Florida Keys

Key Deer

The day after our adventure in the Dry Tortugas (not even sunburned one bit; our spray-on sunblock was very effective), we began the 120-mile trek back up the Keys toward our next stop, the Everglades. But, we had a goal; we wanted to see some Key Deer, an endangered subspecies of the White-tailed Deer that lives only in the Florida Keys (actually only on the middle Keys).

We headed for the National Key Deer Refuge, an 8,542-acre National Wildlife Refuge (another stamp!) located on Big Pine Key and No Name Key. 

Our goal for the day

The GPS flaked on us and we ended up in a residential area where we turned a corner to see a buck with antlers. Unfortunately, he moved too quickly (or we moved too slowly) to get a picture.

We did some more research and reset our course and, after one more false start and another sighting of three does and another two does that we also couldn’t catch on film, we found the Visitors Center in a strip mall. The folks there were very nice, informing us that we probably wouldn’t see any Deer. Of course, we had already seen some and were afraid that we wouldn’t get any pictures.

So, we headed out again and spotted an Alligator Snapping Turtle sitting in a pullout. 

Alligator Snapping Turtle just chillin'

He was very patient and allowed me to take a few shots.

Look at that face!

Then, we pulled over at the Blue Hole nature trail to eat the Cuban sandwiches we had bought the night before at Sandy’s. Good, but too much pork and no mustard. While we ate, we were hit with a typical Florida deluge. I decided to take the quick walk to the Blue Hole, but Caty opted not to because she was wearing flip-flops that get slippery in the rain. I was rewarded with a small alligator resting in the pond right below the observation deck.

American Alligator

The rain stopped and we drove back to the area where we had first seen the buck. Finally, we found two young bucks (maybe yearlings), who were quite obliging. We got lots of pretty shots.

Tiny little Deer

Key Deer are the smallest American Deer. Bucks usually weigh 55-75 lbs. and stand about 30 inches tall at the shoulder. Does usually weigh 44-64 lbs. and have an average height of 26 inches at the shoulders. Obviously, the fawns and yearlings are smaller. These guys were probably less than 24 inches at the shoulder (the guy below gives perspective).

A bit too close, Mister!

The range of the Key Deer originally encompassed all of the lower Florida Keys but is now limited to a stretch of the Florida Keys from about Sugarloaf Key to Bahia Honda Key. Key Deer use all islands during the wet season when drinking water is more generally available, retreating to islands with a perennial supply of fresh water in dry months.

Key Deer inhabit nearly all habitats within their range, including pine rocklands, hardwood hammocks, mangroves and freshwater wetlands. The buck we saw disappeared into mangroves in water probably up to his chest.

Grazing

The species feed on over 150 types of plants, but mangroves and thatch palm berries make up the most of their diet. Pine rockland habitat is important, as well, because it is often the only reliable source of fresh drinking water (Key Deer can tolerate drinking only mildly brackish water). Habitat destruction due to human encroachment cause many deer to feed on non-native ornamental plants.

Precious!

Ancient Key Deer are believed to have migrated to the Keys from the mainland over a land bridge during the Wisconsin glaciation. The earliest known written reference to comes from Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, a Spanish sailor shipwrecked in the Florida Keys and captured by Native Americans in the 1550s.

Key Deer were hunted as a food by native tribes, passing sailors and early settlers. Hunting was banned in 1939, but widespread poaching and habitat destruction caused the subspecies to plummet to only 25 deer in 1955. The National Key Deer Refuge was established in 1967.

Endangered

Recent estimates put the population between 700-800, putting it on the list of endangered species. Road kills average about 40 per year, 70 percent of annual mortality.

We were so excited to see a few

Recent human encroachment into Key Deer habitat and the deer's relatively low rate of reproduction point to an uncertain future. The refuge provides rules for the control of feral dogs, which often attack Deer, and for prohibition of feeding Deer. A portion of U.S. Route 1 was elevated in 2003 to allow the Deer to pass safely beneath the roadway and biologists have recently begun relocating some Key deer from Big Pine Key to other islands, since Big Pine Key's population has reached its sustainable limit.

Protections are now in place

We saw lots of birds (foreshadowing for our visit to the Everglades), but didn't stop to take pictures. I regret not getting a Kingfisher because we never got a shot. But, we did get a "one of these things is not like the others" shot ... 

A tree full of White Ibises with one Great Egret

We had originally planned to make lots of stops as we drove down the Keys, but our pursuit of Key Deer slowed us down. We took a detour at the end to drive through the Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge. We didn't see any wildlife, but the drive was interesting, along a canal and through mangroves.

Earlier in the drive, we did have an interesting wildlife sighting: a very large Green Iguana. It was at least three feet long and was running with it's spines up.

I didn't get a photo; This photo: placesaroundflorida.com

According to Wikipedia, this invasive species is found along the Gulf coast from Key West to Pinellas County. Originally, small populations came to the Keys as stowaways on fruit ships from South America. Other Iguanas came in as pets; some escaped and some were intentionally released. They commonly hide in attics and on beaches. Because they destroy gardens and landscaping and have been observed using the burrows of the Florida Burrowing Owl, they are considered a threat to the environment.

During extreme cold snaps in January 2008 and 2010, large numbers of Florida Iguanas dropped out of trees in a state of torpor that caused them to lose their grip on the branches. Upon the return of daytime warmth, many (but not all)  "woke up" and resumed their normal activities. 

Trip date: December 27, 2015-January 3, 2016