tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77289676911095593842025-01-31T03:57:19.991-05:00"World famous" wildlife biologist Pete Corradino explores the swamps and marshes of the Everglades and gives a visual tour of the world's greatest wetland.Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.comBlogger357125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-26551041419552979892020-04-01T11:21:00.000-04:002020-04-01T11:21:00.211-04:00

It hasn’t rained in Southwest Florida in a month but I let the kids play in the hose a few nights ago. The result was the emergence of Hygroscopic Earthstars. They are not technically true Earthstars but who cares. They’re just as cool. The hose water gave the fungus just enough moisture to grow fruiting bodies which you see here.  They have a symbiotic relationship with the Live Oak

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-45967486609444125372016-09-01T08:15:00.001-04:002016-09-01T08:15:51.318-04:00

As of 9/1/2016 I will no longer work for the Everglades Day Safari. This may come as a shock, a pleasant surprise or be met with raging indifference. I will officially be the owner of Everglades Day Safari and here's how it happened. The first job I ever had lasted one day. I was 13 and was a babysitter for three kids. I don't remember their names but I remember kicking a ball around inside the

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-12953309824996523912014-02-23T22:15:00.001-05:002014-02-23T22:16:44.007-05:00

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Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-12088680976113693632013-09-27T09:53:00.000-04:002013-09-27T09:53:00.826-04:00

I have a favor. My friend Michele has been battling ovarian cancer for nearly 2 years. After a second round of chemotherapy, a CT scan today offered positive news and we hope that she continues to improve. The ordeal has taken a physical, emotional and financial toll which is why her friends have set up a fundraiser event this Saturday to help where the insurance companies could not.Whether you

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-79727860683099012182013-06-22T13:46:00.001-04:002013-06-22T13:46:54.866-04:00

My good friend Rebecca recalled a story from her childhood of finding "monkey" in a bag at Wendy's. This story dovetailed well (or at least like a Peregrine Falcon soaring talons first into a dove) with a story from my childhood of my family walking out of a Wendy's and leaving an ape in a bag for a moment. Follow the link and enjoy. http://meanlouise.com/?p=7926

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-79668473069163588222012-11-23T14:45:00.000-05:002012-11-23T14:45:00.182-05:00

Originally published on Audubon Guides on September 4th, 2012 My mother, a park ranger, once held out a cone from an unknown tree and asked a state forester if he knew which tree it came from. “Some kinda conifer”, he answered, as if that was sufficient. He wasn’t wrong. The cone did come from a coniferous tree, but the answer was as helpful as saying “food” when someone asks “what’s for

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-7011268233447500042012-11-21T15:29:00.000-05:002012-11-21T15:29:00.575-05:00

Originally published on Audubon Guides on October 8th, 2012 I had a dream about the game show Family Feud the other night. The one hosted by Richard Dawson, the guy that kissed all of the ladies. He said “One hundred people surveyed, top five answers on the board. Here’s the question: name me something you lick.” I couldn’t think. I panicked. Frozen flag poles. Lobsters. Newborns (no

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-79860554085070353952012-11-18T15:18:00.000-05:002012-11-18T15:18:00.164-05:00

Originally published on Audubon Guides on September 24th, 2012 Twenty seven squirrel monkeys lived on an island at the Florida Monkey Sanctuary in Venice, Florida. They had no interest in swimming to freedom. There was no land close enough on the other side of the encircling moat that offered a chance to leap to. They were content on their island oasis. My parents ran the sanctuary and we

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com12170-2498 Ewing Dr, Venice, FL 34292, USA27.119646317338841 -82.38647460937527.063104817338839 -82.465438609375 27.176187817338842 -82.307510609375tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-82129611762533456012012-11-16T15:25:00.000-05:002012-11-16T15:25:00.198-05:00

Originally published on Audubon Guides on October 1st, 2012 Catching an oyster only seems difficult to me if you’re tossing one around with your kid in your backyard. For a predator the difficulty is not chasing one down but prying one apart once they’ve located it. The two sides of the bivalve’s shell are bound together by an adductor that protects them from prying intruders. Hopefully.

