Service Junior Ranger U.S. Department of the Interior Big Cypress National Park Scavenger Hunt BINGO!

Watch for these plants and animals on your Find 4 in a row = you’re an ! journey through the South National Parks. Find all 4 corners = you’re a MANATEE! When you find one, mark the square with an “X.” Find them ALL = you’re a PANTHER!

Anole (Lizard) Mosquito Anhinga

Heron (or Palm Egret) Manatee Tree

Butterfly Air Plant Fish Dragonfly

Turtle Cypress Tree Turkey Vulture Alligator

Remember... please don’t collect, touch, or feed the wildlife! 2 This book belongs to:

Explore, Learn, Protect... Be a Junior Ranger! Ask about becoming a Junior Ranger when you visit other national parks.

This Junior Ranger book was printed on recycled paper with soy and vegetable inks to help preserve our world’s resources.

Soy ink contains oil extracted from soybeans. Soy and vegetable inks are better for our environment than petroleum-based ink because: 1) they produce less air pollution 2) they are easier to remove from paper during recycling 3) soybeans are a renewable resource.

Instead of making paper only from trees, using recycled paper helps our environment by: 1) saving trees 2) reducing waste in landfills 3) using less energy and water 4) producing less air and water pollution.

Designed and created by Park Rangers: Lisa Andrews - Big Cypress National Preserve Joele Doty - Biscayne National Park Allyson Gantt - Everglades National Park Artwork contributed by: Steve Brodeur - Big Cypress National Preserve Maria Beotegui - Biscayne National Park Rudy Beotegui - Everglades National Park Layout by: Allyson Gantt. November 2004. Reprint January 2013.

Funding to print this booklet was generously provided by donations from park visitors and from the National Parks Trust. The Trust is working to ensure that more people—especially children—have the opportunity to visit and enjoy South Florida’s national parks. SO, you want to be a Junior Ranger?

Just follow these directions and you’ll be on your way! Which park are you visiting? Three of South Florida’s national parks have joined together on this book. Each park is represented by the mascot shown on this page. PETER You can earn a Junior Ranger badge at each of the three parks and the you can earn the patch if you visit all three parks. Panther To earn a badge! -- It’s as easy as... 1 Complete The activity on page 4. Choose and complete at least 3 activities for the park you are visiting. Look for the park’s mascot at the top of each page. Big Cypress National 2 (Note: Some activities can be done in more than one park.) Preserve For each park you visit, do one activity from the list on Sammy 3 the Manatee’s Activity Page (page 18). When you are finished, take your book to the visitor center. A ranger will review your completed activities and give you a badge.

To earn the patch! -- It’s as easy as...

Earn a badge from all 3 parks. DIEGO X the Dolphin Y Complete the rest of the activity pages in this book. Mail a copy of The Junior Ranger Pledge (p. 19) with signatures Z and park stamps to: Biscayne National Park *Be sure to include Biscayne National Park Attn: Junior Ranger Coordinator your address so 9700 SW 328th Street the ranger can Homestead, FL 33033 mail you a patch.

Other things to do and watch for...

Keep your eyes peeled on your Flat Frog’s Fun Fact journey through Hey Friends! the parks for the wild- ALEESHA life and plants on the I’m Flat Frog. Watch the Alligator Scavenger Hunt Bingo for me and my Fun page (front cover). Facts throughout this book. Try this at home! Look for this box for Use the journal on page 17 to record activities you Journal Time! your adventures can do at home. Everglades National Park in the parks. From lofty 4 mountain peaks National Park Service to the low 23 The numbers below show how many NPS sites deserts, from are in each state or US territory. 13 volcanoes to 3

glaciers, and from Alaska 8 3 5 2 ancient dwellings 5 2 to places associated with the Civil 7 15 Rhode 6 2 22 2 Island 1 Rights Movement, the National Park 7 5 Service cares for special places 2 18 3 5 New Jersey 9 saved by the American people so 7 24 1 3 13 Delaware 0 that all may experience our heritage. 25 13 6 22 District of 5 6 Established on August 25, 1916, the 4 Columbia 23 National Park Service now protects 10 12 and preserves nearly 400 sites. 22 3 13 7 6

Northern 8 7 11 Flat Frog’s Fun Fact Mariana Islands Biscayne National 13 5 When you see 1 Park this symbol, 11 you will know you are at a Puerto Rico Guam Big Cypress National Park 7 1 Service site. National Preserve 1 Hawaii American Samoa Virgin Islands How many National Park Service sites are there in your 1 Everglades National Park home state or the state you are visiting? 5 Color me What other National Park Service sites have you visited? Color in all the states and territories that you've visited. in!

