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07 - Basking Gator
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It was not until the second half of the nineteenth century that many Americans viewed the natural world with anything more than an eye for resources. The first Europeans to arrive in the New World sent back descriptions of the landscape that read like shopping lists: plentiful trees for lumber and ships’ masts, abundant beaver and muskrat for fur, and numerous deer for food. As pioneers began to explore the Everglades, they saw the American alligator as a source for leather and meat and a dangerous predator that should be eliminated. Alligators were hunted so enthusiastically that in the 1960s, they were placed on the endangered species list and the market for skins was strictly controlled. This protection and the market controls in particular enabled alligator populations to rebound. In 1987, it was declared fully recovered and removed from the endangered species list.
Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park, Florida.
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