
And these characters – LOL!
We stopped and watched this river otter have a great time:
River otters live in wooded areas along rivers, streams, marshes, estuaries and lakes in the U.S. and Canada. They spend most of their time on land.
They are expert swimmers and divers, reaching an average speed of 6 miles per hour when swimming.
Contrary to popular opinion, the river otter does not affect the quality or quantity of sport fish populations. If anything, it contributes to a healthy fish population by culling out the weak and sick individuals.
The bear habitat had two bears:
Black bears will eat almost anything. If food is abundant, it will gorge itself until it can’t eat anymore. After sleeping it off, the process will start all over again.
A black bear’s diet is made up of about 80% vegetable matter.
A mother bear’s milk is 10 times richer than cow’s milk.
We also saw habitats of Emu, White Tailed Deer, Cougar, Bobcat, Raccoon, Great Horned Owl and Barn Screech Owl, (My pictures were not the best so they are not included.)
The habitats were beautiful:
Elevated boardwalks throughout the entire refuge.
A rest before our continued adventure:
After we left the refuge, we walked down to the Peace River and followed part of the trail along the river:
Check out the turtle on the tree limb:
What a great place to spend the day.
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