Critters of the Keys

PT’s Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom

In the course of my recent stay in the Keys, my wife and I encountered many critters wandering, flying, or swimming. So, I thought I would channel my inner Marlon Perkins and try a fun post on the interesting fauna that we saw. Hopefully, you will find these critters of the Keys just as interesting as I did.

Key Deer of Big Pine Key

I know I have already mentioned the Key Deer in the past. But, for the sake of completeness, I felt compelled to mention them again. The Key Deer are the smallest of the white tailed deer. With only about 1,000 left on the globe, the Key Deer is listed as an endangered species. But, the thing is…all 1,000 of the remaining Key Deer are located on the small Big Pine Key in Florida. That’s not a lot of space for 1,000 deer. These things are everywhere…

The car is the only natural enemy of the Key Deer, taking out about 45 deer per year. Consequently, the speed limit almost everywhere in Big Pine Key is 25 mph. Frankly, it’s not surprising that these deer are endangered. They are not smart enough to fear traffic or people. However, my dog, Bella, quickly tired of their protected status. Bella graciously volunteered to be their temporary natural enemy while she was vacationing here.

Lionfish…BAD!

Full disclosure, I learned about the Lionfish at the Key West aquarium. PugsleyTonks tries not to snorkel. Anyway, I have seen Lionfish before. Frankly, I thought they were an extremely beautiful fish. However, despite their beauty, these Key West people hate these Lionfish.

Apparently, the Lionfish is an invasive species that does not belong in the Keys ecosystem. As the story goes, certain fish feed on the algae on coral. This keeps the coral healthy. Well, the Lionfish are voracious eaters. They eat far too many of these important algae feeding fish and endanger the coral ecosystem. So, these Keys people have declared war on the Lionfish. You can spear fish for them with impunity. They have “derbies” where spear fishing divers compete to kill Lionfish. They kill thousands. Who knew?

The Portuguese Man O’War

I knew what a Portuguese Man O’War was before staying in the keys. But, I had never encountered one in the wild. During my first kayak run, I was lucky enough to cruise up on a couple of them.

They look like little, blue, inflated sandwich bags floating along the water. Furthermore, you can usually see their tentacles hanging down. As I am told, avoiding the stinging tentacles is extremely important. The ones that I saw were only 4-6 inches, but I have read they can be lots bigger. That was my first PMOW encounter, but not the last.

On our next trip to the beach, the park officials deemed the water hazardous and off limits. The tide and wind had washed up Portuguese Man O’Wars all over the beach. You could not walk far on the beach without encountering one. It was fascinating to get an up close look at these creatures. I assume they were all dead, but there was no way to tell. In the brave spirit of Marlon Perkins, I tried to push some back into the sea without touching them. But, the tide and winds threw them back to the beach each time. We had to watch our step closely, but it was a fascinating walk on the beach.

Run of the Mill Critters

In Ohio we have squirrels and chipmunks. In the Keys, it’s rooster/chickens and iguanas. The roosters and chickens are truly everywhere. Furthermore, they seem to be very comfortable in any commercial and tourist area. While you enjoy a nice brunch, look under your table for a rooster. While you put your groceries in the car at Winn Dixies, look for mama hen and two chicks under your cart. To their credit, I never saw any rooster/chicken roadkill.

As for the iguanas, they were just extremely cool. I am used to those little lizards that are all over Florida. But, these lizards are two to three feet long with vibrant lizard colors…way better than squirrels.

Last and Certainly LEAST

As these critters caused me so much suffering, I decided to give them a quick mention. That would be the Ceratopogonidae…that is the No-See-Ums.

These little bastards are typically difficult to see…thus no-see-ums. When they bite you, you get these red bite mark that itch like the devil. I have been chewed up by mosquitoes plenty of times….no-see-ums are worse. I know this comes as no surprise to anyone that resides in the southeast USA. But, as they have destroyed the back of both my calves, I thought they warranted a mention.

Wrap It Up

Anyway, those are the highlights of the critters of the keys that Carol and I encountered. This post is dedicated to the late-great Marlon Perkins, a childhood favorite of mine. I hope you got some enjoyment out of PugsleyTonks’ version of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. Have a wonderful day. PT

I hope you have enjoyed “Critters of the Keys” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.

Here was my first post on the Key Deer of Big Pine Key https://travelingwithpt.com/going-low-key-at-big-pine-key/

Here’s a bit more on Florida Key Critters https://myfwc.com/recreation/lead/florida-keys/wildlife/