• In some countries the Northern jacana is called the “Jesus bird” because as it skitters across lily pads it appears to be walking on water.
• White pelicans are the largest of the eight species of pelicans.
• A group of turtles is called a bale.
• Coatimundis are members of the raccoon family.
• Crocodiles have a bite force of over 6,000 pounds, compared to a bite force of 1,000 pounds for the Hyena, 600 pounds for a lion, 600 pounds for a White Shark, 375 pounds for a Macaw, 127 pounds for an American Pit Bull terrier, and 120 pounds for a human. *
• At temperatures in the 40 degree fahrenheit range iguanas lose control of their bodies and can fall from the trees in which they roost. They often turn a grayish color but when temperatures rise they recover with no lingering side effects.
• All species of sea turtles are listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
• The American crocodile has from 66 to 68 teeth.
• Only about 1 in 2,500 sea turtle hatchlings survive to sexual maturity.
• American crocodiles have five toes on their front feet but only four on the rear.
• Over 1 million sea turtles were slaughtered along the Mexican Pacific coast each year during the decade of the ’60s.
• Coatimundis in the wild live to an average of 7-8 years.
• The gender of crocodile embryos is determined by the incubation temperature. A majority of males develop in higher temperatures.
• In sea turtles the gender of hatchlings is determined by the incubation temperature, with a greater ratio of females developing in higher temperatures.
• Turtles are the oldest living group of reptiles with scientists saying they populated the seas as far back as 90 to 150 million years.
• In parts of South America iguanas, because of their taste, are called “Chicken of the Trees” or “Bamboo Chicken.”
• After they enter the sea no one knows where hatchling turtles go to mature.
• Brown pelicans are the smallest of the eight species of pelicans.
• Sea turtles cannot pull their heads or flippers into their shells.
• Green iguana females do not need the presence of a male to instigate or complete their reproductive cycle.
• American crocodiles sometimes regurgitate small amounts of food as bait to attract fish and make it easier to catch them.
• The average pelican pouch has a capacity of eight quarts but some hold as much as 12 quarts.
• Boa constrictors do not lay eggs, but give birth to as many as 60 live babies.
• Coatimundis can climb headfirst down a tree.
• The leatherback turtle is the world’s largest, averaging around 6 feet in length, with occasional reports of growth to nine feet.
• Mangrove swamps cover about 8% of the earth’s coastlines, although in the recent past about half have been destroyed by human intervention.
• Brown pelicans feed by diving headfirst from as high as 60 feet to catch fish. If the water is too shallow, as in parts of the Palo Verde estuary, they will skim the surface like the White pelicans and scoop up fish.
• The limpkin (a bird found in the estuary) is named that because of its awkward walking gait that looks like a limp.

* Dr. Brady Barr, star of the National Geographic television show "Dangerous Encounters" can be seen in a segment of that show placing a “bite force meter” between the jaws of a captured crocodile to measure the bite force. All measurements are from the tests conducted by Dr. Barr. In his first test, using an exhausted crocodile his reading was 2,500 pounds of bite force. The 6,000 pounds reading was from a test on a rested crocodile.