after landing in short-lived lakes in the valley and then getting caught when
the water evaporated. We had heard about them from the rangers, billed as
the coyotes’ favourite ready-salted snacks, the equivalent of a bag of crisps.
Sadly we saw nothing and had to make do with stories of other people's
varied sightings. These included an emu in Badwater (apparently an
escapee), and a wildcat (or at least its foot prints) in the giant sand dunes.
This last actually turned out to be a Great Dane, much to the spotter's
embarrassment.
Perhaps it was for the best that we did not stumble upon a coyote
chowing down on duck wings, it might have been a little nerve wracking.
However, saying that we showed an unhealthy lack of fear around the
creatures we did encounter. We were positively blasé around six foot
alligators by the end of our first day in the Everglades. In fact the most worried
we got was in the Florida Keys when we visited a bird sanctuary featuring
uncaged pelicans wandering around on top of the cages. This was such an
obvious 'poop' risk, especially given the size of the birds, and we spent the
visit with one eye on them at all times. Luckily we escaped unmarked, unlike
one unfortunate woman who took a hit while we were less than a foot away.
Although, it is supposed to be good luck...
Proving that size is not everything our most memorable encounters were with
the tiny Key deer, and an even tinier owl. Emma - the Bill Oddie of our party -
spotted this bird in a copse in the everglades. Well, I say Bill Oddie, but
actually Emma's ability to identify wildlife often stops short of knowing what
things are. Until we started dating her knowledge in this area was roughly