Car Rentals Fort Lauderdale and the Calusa Nature Center
From your accommodations in Fort Myers Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium is easily reached in your Fort Myers car rentals. The facility on Ortiz Avenue covers 105 acres of nature trails, gardens and buildings. The center encourages visitors to experience both southwest Florida wildlife and native vegetation as well as the celestial night sky.
Planetarium
Housed in its own facility, the Planetarium offers monthly programs based on the Earth’s movement and the phases of the moon. It has a telescope that has a specially filtered lens so that daytime viewing of the sun and the sunspots will not harm your eyes. There are guests speakers and themes such as women in space. You can see what the night sky and stars look like at the time of your stay as well. There are even laser light shows. How entertaining for the budding astronomer sitting in your Fort Myers car rentals!
Butterflies
Strolling through this large screened in butterfly habitat is amazing. Plants, vegetation and greenery are situated in tiers form optimum viewing don’t forget your camera in your Fort Myers car rentals or you miss out on some awesome photos. You can watch the 30 different kinds of fluttering butterflies flit from one plant to another sipping the sweet, nourishing nectar that sustains them. They may even land on you or on some other unsuspecting visitor. Some young girl may be sporting a beautiful live hair ornament. On various plants are the drab, dried out looking cocoons or pupae. If you are fortunate you may even see a new butterfly emerge. What a great video that would make. Even the fuzzy caterpillars hold the interest of the visitors. If you watch very closely you can actually see them munching a delectable lunch of leaves. Now you understand why some of your plants at home have leaves that are not all the same –caterpillar lunch. These native plants host the butterflies and caterpillars with their sweet nectar and nourishing leaves while protecting the fragile pupae. A unique idea is the sale of these native plants to help you grow your own colorful butterfly garden. Another great start for encouraging the butterflies to feast at your garden is the sale of the butterfly larvae – caterpillars - along with the plants. Be very careful storing your new treasures in your Fort Myers car rentals. Imagine clouds of colorful butterflies swirling about your yard, too.
Reptiles
Florida is noted for its reptiles and Calusa Nature Center houses different species of snakes, lizards, crocodiles and alligators. Demonstrations and scheduled feedings of these creatures are offered daily. One interesting acquisition is the Eastern Diamondback Rattle Snake. A herpetologist donated this snake to the center. When it first arrived it was very nervous and upset so it rattled a great deal, definitely a reason to stay clear from it. Experienced handlers use the snake for educational demonstrations. The Eastern Diamondback hunts its food live in the wild. To help find its prey the rattlesnake has heat-sensing pits on its body and is sensitive to at change of temperature to ¼ degree F. It prefers warm temperatures. You may want to keep the air conditioning in your Fort Myers car rentals on a low setting - just joking.
Another exhibit you can check out is the young alligators of which the center is proud possessor of two. Alligators prefer fresh water, have rounded snouts and are darker in color from the crocodile of which there is only one at this time. Because they are young, when distressed they make a gulping sound which is a cry for help. They live in the aquarium and are handled for demonstrations too, although that is not a favorite activity for the creatures and they will bite. When these reptiles reach about three feet in length they are released to reptile farms where they cannot harm humans. Putting them into the wild would be dangerous for them and humans as they are used to humans and may attack.
More Exhibits
Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium has a Natural History Living Museum, a Bird-of-Prey Aviary and an authentic Seminole Indian village along with the nature trails. Be sure to have comfortable walking shoes in your Fort Myers car rentals before you leave on your outing.
Enjoy this reaching out to nature, a diverse array of interesting and beautiful creatures all within arms reach of the curious visitors.
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