Endangered Species Expedition!

We went for a drive down the Keys to see if we could see some Key Deer, and to get one more lobster reuben sandwich from the ParrotDise Grill on Little Torch Key. Key Deer are a very endangered species that live only in the middle Keys, and are only about half the size of their Whitetail Deer cousins. They live mostly on Big Pine Key and the surrounding keys, so that's where we went.

We drove all over Big Pine Key, which has lots of roads and houses or mobile homes on the lots and also lots of mangrove, scrub palm, and brush forests. We saw about 3 deer and got this picture of one... I thought "we were lucky to see them and at least I got a picture of one".



We went "4 wheeling" on a bad gravel road through the brush and I got a better picture.... but no bucks, just does. Of course, Daisy could smell the deer and was very interested.








Then we drove out to No Name Key, which is a small key here with only one low bridge leading to it and no electricity or central plumbing for the houses. All the homes there catch rainwater for their water and have solar and generators for electricity.

We went down "No Name Lane" on "No Name Key" just past a house named "Nowhere" (I'm not making this up) and there were LOTS of Key Deer on the road and eating the plantings in people's yards.








As we were driving back on No Name Road, this magnificent little buck was standing by the side of the road and just watched as we drove past. This is not a picture postcard, it was just standing there.

So it's evidently easy to see the endangered species here, they were everywhere out there today.