Wild Kingdom
Found this guy on my walk one day.
When contemplating a move to Florida, we all pretty much think of gators being the exotic and (perhaps) scary life form. Well, I haven’t seen a gator yet, except at the Bass Pro Shop here in Palm Bay. They have a gator moat outside! But I am continuing to learn about the critters here.
When we came and met with our agent to look at houses, we had a huge pair of cranes walk up and watch us through the window. Those things were so big you could almost put a saddle on them! There are all sorts of exotic and interesting birds, especially the water birds, even just hanging out in a parking lot you will see them. One thing I haven’t had yet, but I have learned is common, is peacocks. Yup, they are on the loose in Palm Bay. I guess they make a lot of noise when they land on the roof! One less appealing feathered critter I see a lot of is buzzards. Around here you don’t need to call the city if there is a dead possum, etc., in the road. The buzzards arrive by the flock, and they make quick work of whatever carcass is available. Ugh. But it does save a phone call!
Frogs are everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. They are on the walls, in the yard. The only thing more common is lizards. I happen to love these creatures, I know not everybody does! One word of advice, though, to anyone moving here with cats: The cats LOVE to catch lizards and bring them into the house. Oh yeah, I’ve chased more than one!
There are a lot of turtles here. I met a huge tortoise one day out on my walk, had a much smaller turtle in my yard.
Those things might not be too surprising or alarming. But there’s more!
Bobcats are apparently pretty common around here. People have shared videos online of the cats climbing up the side of their chicken coop. Small animals need to be protected, especially at night.
One thing I wasn’t expecting to find down here: Wild pigs. I haven’t seen any yet, but they do exist around here, and reportedly are pretty notorious for tearing up a yard. I’ve also heard that there is a whole herd (is that the right term?) of them that can be found out in a parking lot of a local grocery store. One of my neighbors advised that the animal control won’t do anything about them, and one of those hogs was estimated to weigh close to 400 pounds! So, no joke, don’t mess with the pigs!
Bears live in Florida, too! I don’t think they are quite all the way down here in Central Florida, but they are in the more northern areas. Bears! Really? Wow.
A Florida ‘Lubber’, I believe. Hated by gardeners, about half the size of my hand!
You can bet, too, that there are some different sorts of bugs. They seem to all be on steroids down here. One grasshopper-looking bug was as big as my thumb (I think they are called lubbers?) They apparently are not helpful to a garden, people hate them. Spiders (OMG, Ugh!) seem larger than life, although I’ve only had to dispatch a couple so far. I don’t mind snakes, bugs, but spiders… they give me nightmares.
And speaking of snakes…of course there are snakes. I’ve seen one big black racer who hangs around here. I actually would welcome a couple more, though…they keep rodents at bay, which I appreciate.. But it was a little unnerving the first time it slithered right in front of me and around the yard. There are bigger and more dangerous snakes, but so far I’ve only seen stories of them, nothing up close and personal.
There are also plenty of the more usual critters, such as possum, raccoons, foxes, coyotes.
One thing we don’t have here, at least from what I have heard, is the famous falling iguanas! It’s possible, but they prefer a bit warmer, south Florida, I think.
Where I live is kind of rural, so there are a number of empty lots around our house, and if you go just a couple minutes south you hit a bunch of farms. So it’s not too surprising, I guess. But not what I was expecting! Still waiting to find a gator in my swimming pool!