Posted by Justin Miller on January 01, 1970 at 00:00:00
Good point Colin. You tend to forget sometimes animals just get old too! A few weeks back I picked up a dead anhinga at Wakodahatchee - it had been gasping a few last breaths according to people who passed it, and then stopped breathing. No apparent injuries - lots of grey and faded feathers - while it could have been poisoned or choked, I came to the conclusion it just might have been old and was time to go. It felt wrong letting it just lie on the boardwalk with everyone passing it, so I grabbed the tail and lowered it into the water - the turtles, fish, and gators would recycle it back again.