Kookork, I've asked myself that question many times, what I would have done if the boar had charged. I was on the prairie, so trees were not an option. The grasses were pretty thick on either side of the trail, too. I guess I would have used my staff as best as I could, but whatever I would have done would have been instinctive and not the result of weighing options. The gator was easier. It was on a part of the trail that crosses wet prairie, very wet in May, and his head was blocking the trail. I wasn't paying attention and almost kicked his head. I jumped backwards and he roared. (If you've never heard a gator roar, think of the worst 1950's horror film you've ever seen and the sound dinosaurs make.) Then he settled back down. I thought of simply leaping over him, but their reaction times are like the little anoles catching a fly. I went off a ways and had a snack, but he never moved. So I took a side trail to the park road and walked the road to my car. There's almost always an alternative to confrontation!

Myakka River State Park is the second largest in Florida and there are about 40 miles of trail maintained by the Florida Trail Association. There are a few primitive campsites, but some are dry. The wildlife is great. I've seen three bobcats, red fox, and the tracks of a visiting panther whose home range is south of the park. Black bear have been reported following the slough, but I've not seen one. Snakes include diamondback rattlers, pygmy rattlers, cottonmouths, coral snakes, plus a host of friendlier ones including indigos and green snakes. I haven't seen any of the invasive boa constrictors and don't know if they have gotten this far north yet. Nor giant anacondas! The birds are phenomenal because there are so many habitats -- lake, marsh, wet prairie, dry prairie, pine uplands, oak/palmetto hammock, and slough. Next time you come down to visit the Mouse in Orlando, make a side trip and see natural Florida. Also Highland Hammocks State Park and Corkscrew Swamp! But what you won't find are mountains, like our beloved AT.