Everglades National Park

On day two of our short Florida trip we went to the Everglades National Park. I was really looking forward to the visit and had great expectations.



We drove all the way down to the southernmost point, Flamingo and made several short hikes. It was surprisingly quiet in the Everglades. You could walk for minutes without hearing even one bird.


Later we read in the information material from the park service about the precarious environmental situation in the Everglades. Less than half of the original marsh is left. The rest of the swampland was drained and is now being used as farmland. Fertilizer and other agrochemical waste put the nature and the animals in the National Park at risk. Park rangers told us that several species are extinct or close to extinction. A dead panther that was found in the park had such high mercury levels, the concentration would have been fatal even for a human. Initiatives to save the Everglades need more support.








Above: Anhinga, roseate Spoonbill, Osprey