Name a park or parks near your home that you like to visit: 1. Check out another 2. Become a WebRanger! Go (It does not have to be a National Park Service site.) National Park Service site. to www.nps.gov and click on Go online to www.nps.gov and “Interpretation and Educa- click on “Visit Your Parks.” tion.” Then click on Web- Look up an NPS site in your Rangers. Or go directly to What do you like to do when you visit the park(s)? state or one that you would the WebRangers site at www. Try this at home! like to visit in the future. nps.gov/webrangers. Feeding Frenzy 5

When mangrove leaves fall into the water, they slowly decompose and become food for tiny organisms. The tiny organisms are then eaten by larger creatures. This begins the incredible cycle of the food chain. Many food chains connect to create a food web.

Mangroves grow in brackish water, where Birds nest and freshwater roost in the and branches of the saltwater mangrove trees. mix.

The mangrove habi- tat is a home for many animals and a nursery for small fish and marine creatures.

Roots hold debris that helps to build up the land and keep the soil from The tangled roots of eroding. the red mangrove tree provide a safe hiding place above and below the water for tiny marine creatures.

Make food chains by drawing lines to connect the animals with their food. One food chain has been started for you. Draw as many food chains as you can find to create a food web! Sawgrass Sleuth 6

When most people think of the Everglades, they think of waving fields of sawgrass. Have you ever wondered why it’s called “sawgrass?” Well, find some, look closely at it and touch it ... IF YOU DARE! Be careful, sawgrass can GENTLY run your fingers UP the blade cut you! Read on to learn GO of grass, from the wider part to the how to touch it safely. skinny tip. Then VERY slowly start to move your fingers back down the blade.

Describe how the sawgrass feels:

Now, why do you think it’s called sawgrass?

Hmm, is sawgrass really a “grass?” Solve the word puzzle below to find out!

Use the examples below to help you... C R A C K the C O D E Answer: A B C D E E V E R G L A D E S Code: Z A B C D D U D Q F K Z C D R

Sedge R D C F D R G Z U D D C F D R

Q T R G D R Z Q D Q N T M C Rush

F Q Z R R D R Z Q D G N K K N V Grass

K H J D G N K D R H M S G D F Q N T M C

Now, take a look at the sawgrass again. Is it Write your own poem or description about really a grass? Circle the answer below: the sawgrass! Sedge Rush Grass

Flat Frog’s Fun Fact fought to set aside the Ever- glades as a National Park. In her book she coined the phrase “A River of Grass” because the water flows slowly through the sawgrass like a river. Hammock Hideaway 7

A hardwood Endangered species are animals or plants whose hammock is a populations are in danger of becoming extinct. habitat with higher ground Threatened species also need that stays protection because if nothing dry most is done to help them, of the they may become year. Think endangered of it as an or extinct. island of trees in a sea of sawgrass.

Find these endangered and threatened species before they disappear! Search the hardwood hammock above and circle the species listed below. Look closely, some are camouflaged. Then color them and their habitat. Color me Eastern Indigo Snake in! Clamshell Orchid Try this at home! Schaus Swallowtail Butterfly Find out which plants Liguus Tree Snail Gopher Tortoise and/or animals near your Cotton Mouse home are endangered or threatened. What is be- Which species is endangered, but does not belong in the hardwood hammock? ing done to help protect them and what can you do to help? Suggestion: Which species pictured is NOT endangered or threatened? (Hint: traditional search the internet or ask at a local park. Thanksgiving meal) Reef Search 8 Find and circle the words from the list below. Biscayne National Park BSCTHECEGNOPS protects the northern part of the 3rd largest L EOORT J A L REH L coral reef in the world. EAELRREF I SROI

The skeletons of millions ATEANALEOI FTM Do you know which of animals called polyps CUNRHSLEMMOSE coral this might be? (Hint: It is one of create the reef. Polyps HROOSHYPTD I AS extend tiny tentacles to the words listed in gather their food. I TMCNVFEORLST the word search.) NLEN I E I ECLOSO Zooxanthellae Mouth GEN I HYSSETYEN Tentacle MSAACSHH I NTPE Body SPARROTF I SHHC Cavity HEEBUNWRASSEU AWSEASTARSORP Parrotfish are RLDXEAGLAPLEA herbivores, animals Cup KSOESPROTECT I that eat plants. They like to munch on SOCAMOUF LAGET A coral polyp is about the coral polyps to get to size of a pencil eraser! ZLETTUCECORAL the zooxanthellae.

