Hardwood hammocks and adjacent habitats on Key Largo support many endangered and threatened animals: Key Largo Woodrat, (Neotoma floridana smalii), American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais couperi), Key Largo cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus allapaticola), and Schaus swallowtail butterfly (Heraclides aristodemus ponceanus). Similarly to the Key Largo woodrat, indigo snakes, cotton mice, and Schaus butterflies also rely on the unique habitat components of the tropical hardwood forests on Key Largo. In addition, there are several state-protected animals, state-listed plants, such as the threatened white-crowned pigeon (Columba leucocephala) and Miami black-headed snake (Tantilla oolitica) and the endangered lignumvitae tree (Guaiacum sanctum), prickly apple (Cereus gracilis), tamarindillo (Acacia choriophylla), powdery catopsis (Catopsis berteroniana) and long strap fern (Campyloneurum phyllitidus). The Key Largo woodrat uses many of these plants for building stick nests, shelter, or foraging. Key Largo woodrats build multi-generational stick nests that can be up to 6 feet long and four feet tall. One woodrat may occupy three or more of these nests. are important locally for dispersing seeds from such tropical trees as pigeon plum, strangler fig and poisonwood, which helps keep hardwood hammocks diverse. The Key Largo woodrat is protected as an Endangered species by the Federal Endangered Species Act and is a Federally-designated Endangered species by Florida’s Endangered and Threatened Species Rule. The White Crowned Pigeon are protected in the U.S. under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This Cache is dedicated to these amazing species of the Florida Keys.
The cache container is a smaller camouflaged ammo can! Yes you read that right! :)
please rehide the container as good as or better than you found it and please CITO
Please no photo spoilers but photos of any cool wildlife always welcome!
CACHE ON!