JE #9 - Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Visit Part 2

On May 20, 2010 I was able to visit the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary as part of a field trip for the University Colloquium course at FGCU. We were treated with a guide from the University who was exceptionally knowledgeable on the entire sanctuary which made the visit much more informational than if we had all just wandered out there on our own. I have posted a blog previously (Part 1) concerning the history and welcome center, this part 2 of the blog will reflect my experiences while on the actual tour of the sanctuary.

The leading thought I walked away with after the tour was completed was that I retained a lot more information from my Florida Biology class than I ever thought I would have. I may not have been able to name off all of the species of plants but I still had a full understanding of the systems, the science behind why they worked together and as a result was able to answer 90% of the questions the tour guide asked us.

There was one point where the groups split and the expert tour guide was not in my group but I still found I was able to answer a lot of the questions people in our group had and even knew most of the information on the plaques posted around the park before I read them. I know this may sound more like I am patting myself on the back but it is NOT that at all. It is more of a stating the appreciation for my college in Tampa who regularly dragged us out and literally into swamps in order to learn. This progressive education could not be better emphasized than in my experience at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

My Florida Biology classes were taken back in 2004 and at that time we learned that there were no true Florida Panthers left in Florida and that breeding attempts were being made with the last of the species we held in captivity, that would be crossed with a Panther from Texas in the hopes of bringing the species back. While this would not be a true Florida panther as a Texas panther was introduced, the panthers and resulting offspring would remain in Florida.

I can not express the amount of joy I experienced when our guide told us of Panther sitings in the park and quite honestly thought he was just being optimistic. Once home I decided to do research on my own and found this awesome video that actually captured the panther siting on the boardwalk in 2009. Truly AMAZING!! Good job Florida on saving a species!!