A Visit To The Busch Wildlife Sanctuary

My sister Susan and I visited the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter, Florida yesterday afternoon and really enjoyed it. This non-profit organization's mission is to "rescue and rehabilitate wildlife and educate the community about environmental conservation." Although they have been around for 40 years, they opened this new facility about a year and a half ago, and it is very impressive. One of the animals currently undergoing rehab is the Florida bobcat seen in the photograph on the left. I am not sure what the staff member is feeding that kitty, but it really seems to like it. My guess is Jai Alai IPA, a local favorite, but I could be wrong.

I originally thought the animal in the photograph on the right was a Florida panther, which is an endangered species. The population has gone from a mere 10 back in 1967 to 200 in recent years, but it is still threatened. It is the only subspecies of mountain lion left in the eastern United States. As I looked at that cat, I marveled at how big it was - far larger than the Florida panthers I have seen on television. However, as I was sitting on a bench, I overheard a volunteer explaining to another visitor that the animal was actually a California mountain lion. He explained that they have not had a Florida panther at the sanctuary in 15 years, and since there are no longer panthers in the area, they decided to bring in a couple of those California mountain lions for visitors to view. All well and good, but why does the cage still say Florida Panther on it? Next time I'll just have to ask.

I have never seen an owl in person before and so was happy to see the one in the photograph on the left. It was in a very dark enclosure, and I assume that is because they are nocturnal creatures and feel more comfortable in the dark. And I have to say, that owl did not take its eyes off me the entire time I was there. Perhaps it blames me for his or her incarceration. I have to assume that it is in there to be rehabilitated, and that once it is ready to be released into the wild, it will be. I tried to explain that, but it just kept staring. You do what you can, right?

And then there are the alligators, one of which was in the pond and seen in the photograph on the right. As you can see, it is keeping a low profile, with its eyes just barely above the surface. Alligators, not to mention many other types of wildlife, are being threatened by Burmese pythons, which are an invasive species in South Florida. They breed like crazy and are steadily moving to the north. A typical female can lay up to 50 eggs every other year. The State of Florida has been trying to reduce the population, but so far has not had much success. They even hold a python hunting contest every year called the Python Hunting Challenge, providing cash prizes for the most and longest pythons (they can grow up to 20 feet long). In any case, the alligator in that pond shouldn't have to worry about those pythons, at least until it is released back into the wild. I can just see that poor alligator now, begging to please please let me stay.