His Name Is Bumper For A Reason! Bumper Is A Greek Tortoise That Is Native To Europe And Many Surrounding

This owl prefers to live in the ground rather than up in a tree. So for security purposes, he tricks his neighbors into thinking he’s a rattlesnake! 

The Sawgrass Nature Center has the chance to win up to $20k in grants if we can raise just $3,000 in donations. The goal for this grant is to provide under served communities with career-building mentorship programs and educational resources for free. Please help us reach our goal by sharing or donating. Learn more about the mission here: https://acommunitythrives.mightycause.com/story/Elzntf

Monkey Island: Cayo Santiago Imagine an uninhabited island originally set up as a research station. A few monkeys are released there to observe and study. Fast-forward several years and monkeys run the island—no humans allowed. Sound like a science fiction movie? A Planet of the Apes knock-off? Well….in this case, it’s not. This island exists—it’s Cayo Santiago in the Caribbean near Puerto Rico.

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A rainy but beautiful start to our morning here at SNC!

“Fragile & paper thin, is the compelling nature of many perfect things. Like butterfly wings, unfolding from a chrysalis, vibrant & vital in release. Exploring their place in this tangled world, faint heartbeat fluttering over roaring air, velvet lace floating on fitful winds. Barely there for the briefest of moments, then with one final, breathless flourish—gone again”.

RhymingTherapy—November 2020 (Caper White butterflies in my garden last weekend) poem inspired by @Writerscreed challenge “we need unfolding”

The Sawgrass Nature Center is home to an aviary of recovering and permanent winged residents. This blue jay is one of the many that are to be soon as you walk through the surrounding enclosure. 

One of the SNC’s permanent residents is a red rat snake we call Big Red. Red Rat Snakes are native to Florida and can be commonly found in the Everglades. All snakes have an ecological role to play in the environment, so even if you don’t like them, it is in our best interests to respect them and leave them alone.  

If you want to learn more about red rat snakes and how the SNC helps them, click the link: https://sawgrassnaturecenter.org/2014/11/07/lets-learn-about-rat-snakes/

Slovakia - Malá Studená dolina [OC] [3000x4000] - Author: FlowSnakes on reddit

Walking between the rolling clay hills at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, you can stumble onto a scene that looks like a lumberjack went mad. But this wasn’t the work of an axe or saw. Over 200 million years ago, fallen trees washed into an ancient river system and were buried quickly enough that oxygen was cut off and decay slowed. Minerals, absorbed into the porous wood over thousands of years, crystallized and replaced the organic material forming what we call petrified wood. The crystals are hard and brittle, fracturing easily when subjected to stress. Over time, the still buried petrified trees broke like glass rods – giving the appearance today of logs cut with a chainsaw. Photo by Jacob Holgerson, National Park Service.

Sitting in on a virtual meeting like…

This little fish is called a Garibaldi, found at Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary! This fish gets its name from the 19th-century Italian leader of the same name whose famous army wore flashy red/orange colors into battle.(Photo: Keith C. Flood. Image description: A bright orange Garibaldi fish head-on and close up to the camera.)