Caterpillars Are Juvenile Butterflies And They Are Awfully Hungry. These Little Guys Are Going To One

NASA, NOAA to Discuss Solar Cycle Prediction During Media Teleconference

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will discuss predictions for the upcoming solar cycle during a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Sept. 15. Tracking the solar cycle is a key part of better understanding the Sun and mitigating its impacts on human technology and infrastructure. from NASA Breaking News http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-noaa-to-discuss-solar-cycle-prediction-during-media-teleconference

Why do snakes yawn? While wildlife biologists do not have a definitive answer, it is like that it is because they are hungry! We can confirm that this video was caught right before feeding time.

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! 

This injured Burrowing Owl was brought to the nature center by a concerned Broward County resident to be rehabilitated. We were able to successfully able to release it back into the wild as good as new! 

This Burrowing Owl had an interesting feature that made it a unique visitor at our hospital. Most Burrowing Owls have bright yellow eyes. This one in particular possessed a recessive gene that gave it brown eyes instead. 

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!

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.

This little guy is an Eastern Screech Owl. Although small, he is considered fully grown. An eye injury sustained from a car collision keeps him from thriving in the wild on his own, so he will remain with the SNC as a permanent resident and educational ambassador. 

The Eastern Screech Owl is considered a bird of prey. So its sharp talons and curved beak have adapted to ripping and tearing prey as opposed to the straight and long beak of something like a heron that has been adapted for fishing. 

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. 

Fitz was rescued by the SNC a few years ago and is now one of our cutest educational animals. 

Because he is not one of the two types of native wild rabbits found in Florida, he cannot be released. But don't worry, he gets plenty of love and care.