Yesterday I took the boat up the silver river to the springs. I have to tell you this is a remarkable river. The waters crystal clear and very deep. Along the banks is a wide assortment of wildlife. Yesterday alone I photographed a yellow crowned night hearing, black crowned night hearing, limpkin, great blue herons, little blue herons, white ibis, turtles, snowy egret, tricolor herons, rhesus monkeys and several sizes of alligators. The largest at 10 feet in length. It came towards the boat like he wanted to get in. My daughter started to yelling ”Dad quit taking pictures and get us the hell out of here” not only is an abundance of wildlife but the landscape is primeval, it’s like time travel. The banks of the river have huge cypress trees. All the while life here is protected, they don’t even allow fishing.
Colonel Tooey, a concessionaire who operated the Jungle Cruise boat ride, established the first troop of wild rhesus monkeys in the 1930s on an island in the Silver River. Tooey established the colony to attract visitors to his ride. He did not realize the rhesus monkeys were excellent swimmers. They quickly escaped, forming wild troops along the river. Click images for larger view.
