Florida Animals for Everyday Naturalists


Book Description

Did you know fawns have no scent, an evolutionary defense against predators? And that the eastern grey squirrel is a formidable swimmer, which makes them quite suited for the Sunshine State? And that, unlike other avians, Florida scrub jay families stay together for years, with older siblings helping to feed younger siblings? Florida Animals for Everyday Naturalists contains everything you want to know about Florida’s furry, feathered, scaled, and shelled friends. With lively personal essays and stunning photographs, Larry Allan introduces you to the array of wildlife you might encounter in your backyard, at the park, or on a jaunt at one of the state’s many wildlife refuges. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific animal, like the bobcat, the river otter, and the caracara, and paired with vivid photos to help you identify these creatures in the wild. Allan’s fascination with Florida fauna is contagious, and his reverence of nature is unmistakable. While sharing his whimsical, enlightening, and instructive anecdotes, he gently argues for wildlife preservation in Florida and for responsible human-animal interactions. Perfect for young naturalists, inquisitive trekkers through the Sunshine State, or armchair adventurers, this book will help you appreciate the abundance of life right outside your door.




Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition


Book Description

"The Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition shows the world that beyond beaches and theme parks, the heart of Florida is still wild--and can still be saved. In 2012, four explorers enter the Everglades and, 100 days later, reach the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia. They paddle, peddle and hike more than 1,000 miles up the spine of Florida to call attention to this remaining natural corridor so essential to the survival of wildlife and to the well-being of Florida's ever-growing population. Stunning photographs by Carlton Ward Jr and essays by fellow explorers bring the story to life in vivid detail. Travel with them to discover the rivers, swamps, prairies, springs and forests, along with private cattle ranches and timberlands, which unite to form the corridor. Learn about wide-ranging wildlife like the Florida black bear and Florida panther and meet the gladesmen, cowboys and other heroes who work to protect the corridor for us all. The Florida Wildlife Corridor project is a collaborative vision to connect remaining natural lands, waters, working farms and ranches from the Everglades to Georgia, protecting a functional ecological corridor for the health of people and wildlife. The Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition, led by photographer Carlton Ward Jr, biologist Joe Guthrie, conservationist Mallory Lykes Dimmitt and filmmaker Elam Stoltzfus, was a 100 day, 1000 mile trek in early 2012 that explored the last remaining natural path through the length of the Florida peninsula. The journey will be featured in a film to debut nationally on Public Television in April, 2013" -- Amazon.com.




Drawing Florida Wildlife


Book Description

Easy step-by-step directions for drawing Florida's wildlife and plants.




Florida Wildlife


Book Description

A guide to the various mammals which reside in the state of Florida.




Backcountry Lawman


Book Description

With thirty years of backcountry patrol experience in Florida, Bob Lee has lived through incidents of legend, including one of the biggest environmental busts in Florida history. His fascinating memoir reveals the danger and the humor in the unsung exploits of game wardens.




Endangered and Threatened Animals of Florida and Their Habitats


Book Description

A biological crossroads where temperate gives way to tropical and east blends into west, Florida has over twenty-five primary habitat types, several of which are unique to the state. Within these richly varied natural communities lives an astonishing abundance of animals and plants, making Florida one of the United States' most biologically diverse regions. At the same time, sadly, Florida is also one of the country's most ecologically imperiled regions, second only to California in the number of its animals and plants that have been federally designated as endangered or threatened. This fully illustrated book is a comprehensive, yet convenient and easy-to-understand guide to Florida's endangered and threatened animals and the habitats that support them. Chris Scott covers all 71 species, subspecies, or populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, crustaceans, insects, corals, and mollusks. His species accounts describe each animal's listed status, identifying characteristics, historical and current distribution, biology, current threats, and conservation efforts. To make the crucial link between animals and their habitats, Scott also includes extensive discussions of Florida's natural regions; human impacts on the environment, including habitat destruction, pollution, and the introduction of invasive, nonnative species; and ongoing efforts to conserve and restore native plant and animal communities. With this wealth of information available in no other single volume, everyone who cares about the natural environment can help preserve one of America's biological treasurehouses.




Landscaping for Florida's Wildlife


Book Description

Shows in a clear, step-by-step format how to create a wildlife-friendly landscape that takes into account both people and nature.




The State You're In


Book Description

Jump into the wacky, wild world of Florida For more than 30 years, investigative journalist and New York Times bestselling author Craig Pittman has chronicled the wildest stories Florida has to offer. Featuring a selection of columns that have appeared in the Tampa Bay Times and other outlets throughout Pittman’s career, this book highlights just how strange and wonderful Florida can be. With a folksy style, an eye for the absurd, and a passion for the history and environment of his home state, Pittman describes some of Florida’s oddest wildlife as well as its quirkiest people. The State You’re In includes a love story involving the most tattooed woman in the world, a deep dive into the state’s professional mermaid industry, and an investigation of a battle between residents of a nudist resort and the U.S. Postal Service. Pittman introduces readers to a who’s who of Florida crime fiction, a what’s what of exotic animals, and an array of beloved places he’s seen change rapidly in his lifetime. Many of these stories are funny, some are serious, and several offer rare insights into the heart of the Sunshine State. For Pittman, Florida is both inspiring and dangerous—an “evolutionary test” for those who live in it. Together these pieces paint a complex picture of a fascinating state longing for an identity beyond palm trees and punchlines.




I Have Been Assigned the Single Bird


Book Description

Susan Cerulean’s memoir trains a naturalist’s eye and a daughter’s heart on the lingering death of a beloved parent from dementia. At the same time, the book explores an activist’s lifelong search to be of service to the embattled natural world. During the years she cared for her father, Cerulean also volunteered as a steward of wild shorebirds along the Florida coast. Her territory was a tiny island just south of the Apalachicola bridge where she located and protected nesting shorebirds, including least terns and American oystercatchers. I Have Been Assigned the Single Bird weaves together intimate facets of adult caregiving and the consolation of nature, detailing Cerulean’s experiences of tending to both. The natural world is the “sustaining body” into which we are born. In similar ways, we face not only a crisis in numbers of people diagnosed with dementia but also the crisis of the human-caused degradation of the planet itself, a type of cultural dementia. With I Have Been Assigned the Single Bird, Cerulean reminds us of the loving, necessary toil of tending to one place, one bird, one being at a time.




Florida Your Land and My Land


Book Description