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| no partners | | I wrote this to be article for Florida Wildlife Magazine. They rejected the story, along with my photos that accompanied it. Since I took the time to write it, I might as well publish it somewhere.
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When I arrived in Fort Lauderdale and got into my rental car on the night of 1/26/10, only two things were on my mind- photographing a Florida panther and photographing a Burmese python. I arrived in Everglades National Park around 9pm. Too exhausted to do anything from traveling, I opted to pull of the side of the road before the park entrance and sleep in my car for the night.
Waking up the next day, I was in a bit of a shock. I wasn't used to seeing dense vegetation, cloud-filled skies, and mosquitos. I didn't pack any bug spray, thinking that I wouldn't need it. Boy was I wrong!
My first stop was at Royal Palm. I walked the Anhinga Trail and noticed that the wildlife here was calm and quite content having their pictures taken. I took advantage of the situation but realized that this was too easy. I might get lucky discovering a Burmese python here, but if I wanted to photograph a Florida panther, I had to venture somewhere else.
I noticed people taking the Gumbo Limbo Trail but opting not to take the jeep trail next to it, which wasn't on the map. My curiosity set in, and I decided to walk the jeep trail. After a few yards on the trail, I found what I was looking for - panther tracks! They were fresh and plentiful. I figured this panther uses this trail often at night, so I snapped some photos of the tracks and kept exploring.
The trail led me to Old Ingram Highway, which stretches for miles along a canal teeming with alligators and wading birds. The wildlife here was skiddish and not use to human encroachment like they were at Royal Palm. Alligators would beeline for the water or hiss and snap their jaws if they didn't feel like moving out of my way. The birds were noisy, disapproving of my presence, and would fly away before I could get my camera ready. This was my kind of place.
Along the road, I saw plenty of snakes, mostly small garter snakes and water snakes - some racers too. I wasn't sure where I was heading, but I kept walking. I passed about 5 people on the road. Everyone asked me if I saw any Burmese pythons. I haven't, but I figured that they'd be here.
After walking for hours, I kept seeing more panther tracks, similar to the ones I saw previously. Panthers have large territories that could range up to 200 square miles. My logic told me that these tracks were from the same panther. It must use this road regularly, and if I sat along the road long enough, I would eventually come across it.
That night, I parked my car on Old Ingram Highway at Gate 15, about two miles from Royal Palm. I told myself that I'd wait up to an hour for the panther to pass by. I figured the worst thing that could happen is that I'd fall asleep or have a Park Ranger tell me that I cannot park here after dark. I sat in the back seat to avoid being seen by the panther and rolled down the window, inviting the mosquitos to dine on me. I didn't want to swat them. I wanted to keep as still as possible. Even if I did have some bug spray, I wouldn't have used it anyway. I didn't want to risk having the panther catch the scent of the bug spray and choose another route.
Before I could place any doubt upon my plan, all of a sudden, BAM! There it was! 15ft in front of me stood a large male Florida panther. It came only 40 minutes after I parked. I fumbled around for my camera, and it spotted me and froze for a few seconds. Without aiming or focusing, I snapped a photo before it left the scene. I quickly viewed the photo to see if I actually got it, and I did. Success! But when I looked up, I saw it again at the same spot staring right back at me with a puzzled look, as if to ask, "What are you doing in my backyard?"
I was totally taken off guard, as I didn't think it would return. I fumbled around with my camera and managed to get a nice shot of my leg. I panicked and got other shot was of the car roof as my finger slipped. By the time I got situated, the camera flashes spooked the panther and disappeared into the night. I desperately snapped my last picture toward it only to achieve getting a crystal-clear shot of my rear-view mirror.
Though I wished that I waited to view the picture, I still managed to get one good shot of the panther. I celebrated by calling my friends in AZ as if I won the Superbowl. Too bad I didn't get the park ranger's name who told me that I'd have a better chance of winning the lottery than seeing a Florida panther in the wild, or I would've sent him the picture.
Too excited to sleep, I drove around the park aimlessly, reminiscing what had transpired. The next 3 days, I spent the rest of my vacation in the park photographing other wildlife and telling my story to the locals. I didn't get to see my Burmese python, but seeing a Florida panther up close even for a few seconds was worth the trip.  |
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Route Editor
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