CORAL POLYP SEA URCHINS SEA STARS ZOOXANTHELLAE BRAIN CORAL SHARKS SHRIMP PARROTFISH CAMOUFLAGE BLEACHING LETTUCE CORAL SEA ANEMONE WRASSE TRASH LIMESTONE CUP SEA TURTLES JELLYFISH The unused letters in the puzzle spell out a hidden message. After solving the puzzle, the hidden message will be revealed. Write it below:

Inside the coral polyp are zooxanthellae Make your own (zoo-zan-thel-ee) which are tiny plants that coral polyp! give coral its color. Like other plants, zoo- 1. cake frosting = xanthellae harness energy from the sun to limestone cup make their own food. Coral polyps need zoo- xanthellae to survive and zooxanthellae need 2. marshmallow = Try this at home! sunlight to survive, so the sunlight must be coral polyp body Use a toothpick able to penetrate the water. 3. red licorice = to help guide in tentacles Name two ways you can help keep the water the strips of red clear so sunlight can reach the coral polyps? 4. colored sprinkles licorice. = zooxanthellae Then make like 5. plate = a parrotfish and limestone base gobble it up! Pinelands Detective 9

Read the story: During your visit to South Florida you decide All along the , you’ve been seeing pine to explore one of the unique and endangered cones, but a few look like someone tossed them habitats found here. As you’re hiking along into a campfire. Looking a little closer, you see through the pinelands, all of a sudden you come that the soil is black, but there are fresh green across a cluster of pine trees whose trunks shoots of grass poking up. The trees here are are black near the ground and brown up above. also charred at the base of the trunks. As you come around a bend in the trail you see Ok, that’s it! It’s been at the back of your that some of the trunks are only black on one mind, but now you’re positive. A fire burned side of the trees. You think to yourself, “Isn’t through here! Was it a campfire out of control? that strange?” You keep walking, careful not to Was it by accident or on purpose? trip on the jagged limestone rock.

Solve the puzzle to find out who or what caused the fire. Write the answers on the lines below. Use the combination of letters and pictures to make words. It may be helpful to “read” the puzzle out loud. Some of the pictures make the sound of the word, but are spelled differently. Be sure to look where the arrows are pointing in some of the pictures.

+ TS + S - F 3-RE

- P SP + - H - N + - HA.

+ S ST + + S 2 + P 3-RE

Flat Frog’s Fun Fact 10 - T + V + + - CE Fires are good for the pine- lands because they renew the soil, spread new seeds, and make H + - B +THY. room for new plants to grow. Cypress Survival 10

IMAGINE... you’re standing knee-deep in water during most of the year. Your feet are buried deep below the squishy soil. Millions of tiny aquatic organisms are swimming around your legs all the time. Could YOU survive?

Your rough skin (bark) Your allows air plants, called arms are , to held high in grow on your the air and are Animals and blown around by trunk and branches. plants make strong winds. their homes and find food on you.

Cypress “knees” are extensions of the roots that grow out of Your “knees” the ground. give you extra support and help you to breathe the air above the water.

Alligators have two sets of eyelids. Their inner eyelids are Wading clear and they use them like goggles to see underwater. birds have long legs which help them hunt for food in deeper water.

Your trunk is wider at the base to help you stand up through hurricane winds. The Bald Cypress tree can! Unlike most other trees, Bald Cypress trees grow best when standing in water. Like many other plants and animals that live in the wet , they have developed special adaptations to help them survive this habitat. Adaptations are characteristics that animals and plants use to survive in their environment.

Look closely at the picture above and read the notes to learn about some of the adaptations in the cypress habitat. Keep these in mind as you...

