We rode around getting our bearings this morning. We made a quick drive thru at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. We found a beautiful Red Shouldered Hawk eyeing a Squirrel for lunch near the Visitor Center. He was distracted by us, and the squirrel was sparred.
We checked out Scott's Landing on the St. Marys River and took a few photos.
This afternoon, we had an awesome tour at White Oak Conservation Preserve. We got to see where some of our captive reared Mississippi Sandhill Cranes live, as well as numerous other species of animals. We learned so much about animals that we never knew existed.
They have several different species of Cassowaries. The first one we checked out was the Double-Waddled Cassowary. The male and female are kept in separate pens because the female will kill the male unless she is in heat. When she is ready to mate, she goes in a trance, which spares the male's life. These birds can also kill a human with their claws. Who would of thought these gorgeous birds could be so vicious.
We saw three species of Cranes; the Whopping Cranes, the Waddled Cranes, and of course, our favorite, the Mississippi Sandhill Cranes.
We saw several different cat species; Panthers, Cheetahs, and Tigers, Oh MY! Thank goodness there were fences between us. The Tigers were very active in the wading pool playing with their keg.
And then there were Giraffes. The tallest Bull, leaned over the fence and greeted us. It reminded me of the What Day is it commercial, only with a Giraffe not a Camel.
They had Okapis. They look like a Zebra, but are actually a Giraffe. Who would of thought it?
There were also these Star Wars looking critters that are called Gerenuks which are in the Antelope family. The male's horns were wrapped to prevent him from stabbing the girls.
They were several species of Antelope living at the preserve, including the spiral horned Lesser Kudu.
The Babirusa was very playful running along the fence as we drove by.
They had 2 equid species, the Somali Wild Ass and Grevy's Zebra.
The Southern White Rhinos, which are actually not white in color, were spectacular to watch as they somewhat got along when the different families ate hay together.
The Roan Antelope was very striking with his black and white clown like facemask.
The Eastern Bongo was another striking antelope with his striped body, white cheek patches, and white chevrons under their eyes.
When we got back to camp, the Ferny Kat was ready to come out and play in the water dripping off the back of the camper. We think she might have a little bit of Tiger in her genes.
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