Free Deck Talks

Tentatively Suspended

Join a naturalist for a FREE lunchtime talk on the deck at Tarpon Bay, one of the most beautiful setting on Sanibel. Programs include intriguing insights into the ecology of dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, alligators, sharks and more!

Did You Know?

…Manatees are strict vegetarians that may eat up to 10% of their body weight every day.  For an average manatee, that amounts to 100-120 pounds of vegetation per day!

 

…A dolphin is never completely asleep. It always keeps half of its brain conscious and one eye open!

 

…Giant loggerhead sea turtles nest on Sanibel and Captiva from May through October. A nest contains about 100 eggs, each about the size of a ping-pong ball!

 

…An alligator can control how long it can stay underwater by recycling the oxygen in its blood.  It can stay submerged for 20 minutes when active, for hours when at rest!

 

…The largest fish in the ocean is the whale shark, reaching lengths of over 60 feet. The smallest shark is a deepwater dogfish shark found in the Caribbean Sea. When full grown it measures a mere 8 inches!

 

…By 1500 AD, there were 40 Calusa villages in Southwest Florida, numbering about 3,000 people. By 1750, the Calusa nation was no more!