~The Natural State~......LOUISIANA

[olena]

State Reptile

American Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis


Description 6'-19'2" (1.8-5.84 m). Largest reptile in North America. Distinguished from American Crocodile by broad and rounded snout. Generally black with yellowish or cream crossbands that become less apparent with age. Large 4th tooth on bottom jaw fits into a socket in upper jaw, is not visible when mouth is closed. No curved bony ridge in front of eyes, as seen in Spectacled Caiman.
Voice During the breeding season adults produce a throaty, bellowing roar heard over considerable distance. Young give a high-pitched call: y-eonk, y-eonk, y-eonk.
Breeding Mates April to May after emerging from hibernation. In June, female builds a mound-shaped nest about 5-7' (1.5-2.1 m) in diameter and 1 1/2-3' (46-91 cm) high, of mud, leaves, and rotting organic material; deposits about 25-60 hard-shelled eggs, 3" (76 mm) long, in cavity scooped from remains near nest. The calling of hatching young prompts the female to scratch open the nest to free them. Hatchlings are 9-10" (22.8-25.4 cm) long and remain with the female for 1-3 years.
Habitat Fresh and brackish marshes, ponds, lakes, rivers, swamps, bayous, and big spring runs.
Range Coastal se. North Carolina to the Florida Keys and west along the coastal plain to s. Texas; north to extreme se. Oklahoma and s. Arkansas.
Discussion Alligators are important to the ecology of their habitat. During droughts they dig deep holes, or "dens," which provide water for the wildlife community. They hibernate in dens during the winter. Diet consists of rough fishes, small mammals, birds, turtles, snakes, frogs, and invertebrates. Alligators have been relentlessly hunted for their hides and are much reduced in numbers. Under state and federal protection they are beginning to make a comeback in some areas.

 

[olena]

State Mammal

Black Bear
Ursus americanus

Description In the East, nearly black; in the West, black to cinnamon, with white blaze on chest. A "blue" phase occurs near Yakutat Bay, Alaska, and a nearly white population on Gribble Island, British Columbia, and the neighboring mainland. Snout tan or grizzled; in profile straight or slightly convex. 3 pairs of upper incisors equal in size. Male much larger than female. Ht 3–3' 5" (90–105 cm); L 4' 6"–6' 2"(137–188 cm); T 3–7" (7.7–17.7 cm); HF 9–14 5/8" (23–37 cm); Wt 203–587 lb (92–267 kg).
Endangered Status The Louisiana Black Bear, a subspecies of the Black Bear, is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as threatened in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Numbers of this bear apparently held steady until European settlement and its attendant population explosion and large-scale habitat alteration. Black Bears were heavily hunted and their woodland habitats were logged and converted to farmland. The Louisiana Black Bear today survives primarily along the Tensas and Atchafalaya River basins in Louisiana, although it wanders farther afield. A recent threat to the Black Bear has been illegal killing and the export of its gall bladders to Asia.
Similar Species Grizzly Bear is usually larger, and has generally somewhat concave facial profile, muscular hump above shoulder region, longer foreclaws, and outer pair of upper incisors much larger than 2 inner pairs.
Breeding Mates June–early July; litter of 1–5 (usually 2) young born January–early February; birth weight not much over 7 oz (200 g).
Habitat In East, primarily forests and swamps; in West, forests and wooded mountains.
Range Most of Alaska southeastward through Canada to n Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and Maritimes south through New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Appalachian Mountains to Florida; south on West Coast through n California; Rocky Mountain states to Mexico. Also in Arkansas and se Oklahoma.
Discussion This uniquely North American bear may be seen at any time, day or night. It occupies a range usually of 10 square miles (20–25 sq km), although sometimes up to 15 square miles (40 sq km). The home range of the male is about double the size of that of the female. The Black Bear typically walks with a shuffling gait, but in its bounding trot it attains surprising speed, with bursts up to 30 mph (50 km/h). A powerful swimmer, it also climbs trees, either for protection or food. Although this animal is in the order Carnivora, most of its diet consists of vegetation, including twigs, buds, leaves, nuts, roots, fruit, corn, berries, and newly sprouted plants. In spring, the bear peels off tree bark to get at the inner, or cambium, layer. It rips open bee trees to feast on honey, honeycombs, bees, and larvae, and will tear apart rotting logs for grubs, beetles, crickets, and ants. A good fisher, the Black Bear often wades in streams or lakes, snagging fish with its jaws or pinning them with a paw. It rounds out its diet with small to medium-size mammals (including the young of deer, Elk, and Moose) or other vertebrates.
In the fall, the bear puts on a good supply of fat, then holes up for the winter in a sheltered place, such as a cave, crevice, hollow tree or log, under the roots of a fallen tree, or in a den that the bear excavates. In the Hudson Bay area, Black Bears will sometimes den in a snowbank. Excrement is never found in the Black Bear's wintering den. The bear stops eating a few days before retiring, but then consumes roughage, such as leaves, pine needles, and bits of its own hair. These pass through the digestive system and form an anal plug, up to 1 foot (30 cm) long, which is voided when the bear emerges in the spring.
Sows mate during their third year, with most producing one tiny cub the first winter, two or three on subsequent breedings. While the mother sleeps in the den, the almost naked newborns nestle into her fur. The mother often lies on her back or side to nurse, but sometimes sits on her haunches, with cubs perched on her lap, much like human infants; they may nurse for about a year. The female Black Bear is not receptive to males while nursing.
This bear is mainly solitary, except briefly during the mating season and when congregating to feed at streams, on large carcasses, and at dumps. Bears are often a problem around open dumps, becoming dangerous as they become habituated to human foods; occasionally people have been killed by them. Hunting Black Bears is a popular sport in some areas, both for the flesh (which must be well cooked because of trichinosis) and the hides, used for rugs. The helmets of Great Britain’s Buckingham Palace guards are made of the Black Bear’s fur.

