Travels in a Tin Can

that we did not see any alligators...though possibly this was for the best given
our boat’s resemblance to an open-top tin of sardines. The creatures we did
see appeared out of the undergrowth with surprising convenience, leading us
speculate that they were not there by chance. Either they were tethered,
enticed to the same spot by food, or drugged - or a combination of these
things. OK, so this sounds fairly far-fetched and paranoid enough to be worthy
of an American, but it is more believable when I set the tone for our wildlife
spotting by recounting the circumstances of our first sighting.
There we were, chugging down a narrow, shallow channel of water
separated from similar channels by thin strips of land crowded with
vegetation. Suddenly Kevin slowed and stopped the boat and pointed to the
nearest bush. We all followed his gaze and craned our necks, risking tipping
the boat by transferring all our weight to one side. What was it, an alligator
nest perhaps? No, there nestled in the grass, stock-still and eyes wide open
like a rabbit caught in the headlights was ...well, a rabbit! Yes, just what you
would expect to see in the swamp, Kevin told us they can swim well! We also
saw several nutria-rats, which felt more natural as they are a scourge of the
area and seemed exotic, unlike rabbits.
We also learned that nutrias have their mammary glands on their backs
so they can feed their young while swimming – leading to a thoughtful
discussion about how humans would look if they were built like that as well.
We did not see nutrias feeding in this fashion, but did see several young 'rats'.
The glimpses of nutrias were few and far between, largely restricted to two
separate 'spots' in fact. By chance one on each side of the boat...Photo
Opportunities R Us should be the tour's strap line. During the trip we also saw