Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

There are unfortunately less and less places in Florida where you can see natural wildlife living in their own habitat. While, it is getting more common to hear about reports of bears and panthers attacking human lived regions. In November 2011, there was a black bear found wandering around FGCU campus, reported by the abc7. Another article states how incidents of panther attacking livestock have doubled from 2011 to 2012. Why is that? Who is crossing whose borders? We cannot blame this on the animals because we, humans are the ones who have been extending our neighborhood into wildlife habitats. We force many species to move to other still untouched environments, but the sad thing is that there is not much left of those regions. We keep cutting down trees and making roads at places, which used to be homes for hundreds of species of animals, from insects to birds and mammals. However, there are organizations trying to provide safe and sustainable environment for animals. And no, when I am saying that, I am not thinking about zoos! These are places such as Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. The protection of the Corkscrew swamp started in the early nineteen hundreds. National Audubon realized the importance and vulnerability of the area and did everything to protect its wildlife. Today it is a commonly visited well-known place for anyone who would like to get away from the busy life of cities and want to spend some time in nature. In addition, it is a great place that shows us what real Florida used to look like. The natural biological systems expand over 14,000 acres at Corkscrew and are maintained through land management practices. Boardwalks allow visitors to be part of an amazing and peaceful environment. When I visited with my colloquium class a few weeks ago, I was filled with peace and balance. There were times when we would all be just quite and listen to the sounds of nature and how the wind moved the leaves around. Here and there we saw alligator eyes shining from the water, not to mention the beautiful bird sounds that led us through our trip. It was so harmonic and idyllic visiting such a wonderful place. Although, it is getting more common that humans are not only visitors of these places but conquerors instead. We just expand and build upon a land that has already been occupied by animals not even thinking what they will do. And eventually it is still humans who feel offended when a black bear or a panther shows up in their backyard. Honestly, animals have all the rights to do that. We force them to reaccommodate but we do not provide them a place to do it so. This video will give you a little insight of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.