 

[olena]

State Crustacean

Crawfish

Range: very widespread east of the Rockies and south of the Great Lakes, except peninsular Florida and the Alleghenies; not reported northeast of New Jersey in the East and east of western Pennsylvania in the Mississippi drainage system.
Adult Habitat: In burrows (primary burrower); often found in ponds or streams in the spring season; Primary burrower along water courses and in low swampy areas. Adults, and especially juveniles, also collected in epigean bodies of water; under logs in riffle.
Juvenile Habitat: burrows and surface waters along edges in cover
Reproductive Season: amplexus in fall with spring brooding.

 

[olena]

State Tree

Bald Cypress
Taxodium distichum
Southern Bald Cypress

Description Large, needle-leaf, aquatic, deciduous tree often with cone-shaped "knees" projecting from submerged roots, with trunks enlarged at base and spreading into ridges or buttresses, and with a crown of widely spreading branches, flattened at top.
Height: 100-120' (30-37 m) or more.
Diameter: 3-5' (0.9-1.5 m) , rarely 10' (3 m) or more.
Needles: deciduous; 3/8-3/4" (10-19 mm) long. Borne singly in 2 rows on slender green twigs, crowded and featherlike; flat, soft, and flexible. Dull light green above, whitish beneath; turning brown and shedding with twig in fall.
Bark: brown or gray; with long fibrous or scaly ridges, peeling off in strips.
Cones: 3/4-1" (2-2.5 cm) in diameter; round; gray; 1-2 at end of twig; several flattened, 4-angled, hard cone-scales shed at maturity in autumn; 2 brown, 3-angled seeds nearly 1/4" (6 mm) long, under cone-scale. Tiny pollen cones in narrow drooping cluster 4" (10 cm) long.
Habitat Very wet, swampy soils of riverbanks and floodplain lakes that are sometimes submerged; often in pure stands.
Range S. Delaware to S. Florida, west to S. Texas and north to SE. Oklahoma and SW. Indiana. Below 500' (152 m); locally in Texas to 1700' (518 m).
Discussion Called the "wood eternal" because of the heartwood's resistance to decay, Bald Cypress is used for heavy construction, including docks, warehouses, boats, bridges, as well as general millwork and interior trim. The trees are planted as ornamentals northward in colder climates and in drier soils. Easily seen in Big Cypress National Preserve near Naples, Florida. Pond Cypress (var. nutans(Ait.) Sweet), a variety with shorter scalelike leaves, is found in shallow ponds and poorly drained areas from southeastern Virginia to southeastern Louisiana below 100' (30 m).