Follow the tracks to the next page In the space below, DRAW YOUR OWN plant or animal with special adaptations to survive in the cypress habitat. 11

Label your adaptations and describe how they help your animal or plant. Estuary Escape 12 Find your way through the estuary maze to the offshore island. Use the word bank to help you fill in the blanks. You pick it up You spot trash and leave no Between the in the bay. trace. START shoreline the and the , at meadows lie the mud and the Ten Thousand . mangrove Leave it for Islands serve as shoreline someone else. , You stop to look at a where infant marine manatee munching on organisms live. seagrass.

Florida Bay, Biscayne Bay and the Ten t Thousand Islands grow throughou are . the Bays. Can you name them? 1. Boat groundings can 2. be very harmful when 3. GRASS boating through the bays. Always: An estuary is a place where water from the land a. Use a nautical mixes with water chart ("water map") from the sea. b. Follow navigational aids (like street signs, You use your -- T but in the water) nautical chart to rue o find your way. Since therer F ais not find your way. lse? -- enough sediment on c. Be aware of how You get a bit lost deep the water is in the bay. the bottom to allow seagrasses to grow, d. All of the above “hard bottom” areas are lifeless.

are filter feeders. Not NOT only do they clean the You are bay, they also provide a prepared. home for small animals. The water is so You end up clear you spot going in and other circles. marine creatures.

Florida's Name the shy reptilian What percentage of residents of estuaries, Bank fish, crustaceans, and spend part of their young with pointed snouts, that salt lives in the estuaries. build nests along saltwater fresh shorelines. Wordsponges a. 3 % b. 15% c. 70% d. 48% ______nurseries This mammal is a crocodiles manatee grass predator that turtle grass uses sonar to mangrove hunt for estuaries its prey. You spot something in the You FINISH exploring the Bay dolphin and stop to rest on one of the ______distance. YouYou stopstop toto look.look. flats islands that dot the horizon. Plume Hunt 13

Would YOU wear a DEAD bird on your head?!! passed to protect the birds and the Hopefully not, but in the late 1800s number of birds returned to what it and early 1900s it was fashionable was before the hunting began. for women to wear hats with birds or feathers on them. It was as In the late 1940s, people started fashionable as ______draining the swampland in order to is today. Fill in your favorite build new homes and create farm- fashion trend land. That changed the birds’ habi- The difference, though, was in order tat and again their populations began to get the feathers, or plumes, to decline. Some of the wading birds people had to shoot the birds. Plume were again in danger of disappear- hunters could make a lot of money ing forever. In 1994, the Everglades by killing the birds with the fancy Forever Act became a law to protect feathers. Many of these birds were these birds and their habitats. To- in danger of becoming extinct. day, scientists are trying to restore Fortunately, some people were wor- the health of South Florida’s eco- ried that these birds might all die system with the hope that bird, and off, so they formed the other animal and plant, populations Society. They worked to get laws will increase again.

Keep track of the birds on your visit. For each real bird you see, circle one below.

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

Try this at home! 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 To learn more about feathers for

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 fashion and how people helped save the birds, read the

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 book She’s Wear- ing a Dead Bird on Her Head by

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 Kathryn Lasky. This book and others are sold at most

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 national park visitor centers.

How many birds did you circle? ______Flat Frog’s Fun Fact Great! That’s the number of birds you’ve seen on your visit. Old-timers say that the flocks Now, multiply that number by 10: ______(or add up the of birds used to “10s” inside the birds you circled) That’s how many birds you block out the sun would have seen if you were here in the early 1800s! Scientists when they flew tell us that 90% of the wading birds have since disappeared. overhead! How long did it take you to see this many birds? ______Following the Water 14

First, find the the two main watersheds for Flat Frog’s Fun Fact South Florida on the map. A watershed is an An aquifer is an underground area of land that collects water from rainfall, lake beneath the rock and soil. The limestone rock is full lakes, and rivers. of holes, like Swiss cheese. Water seeps down through Now, CONNECT THE DOTS to see how the the holes. This water is South Florida National Parks fit into the pumped out and used for watersheds. Follow A-U and 1-6 to make the our drinking water. parks’ boundaries.

