Ancient Florida

24,000 years ago Florida was much bigger than today.
The coasts were jungle and mangrove swamps. There were
great forests of trees. In the interior, the weather was drier.
Great rivers flowed from the center of Florida to the coasts.

All the plants in this picture are mangrove.
There are four different types of mangrove in this picture.
Mangrove plants like a mix of sea water and fresh water.
This is known as brackish water.
The birds in the picture are Ospreys...
I have a question.
Yes, please go ahead.
Are you sure those are Ospreys?
Yes, I am. Why don't you think they are?
Because an Osprey has a black patch on its eyes.
What do you think?



Great herds of horses roamed the plains and forests of Florida.
There were also many sea turtles around Florida's coastal areas.
The fossils found by paleontologists confirm this theory.

(Former Floridian finds famous fossils from France)

How many horses do you see? I can count three.
What are they doing? What's it called?
They're grazing. Grazing is to eat grass. All herbivores
graze. Are you a vegetarian?
Can you name a Florida herbivore?
Can you name a Florida carnivore?




Let's take a look at this next picture.
This is a picture of a modern Thoroughbred.
The modern thoro...
*Excuse me, I have a question. Is that a picture of Florida?
Yes, that's picture of Florida.
I don't think so.
Why don't you think that's a picture of Florida?
Because there are mountains in the background.
Doesn't Florida have mountains?
No, it doesn't. It has beaches and swamps.
That's correct.This isn't a picture of Florida...nevermind.

(Training the tiny thoroughbred throughout Thursday tired them out.)

Have a great day!