The Georgia coast has sites of historical, as well as natural, interest. St. Catherines Island, just north of Sapelo Island, and about 50 miles south of Savannah, has both, with exotic wildlife to boot. Georgia Outdoors has a video episode covering all these fascinating themes of St. Catherines. Since admission to the island is by invitation only, mainly to biologists and archaeologists, this video is as close as most will come to learning about St. Catherines.
Image of two ringtailed lemurs sitting in the sun to warm up. "Ringtailed lemurs" by Keven Law from Los Angeles, USA - FlickrUploaded by Neurolysis. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons -
Why the image of ringtailed lemurs? There is a history here as well. One focus of the Saint Catherines Island Foundation, which manages the island, is to aid in the survival of endangered species. In the 1980's the New York Zoological Society brought a number of wildlife species to the island that were declining in their natural habitats. Most of the animals didn't take to the Georgia sea island, with one exception - the ringtailed lemurs. An iconic, but threatened, species native to Madagascar, the ringtails found the moss-laden live oaks perfect for climbing. The lemurs, daily fed fruit, vegetables and nutritious biscuits, now number about 90 healthy individuals. Their very cute antics are a highlight of the St. Catherines video episode.
An adult gopher tortoise. "Gopherus polyphemus Tomfriedel" by http://www.birdphotos.com - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Commons -
Gopher tortoises, the only tortoise (not turtle) species native to eastern North America, and the state reptile of Georgia, are also bred on the island for release to suitable undisturbed habitats on the mainland.
The island is the location of what is thought to be the first Spanish outpost in Georgia. A mission was established on the island in the late 1500's to convert the natives. The episode shows archaologists excavating the site of the Spanish mission and some of the many artifacts they have found, which are housed at the Fernbank Museum in Atlanta.
The final part of the video considers the on-going erosion of the Island's beachfront, causing forests of oaks, pines, and palmettos to succumb to the sea. Shoreline erosion is outpacing island accretion, and is caused in part to sea level rise caused by polar ice melt and ocean heating due to global warming. The erosion of the undeveloped sea island of St. Catherines serves as a warning for the rest of the Georgia coast.
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