 

[olena]

State Insect

Honey Bee
Apis mellifera
Description Male drone 5/8" (15-17 mm); queen 3/4" (18-20 mm); sterile female worker 3/8-5/8" (10-15 mm). Drone more robust with largest compound eyes; queen elongate with smallest compound eyes and larger abdomen; worker smallest. All mostly reddish brown and black with paler, usually orange-yellow rings on abdomen. Head, antennae, legs almost black with short, pale erect hair densest on thorax, least on abdomen. Wings translucent. Pollen basket on hind tibia.
Food Adult drinks nectar and eats honey. Larva feeds on honey and royal jelly, a white paste secreted by workers.
Life Cycle Complex social behavior centers on maintaining queen for full lifespan, usually 2 or 3 years, sometimes up to 5. Queen lays eggs at intervals, producing a colony of 60,000-80,000 workers, which collect, produce, and distribute honey and maintain hive. Workers feed royal jelly to queen continuously and to all larvae for first 3 days; then only queen larvae continue eating royal jelly while other larvae are fed bee bread, a mixture of honey and pollen. By passing food mixed with saliva to one another, members of hive have chemical bond. New queens are produced in late spring and early summer; old queen then departs with a swarm of workers to found new colony. About a day later the first new queen emerges, kills other new queens, and sets out for a few days of orientation flights. In 3-16 days queen again leaves hive to mate, sometimes mating with several drones before returning to hive. Drones die after mating; unmated drones are denied food and die.
Habitat Hives in hollow trees and hives kept by beekeepers. Workers visit flowers of many kinds in meadows, open woods, and gardens.
Range Worldwide.
Discussion Settlers brought the Honey Bee to North America in the 17th century. Today these bees are used to pollinate crops and produce honey. They are frequently seen swarming around tree limbs. Honey Bees are distinguished from bumble bees and bees in other families mostly by wing venation.

 

[olena]

State Flower

Southern Magnolia
Magnolia grandiflora
Bull Bay

Description One of the most beautiful native trees, evergreen with straight trunk, conical crown, and very fragrant, very large, white flowers.
Height: 60-80' (18-24 m).
Diameter: 2-3' (0.6-0.9 m).
Leaves: evergreen; 5-8" (13-20 cm) long, 2-3" (5-7.5 cm) wide. Oblong or elliptical; thick and firm with edges slightly turned under. Shiny bright green above, pale and with rust-colored hairs beneath. Stout leafstalks with rust-colored hairs.
Bark: dark gray; smooth, becoming furrowed and scaly.
Twigs: covered with rust-colored hairs when young; with ring scars at nodes; ending in buds also covered with rust-colored hairs.
Flowers: 6-8" (15-20 cm) wide; cup-shaped; 3 white sepals and 6 or more petals; very fragrant; solitary at end of twig; in late spring and summer.
Fruit: 3-4" (7.5-10 cm) long; conelike; oblong; pink to brown; covered with rust-colored hairs; composed of many separate short-pointed 2-seeded fruits that split open in early autumn.
Habitat Moist soils of valleys and low uplands with various other hardwoods.
Range E. North Carolina to central Florida and west to E. Texas; to 400' (122 m).
Discussion Planted around the world in warm temperate and subtropical regions, it is a popular ornamental and shade tree, hardy north to Philadelphia. Several horticultural varieties have been developed. Principal uses of the wood are furniture, boxes, cabinetwork, and doors. The dried leaves are used by florists in decorations.

 

[olena]

State Bird

Brown Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis

Description 45-54" (1.1-1.4 m). W. 7'6" (2.3 m). A very large, stocky bird with a dark brown body and a long flat bill. The only non-white pelican in the world. Head whitish in adults, with dark brown on hindneck during breeding season. Young birds have dark brown head and whitish bellies.
Endangered Status The Brown Pelican is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered in California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. Populations along the U.S. Atlantic coast and in Florida and Alabama are no longer considered endangered. Both species of pelicans are sensitive to chemical pollutants absorbed from the fish they eat. Historically, the worst of these has been DDT, which affects calcium metabolism, resulting in thin-shelled eggs that break when moved by the incubating bird. (DDT was also responsible for the decline of the Bald Eagle and the Peregrine Falcon.) Because of its more limited, exclusively coastal range, the Brown Pelican suffered more acutely than its relative, the White Pelican, and its numbers crashed in the 1960s. But after the banning of many pesticides, these familiar birds are staging a comeback, and are even quite common in some East Coast locales.
Voice Usually silent, but utters low grunts on nesting grounds.
Habitat Sandy coastal beaches and lagoons, waterfronts and pilings, and rocky cliffs.
Nesting 2 or 3 chalky white eggs in a nest of sticks, straw, or other debris, usually on a rocky island near the coast. Nests in colonies.
Range Resident of Pacific Coast from southern California south to Chile, dispersing northward as far as southern British Columbia after nesting season. Also on Atlantic Coast from North Carolina south to Venezuela.
Discussion These social colonial birds fly in single file low over the water; on sighting prey they plunge with wings half-folded, from heights of up to 50 feet (15 meters), surfacing to drain water from their bills before swallowing the fish. Unlike its larger white relative, the Brown Pelican seldom soars. Around waterfronts and marinas individual birds become quite tame, taking fish offered them by humans.

