Mike in the Wild

My recent visit to Cozumel was focused mostly on the reef life: the fish, the rays, the turtles - anything that swam in the water.  In addition, my trip to the tropical island included seeking out the native bird life, notably wintering warblers and resident hummingbirds.  However I was pleasantly surprised to also encounter some unique land fauna, both mammal and reptile.   On my first visit to the Mexican island over a dozen years ago, I barely paid much attention to any wildlife - I hadn't yet caught the natural history bug.  I recall my ship's snorkel excursion was cancelled due to strong winds and high seas.  As a result I visited Paradise Beach, a resort where I spent most of my time lazing on the beach and swimming in the sea.   On my return three years later off of another cruise ship I was more interested in exploring the island in a car, checking out the many scenic beaches, and visiting San Gervasio, an ancient Mayan archeological compl...

I thought I knew a thing or two about barracudas.  After all, I've encountered several in Maui and Cozumel, even writing in detail about them over a year ago.  Slow, shadowy, lurking, uninterested in humans, intimidating in appearance, was how I mostly described the usually harmless, large fish.  After my latest visit to a reef off of Cozumel a brand new word entered my lexicon when describing the predator: terrorizing.  Due to strong winds, I got a late start snorkeling on my single day in Cozumel, heeding red flag warnings all morning on the Mexican island's coral reef-fringed western coast.  But at Punta Sur Ecological Park, at the extreme southern end of Cozumel, the weather and surf were postcard perfect.  It didn't take long once I arrived for me to don my fins and mask and head into the inviting and azure Caribbean Sea.  A buoy marked where a reef that's part of a separate protected park begins several hundred meters from the beach.  It's a...