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com150 Estero Blvd, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931, USA26.464483886305654 -81.96805000305175826.462706886305654 -81.970517503051752 26.466260886305655 -81.965582503051763tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-32360681755185376262012-11-14T15:13:00.000-05:002012-11-14T15:13:00.190-05:00

Originally published on Audubon Guides on September 17th, 2012 One of the quickest ways to make an enemy of a native Floridian is to suggest that the Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) is not native to Florida. The fastest way is to drive slowly in the fast lane. The iconic palm is found throughout the tropics and grows along Florida’s coast from the middle of the state south through the Keys. As a

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-38355760208217860892012-11-11T15:09:00.000-05:002012-11-11T15:09:00.035-05:00

Originally published on Audubon Guides on September 10th, 2012 I could be a meteorologist in Florida. In May the weather forecast is a chance of rain through November. The rainy season coincides with the tropical storm season. A nice afternoon rain shower is par for the course on any given day. Lake Trafford is a 1600 acre inland lake in northeast Collier County. It’s been called the

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-33941911696245642062012-11-08T15:04:00.000-05:002012-11-08T15:04:00.554-05:00

Originally published on Audubon Guides on August 25th, 2012 On Sunday, August 26th, Tropical Storm Isaac loomed 150 miles southwest of me in the Gulf of Mexico. For five days, hurricane trackers had forecast the storm’s position and strength and offered suggestions of where it might hit. Flooding, storm surges and high winds are a big concern. When the call goes out to evacuate, it’s time to

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0Everglades, FL, USA25.8582443 -81.385069525.8296668 -81.4245515 25.8868218 -81.3455875tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-79386916277404232902012-11-05T14:57:00.000-05:002012-11-05T14:57:00.219-05:00

Originally published on Audubon Guides on August 20th, 2012 The gulf coast beaches of Florida are famed for the amazing seashells that wash ashore. Scallops, conchs, whelks, pen shells, turkey wings and a myriad of others become treasures to tourists and locals who are no doubt entranced by the variety of colors and shapes these sea creatures come in. What is easy to overlook, is what is

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-13703382205914943112012-11-02T14:51:00.000-04:002012-11-02T14:51:00.601-04:00

Originally published on Audubon Guides on August 13th, 2012 Traveling across the Everglades, a motorist will see signs that caution “panther crossing”, and “wildlife on roadway”. Speed limits are reduced at night to protect nocturnal species. Hundreds of miles of fences stretch from one side of the state to the other. Wildlife is often observed behind the fence and one might wonder if you’re

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-1598511486691166612012-10-31T15:32:00.000-04:002012-10-31T15:32:00.478-04:00

Originally published on Audubon Guides on October 14th, 2012 Throughout Florida’s rural landscape, thousands of miles of asphalt scars bisect pasturelands and create obstacles for every species of wildlife including rodents, frogs, owls, pigs, bears, panthers and so many more. A desolate wilderness is not a promise of safe harbor and the roadsides are often littered with carcasses of the quick

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-88730477238512494602012-10-28T14:24:00.000-04:002012-10-28T14:24:00.804-04:00

Originally published on Audubon Guides on July 30th, 2012 From May through October, anyone heading into Florida’s coastal waters is encouraged to do the “stingray&nbsp;shuffle”. This Frankenstein’s monster-like gait stirs the underwater sediments and frightens the bottom dwelling rays into taking off. No doubt this aquatic march is a&nbsp;Sand Dollar’s&nbsp;(Echinarachnius parma)&nbsp;worst

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com150 Estero Blvd, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931, USA26.464022866039095 -81.96783542633056626.462245866039094 -81.970302926330561 26.465799866039095 -81.965367926330572tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-4778469073912479502012-10-25T14:17:00.000-04:002012-10-25T14:17:00.041-04:00

Originally published on Audubon Guides on July 23rd, 2012 A friend called me the other day and asked me why we don’t have octopuses in Florida. “Why?” I questioned. Apparently someone she knew was going snorkeling on the reefs in Biscayne National Park off the coast of Miami. The woman was deathly afraid of octopuses and wanted to make sure the world beneath the waves was devoid of the

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com01598 Ken Thompson Pkwy, Sarasota, FL 34236, USA27.3329089 -82.577496427.3311459 -82.5799639 27.3346719 -82.5750289tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-81508131877132218562012-10-23T14:34:00.000-04:002012-10-23T14:34:00.381-04:00

Originally published on Audubon Guides on August 6th, 2012 Who&nbsp;wouldn't&nbsp;tune in to watch a showdown between the “slow moving”, baked potato-shaped&nbsp;&nbsp;West Indian Manatee&nbsp;(Trichechus manatus)&nbsp;&nbsp;and an Olympic gold medalist swimmer? Few people would put money on the bulbous beast to win a race against any human let alone an Olympian, the fastest of which can swim

