This Land, Your Land

The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge last week debuted an open-air tram equipped with a speaker system (below) it will use to take visitors on interpreted tours. A news release says tourists on the maiden voyage Saturday caught glimpses of a bear (below, right), a Northern Harrier eating a meal it had just caught, and several freshwater turtles - mostly yellow-bellied sliders.

The refuge will offer the tours this summer from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. each Thursday, the release says. They will usually begin at Creef Cut Wildlife Trail and follow along the Wildlife Drive, making one of several possible loops. The new tram will also be used for regularly scheduled Bear Necessities programs, which run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. each Wednesday during the summer.

"The general interpretive message for the tour includes all the basics (message of the USFWS, message of the NWRS, goals and objectives of the refuge, things to see and do on the refuge, etc.), plus an assortment of hands-on activities ranging from using telemetry to track red wolves to hunting for deer, bear and raccoon tracks, to finding the wet trails where bears crossed the road!," the release says. "We examine water control structures and learn how they work, identify some trees, birds and turtles, and talk about fire and how we use it on the refuge to make habitats better."

Other times of the year, at least one monthly Saturday tour will be conducted. During the Wings Over Water wildlife festival in November, there will be many special tram tours offered at Alligator River and a couple at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.