Driving from Naples to Miami, you drive basically through the Big Cypress National Preserve, which is filled with trails and wildlife. Below are two gators from the side of a dirt road - the bottom one lifted and moved his head to face me... too close!
There was a giant softshell turtle kind of wandering aimlessly on the side of the dirt road in the Big Cypress National Preserve. He was on the move, and I kept thinking he was trying to get to water, but any time he got back to near an entrance to water, he'd go the opposite way. So either he wasn't very smart or was not looking for water. Either way, I thought turtles were supposed to be cute. This guy was not. The top photo looks like he's crying for help.
I first spotted the orange version of these grasshoppers in 2017. I saw these black ones and apparently this is the same species, just a younger age. In a few months, the orange ones will be jumping everywhere... yuck.
Big Cypress National Preserve is thousands and thousands of acres of swamp. Perfect place for gators to live. Below are gators resting and swimming in the swampy waters in the preserve.