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-48135635654471857772012-10-22T14:11:00.000-04:002012-10-22T14:11:00.550-04:00

Originally posted on Audubon Guides on July 16th, 2012 My companions take the first step into the duckweed (Lemna valdiviana) covered muck. It stirs slightly and closes back in over the black water as they wade out into the slough. “Something moved in the water” one of them says. “Probably a snake”. I’ve seen Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) out here in the past, most notably one that

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com024303 Turner River Rd, Big Cypress National Preserve, Ochopee, FL 34141, USA25.967922229034048 -81.249389648437524.133274729034049 -83.7762451484375 27.802569729034047 -78.7225341484375tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-9722499231217811362012-10-20T14:06:00.003-04:002012-10-20T14:39:13.534-04:00

Originally posted on Audubon Guides - July 9th, 2012 Fear is an acceptable emotion that can lead to a heightened sense of awareness and ultimately protect one from a potential threat. I’m not afraid of ghosts. Nor am I afraid of seeking them but there are situations involved in the hunt that make you pause and consider that what you are doing is extremely dangerous and each step must be made

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-63776943286894345102012-07-31T07:00:00.000-04:002012-07-31T07:00:01.937-04:00

Recently, an Everglades airboat captain lost his hand to an American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) during a tour. Feeding, harassing or molesting alligators is punishable with a maximum fine of up to $500 and 60 days and jail. Losing your limbs or your life is an additional punishment for bad behavior. In all of my years in the Everglades I have seen people do some dumb things

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com4Everglades, FL, USA25.8582443 -81.385069525.843955299999998 -81.4048105 25.8725333 -81.3653285tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-39210866586119850872012-07-29T07:00:00.000-04:002012-07-29T07:00:07.029-04:00

As I ride my bike back to my house, I have one hand on the handle bars and one delicately cradling a Green Heron (Butorides virescens) that is thankfully behaving. The bird is beautiful with deep green plumage on its head and back, rusty-colored feathers around the neck, a long pointed beak and a deceivingly long neck. From a riverside perch, Green Herons can extend their neck great lengths

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com13420 32nd St W, Lehigh Acres, FL 33971, USA26.643162637048341 -81.69485092163085926.62897063704834 -81.714591921630856 26.657354637048343 -81.675109921630863tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-4815876179774201562012-07-27T07:00:00.000-04:002012-07-27T07:00:14.525-04:00

The Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve is a nine-mile long, third of a mile wide, linear strand of forest in Fort Myers, Florida. I assume the name “Nine Mile Cypress Slough Preserve” had already been taken. The 2500-acre preserve is home to a remarkable diversity of plants and wildlife, many of which can be seen on a two and half mile boardwalk. Florida Butterfly Orchid © Pete Corradino My

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com2Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, 7791 Penzance Blvd, Fort Myers, FL 33966, USA26.5704281 -81.826264226.556226600000002 -81.8460052 26.5846296 -81.8065232tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-82565520244359574942012-07-25T07:00:00.000-04:002012-07-25T07:00:07.733-04:00

I pushed my sister off the roof our house once. I meant no harm. We were simply filming what we expected would be the big winner on America’s Funniest Videos. When her cue came and she didn’t jump, I pushed her. That’s what big brothers do. She was fine. Anyway I have two more sisters where that one came from. Booby with chick © Pete Corradino Blue-footed Boobies (Sula nebouxii) are

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com0Isla Plata, Manabi, Ecuador-1.2782401 -81.0699462-1.7862251000000002 -81.7016602 -0.77025510000000008 -80.4382322tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7728967691109559384.post-64049299717090913972012-07-23T07:00:00.000-04:002012-07-23T07:00:08.560-04:00

© Pete Corradino To take from others that which is not yours would seem an easy way to acquire any number of things. Treasure comes to mind. Regurgitated squid as well. As long as men have sailed the oceans there have been pirates plundering the belongings of others and as long as birds have taken to the skies, there have been certain species that would steal rather than hunt on their own.

Jungle Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09917181815272611859noreply@blogger.com1Isla Salango, Ecuador-1.5996784 -80.8626864-1.6631684 -80.9416504 -1.5361884 -80.7837224