Everglades Lake watershed Okeechobee Where does the water Big Cypress come from? watershed in Everglades: Mangrove , estuaries rain, (Freshwater from the land mixes with salt- in Big Cypress: water from the ocean.) rain in Biscayne: S rain, creeks, canals R Big Cypress And where does the National water go? Preserve T Some water soaks into the A ground and trickles down P to the aquifer, while some Q B U K water stays on the surface L 4 and flows downstream O 1 5 through the watershed. M 6 Gulf of Mexico J Into which bodies of N water do these watersheds C Biscayne drain? (The arrows on the I National map point where the water 2 Park flows.) Everglades G H National 3 D Park F

Florida Bay

Atlantic Ocean

10 Miles E Restoring the Watershed 15

Key: 1850 - Before people made changes 1995 - After people changed the = 100,000 Wading birds = 100,000 People to Florida water flow

Why does the watershed need to be restored? For many years, people made changes to the water- shed of South Florida. They wanted to live on the land and farm it, but the land in the Everglades was covered with water during most of the year. People dug canals to drain water off the land so that it would be dry enough to build houses and grow crops. This drainage changed the flow of water through South Florida’s watersheds and altered the natural habitats. Many birds, animals, and plants are now endangered because of the changes to their habitats. People are now working together to try to fix some of the problems of the Everglades ecosystem. Local, state, and federal government agencies along with private groups have designed a project called 2040 - At the end of the Comprehensive the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project, Everglades Restoration Project What do you think? or CERP for short. Although CERP will not completely restore the ecosystem, the goal is to create a more Estimated: Consider the restora- natural flow of water through the watershed. Sci- tion project and the entists are hopeful that wading bird populations will increase of people increase as a result of the restored water flow. living in South Florida. In the space below, The restoration is scheduled to be completed in the draw the number of year 2040. How old will you be then? wading birds you think there will be in 2040. What can you do to help? (Remember each bird symbol represents CONSERVE WATER! Every drop counts! List 3 ways 100,000 birds.) you will start conserving water when you get home. = ? Listen Up! 16

Flat Frog’s Fun Fact CHECK OUT THE SOUNDSCAPE Maybe you’ve heard of a LANDSCAPE, but have you 1. Find a spot outside where you can sit or stand. ever heard of a SOUND- SCAPE?! A soundscape is 2. Ask your family and/or friends to join you! the collection of sounds that you hear in a 3. Close your eyes and listen quietly for 1 minute. place. What Did You Hear?

Write the sounds you heard in the lists below: When you get home, try this experiment again. Natural Sounds (made by animals, plants, and things in nature) Try this at home! Natural Sounds

Human-made sounds (made by people or machines) Human-made sounds

Can you hear some of these sounds where YOU live? Circle the sounds you might hear Where did you hear more natural sounds? at home. (circle one) National Park or home Do you think it’s important to protect the soundscape in our national parks? Why or More human-made sounds? why not? (circle one) National Park or home My National Park Journal (Use this space to record your wildlife sightings, observations, feelings, and experiences.)

17 Journal Time! Use this space to record your wildlife sightings, observations, feelings, and experiences in the South Florida National Parks. Sammy the Manatee’s 18

Manatees eat 10% of their body Activity Page weight everyday. So Manatees have if you weighed 80 heavy solid pounds you would Boaters can help bones, which need to eat 8 pounds reduce injury or help them stay of food a day! (That’s death to manatees underwater when like 32 quarter-pound The manatee’s by obeying speed they want to. hamburgers!) zones, being careful closest relative in shallow water, and is the elephant. wearing polarized The manatee’s sunglasses. snout is a modi- fied trunk, which it can use to grab Men at sea objects. for long periods DIRECTIONS: of time may have confused For each of the parks you visit, do one activity from the list below. manatees with Circle the park’s symbol next to the activity that you complete. mermaids.

Attend a ranger-led program. A manatee’s only teeth are molars in the Walk, bike, or canoe a trail with your family. back of its mouth.

Watch a park film or video at a visitor center.

Explore a touch table at a visitor center.

Read a book about the park, ecosystem, animal, or plant found here. Title of book(s): Other activities may be available at the visitor centers. Ask a ranger. Write the activity below: When you are finished, you and a ranger will complete this page together. 19 Junior Ranger Pledge

As a Junior Ranger, I ______, (your name) promise to protect and preserve the plants, animals, and history of the South Florida National Parks and to keep the air, water, and land clean. I will share what I have learned about National Parks with others and will continue to explore these national treasures.

Stamps: Signatures:

Junior Ranger

Park Ranger Big Cypress National Preserve

Junior Ranger

Park Ranger Biscayne National Park

Junior Ranger

Park Ranger Everglades National Park Cut along the dotted line to remove your certificate from the book.