 Dasypus novemcinctus (Nine-Banded Armadillo). | Armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one" but German setllers in Texas
called them "Panzerschwein". When I took these photos, the armadillo ignored
me for a rather long time and then suddenly run away. The small photo was taken way back on 7/4/2004 around 11 pm.
wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine-banded_Armadillo | ||
 Didelphis virginiana (Virginia opossum). | After a small BBQ/World Cup party, we noticed some movement behind our grill. It was this opossum that must have been attracted by the good smells. It didn't look too happy, when my wife opened the door and everyone looked at it. I think that I enjoyed seeing the opossum even more than the final score of the Italy vs. England match (2:1).
wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_opossum UF: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw026 | ||
 Felis catus (Domestic Cat). | Felis silvestris catus or F. catus is a rare visitor to our yard. Wikipedia knows that "in many countries, cats are believed to have nine lives, but in Italy, Germany, Greece, Brazil and some Spanish-speaking regions, they are said to have seven lives, while in Turkish and Arabic traditions, the number of lives is six." I can say with more certainty that this cute specimen is quite shy and skittish. wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kittens | ||
 Lontra canadensis (North American River Otter). | When I woke up this morning, I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a group of four otters on our little dock! Otters are near-sighted, which might explain why they let me get so close to take photos with my phone. I had never seen them before on our lake—very exciting!
wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_river_otter | ||
 Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed Deer). | We have plenty of deer near our new house. I spotted this one (and one of its buddies) chilling directly in front of our house door. Hunting them must be really challenging. According to the UF article, Florida is home to 700,000 deer. wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_deer UF: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw121 | ||
 Peromyscus sp. (?) (Deer Mouse). | On a beautiful Saturday morning, I removed the covers from our patio furniture and found this little scared mouse. It gave me enough time to take these photos but was moving a lot and eventually ran away. I had no idea that it is so difficult to identify mice. To me it looks like a Florida mouse, but those do not exist in North Florida. My best guess is Peromyscus sp. which alone has 15 species in the US.
wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peromyscus Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management: http://icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/whitefooteddeermouse.asp | ||
 Procyon lotor (Raccoon). | After one of the first barbecues of the year, we noticed this raccoon on our deck. I was amazed that the little guy showed absolutely no fear when we watched him through the windows. To the contrary, the raccoon was quite interested in us (or the possibility of securing food from us). We also watched how it ate a poor, little, innocent frog. wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon | ||
 Sciurus carolinensis (Eastern Gray Squirrel). | The ubiquitous squirrel. They have made it into Europe and started displacing other species, especially in the UK. You can always see them in our yard but they seemingly sense my camera. Despite this basic instinct, I finally took this photo on a lazy Sunday morning. I believe this squirrel built a nest in our palm tree a few weeks ago and was quite busy hauling plant material up the tree. wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_gray_squirrel | ||
 Sigmodon sp. (?) (Cotton Rat). | I rescued this rodent from our pool. It probably had spent some good amount of time floating/swimming because the little fella was quite exhausted and rested a whole hour on the skimmer before hopping away. My best guess is that this is a cotton rat but please let me know if this is wrong.
wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_rat | ||
 Sylvilagus floridanus (Eastern Cottontail). | Bunnies. They are very cute
and we tolerate them (and they tolerate us). Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus). They can run up to 18 mph
(according to wikipedia) but in my yard they usually just sit on the lawn
and stare. wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_cottontail "Here comes Peter Cottontail": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mKGnIF7GRE |
