Tag: alligators

Science Lesson in the Swamp

Grand Bay Wildlife Preserve, Valdosta, GA

I graduated high school and college in a small town in South Georgia called Valdosta. My mother and I had moved there after my father passed away. We joined my oldest sister, her husband and three sons who were living there making this part of Georgia our home. Moving from hilly Tennessee, the typography of South Georgia came as a shock as it is mostly flat, subtropical and filled with lakes, rivers, pine trees and swampland. It is a wonderful place to go hunting or fishing or just driving down a quiet dirt road to discover what’s around the next bend. However, to a teenager and soon to be college student more interested in social activities and girls, the nature that surrounded me was a little concern.

The same could not be said for my oldest sister who while she was a wife, mother and third grade school teacher for over 30 years, she’s always been an ardent environmentalist and genuinely concerned about man’s effect on nature and our climate. So on a recent visit back to Valdosta to spend time with her, I received a lesson from her as Big Sisters often do. Yet this time instead of telling me how I could improve my life, this was a lesson on the nature and ecology that surrounded my former home town that I never even knew was there. On a Sunday with really nothing to do but visit more, she suggested that we go for a hike in an area called Grand Bay Wildlife Preserve. I had no idea what she was referring to and so began the lesson just like the school teacher that she had been.

Just outside of Valdosta near Moody Airforce Base, she took me out to a 1350-acre nature preserve with a 3-mile hiking trail and a 2600-foot wooden walkway that was built out into the wetlands that leads to a repurposed fire tower where you have a 360 view of what is known as a Carolina Bay. Never having heard of what a Carolina bay was, she explained that bays are elliptical to circular depressions concentrated along the Atlantic seaboard that run from New York state down to north Florida. In Maryland, people call them Maryland basins. 

She explained that Bays have different vegetative structures, based on the depression depth, size, and subsurface. Many are marshy; a few of the larger ones are lakes. Some bays are predominantly open water with large scattered pond cypress, while others are composed of thick, shrubby areas called pocosins with vegetation growing on floating peat mats. On our hike through and around the bay, she pointed out the rich biodiversity the bay contain, including many endangered species. From the top of the fire tower (flown in by helicopter and placed down in the bay) we saw heron, egrets and other waterflow. I was informed that deer, black bears, and other mammals plus uncountable numbers of insects made their home there besides the expected snakes and large alligators.

And as we walked and she told me about Grand Bay, other hikers would pass us and ask her questions since she seemed to know so much. One man asked her if she was an environmental scientist because of her knowledge while she pointed out to another the carnivorous plants that inhabit Carolina bays like pitcher plants.

So what started out as a hike to get out of the house on a slow Sunday afternoon became an interesting science lesson about Carolina bays and how they were formed. Especially about Grand Bay, a place I did not know even existed in my own home town. All thanks to my Big Sister!  

Grand Bay is part of a 18,000-acre wetlands complex of Carolina bays and forested swamp second in size only to Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. Open from daylight Saturday until sundown Sunday, year-round, for outdoor sports including fishing, canoeing, hiking, camping, and deer and small game hunting. Boaters and canoeists enjoy this area. From a launch site on Knights Academy Road, six miles north of Valdosta off Highway 221, they can run a loop through a fascinating array of habitats in the area. Boat motors are limited to 10 hp.

There is no entry fee charged. For additional information please call 229-333-0052.

Photos by James Carey, exploregeorgia.org, visitvaldosta.org

Some information courtesy of WikiPedia.com, and LowndesCounty.com

Whale Sharks @ The Georgia Aquarium

The Amazing Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, GA

A city that I visit frequently is Atlanta, GA, and one of the places that I have never been in Atlanta is their world-famous Georgia Aquarium. So one winter afternoon I walked over from my Airbnb condo in mid-town Atlanta to this amazing complex and was absolutely enthralled with how it is set up, the size of their main aquarium and the five giant whale sharks that they have swimming around.

Georgia Aquarium is a public aquarium and is home to hundreds of species and thousands of animals across its seven major galleries which contain over 10,000,000 US gallons of water both fresh and saltwater.

The Whale Sharks are a major attraction since they are so rare in captivity. They are members of the shark family, so they’re not mammals like whales. They are a slow-moving filter feeding carpet shark and they do not hunt or eat other fish. They will not attack you. They do eat plankton like whales, so they have that in common along with their size.

They’re not whales but they are the world’s largest fish. These huge creatures can grow up to 40 feet long but despite their size, whale sharks are often referred to as gentle Giants. The largest known whale shark ever recorded came in at around 62 feet long.

And for those of you who are offended by aquariums, these sharks do not do tricks. No creatures in the entire facility do any kind of tricks for humans or human audiences. The aquarium is an observation and study space for all creatures both freshwater and saltwater. Whale sharks are not well known as they keep to themselves and are usually solitary. These five make up the most whale sharks in one place anywhere in the world that are in an aquarium setting.

The aquarium is not inexpensive to get into. My ticket ran me $39.00 with online service charges because during Covid this is a non cash facility only accepting debit and credit cards. You must buy your tickets in advance and only online.  Tickets may be purchased at this address. https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/tickets/

Parking is another $18.00 per car. However inside they have a full restaurant and bar offering cocktails, wine and many local craft beers from the Atlanta area. They have a petting area where children and adults can touch and feel the texture of starfish and various other sea creatures. They have albino alligators; they have flesh eating piranha from the Amazon River, they have fish and sea snakes and sea eels from all around the world plus they also have a freshwater section for fish that you would find in streams in North America. Of all the aquariums that I have visited including Long Beach, CA’s Aquarium of the Sea this is by far the most extensive and largest aquarium facility I have ever seen.

They also have an extensive collection of Penguins from various parts of the world and they are considered one of the best facilities for rescue and treating injured and orphaned fish and sea mammals in the world. Oddly enough, they are considered the top rehabilitation facility for rescued orphan and injured California sea otters.

An as an added bonus for $350.00 you can go scuba diving in the main aquarium area with an experienced diver as your guide. There are no sharks in this particular tank although they do have a very extensive Shark Tank filled with nurse sharks, hammerhead sharks, and tiger sharks. All of these are deadly predators.

This is one fun day to spend with the fishes! This is something that the whole family can enjoy or a couple looking for something different to do on a romantic outing or just a solo trip by yourself to enjoy the amazing Georgia Aquarium.

The aquarium is located at 225 Baker St NW Atlanta GA 30313. Phone number is 404-581-4000. Website is www.georgiaaquarium.org.