|
|
 |
A Mysterious Land of Ancient Critters
|
|
So, to discover the variety of animal life that lived in prehistoric Florida, we have to visit the different ancient habitats they in which they lived.
The animals we have looked at so far, have mostly been animals that either lived in open prairie, or in mixed scrublands and pine woodlands.
|
|
|
Here, on the edge of freshwater marshes and rivers we can look for capybara. This giant rodent still lives in South America. It escapes into rivers when it's threatened.
Jaguars find capybara meat a real treat, so capybara live in watchful communities and are not easy to hunt.
|
|
|
The tapir, like the capybara, is a still living species. It's a member of the horse family, but it's devoted to river environments. It may hide beneath the waters surface all day, using its trunk-like nose to snatch an occassional breath of air. In the late evening and throughout the night, cloaked by the forest shadows, it browses along the river banks and forest trails. It stops munching regularly to listen for danger. It, too, was hunted by the secretive jaguar.
|
|
To wander Florida's prehistoric woodlands would have offered an exciting variety of animals. It was into this world that the first people stepped.
Where do you look to find those ancient people? The environment itself whispers their story.
|
|
|
Another inhabitant of the forest was the giant ground sloth. Those great claws provided it with serious protection.
No animal can afford to be mauled. Wounds take time to heal. It's our imagination which plays at the violence of the ancient world.
Injured hunters can't hunt. Every passing day without food for a wolf or a lion is a day on the edge of starvation in a very difficult environment.
|
|
|