 

[olena]

State Freshwater Fish

White Crappie
Pomoxis annularis

Description The White Crappie is a member of the sunfish family (family Centrarchidae). Sunfishes are one of the most widespread and popular groups of freshwater sport fishes. Their dorsal fins are joined, separated only by a notch, and the anal fin has 3 or more spines. The caudal fin is usually forked, and the gill membranes are usually separate. Except for a single species native to California, sunfishes are indigenous to warm waters of North America east of the Rocky Mountains. However, as a result of their popularity with anglers, their range has been increased by introducing them into other areas. There are 32 species in North America.

 

[olena]

State Saltwater Fish

Spotted Seatrout
Cynoscion nebulosus

Description To 28" (71 cm); 16 lbs (7.3 kg). Elongate, fusiform, moderately compressed; dark gray above with bluish iridescence and black dots extending onto dorsal and caudal fins; spiny dorsal fin dusky, other fins pale yellowish; silvery below. Mouth oblique; lower jaw projects beyond upper, which extends past eye; 2 large canine teeth in front of upper jaw; no barbels or pores on chin; preopercular margin smooth. Dorsal fins completely separated by deep notch; soft dorsal fin unscaled, base much longer than anal fin base; caudal fin truncate or emarginate. Scales ctenoid, large; lateral line extends to caudal fin tip.
Habitat Juveniles in estuaries, tidal mud flats, grass beds, and salt marshes; larger specimens mostly in shallow coastal waters over sand.
Range From Cape Cod to Florida; Gulf of Mexico from w. Florida to Laguna Madre, Mexico; absent from West Indies and Caribbean.
Discussion The Spotted Seatrout, often called "speck," is a valued food and game fish, especially in the shallow sand flats around barrier islands off Florida and the Gulf Coast.

 

[olena]

State Fruit

Wild Strawberry
Fragaria virginiana
Virginia Strawberry

Description This low perennial forms runners and produces several small, white flowers and long-stalked, 3-parted basal leaves.
Flowers: 3/4" (2 cm) wide; sepals 5; petals 5, roundish; stamens many, numerous; pistils many, on a dome-like structure.
Leaves: leaflets 1-1 1/2" (2.5-3.8 cm) long, toothed, and with hairy stalks.
Fruit: dry, seed-like, sunken within enlarged, fleshy cone--the "strawberry."
Height: creeper, with flower stalk 3-6" (7.5-15 cm) high.
Flower April-June.
Habitat Open fields, edges of woods.
Range Throughout North America, except Arctic islands and Greenland.
Discussion Found in patches in fields and dry openings, this plant produces the finest, sweetest, wild strawberry. The edible portion of the strawberry is actually the central portion of the flower (receptacle) which enlarges greatly with maturity and is covered with the embedded, dried, seed-like fruit. Cultivated Strawberries are hybrids developed from this native species and the South American one. The similar Wood Strawberry (F. vesca) has seed-like fruit on the surface, not embedded, and sepals that point backwards.

 

[olena]

State Amphibian

Green Treefrog
Hyla cinerea


Description 1 1/4-2 1/2" (3.2-6.4 cm). Bright green, yellow, or greenish-gray. Has sharply defined light stripe along upper jaw and side of body; side stripe occasionally absent. Sometimes has tiny, black-edged gold spots on back. Large toe pads.
Voice Cowbell-like when heard at a distance. Nearer, sound is quank, quank. Males call while clinging to vertical stems 1-2' (.3-.5 m) above water.
Breeding March to October in southern areas, April to September in northern areas.
Habitat Trees and shrubs growing in or near permanent water. During the day frequently found asleep on underside of large leaves or in other moist, shady places.
Range Delaware south along the coastal plain into Florida and the Keys, west to s. Texas, and north through c. Arkansas and w. Tennessee to Illinois.
Discussion Green Treefrogs congregate in large choruses of several hundred. A typical treefrog, this species prefers to walk rather than jump. When fleeing a predator in the trees it takes gangly leaps into space.

 

[olena]

State Wildflower

Louisiana Iris
Iris giganticaerulea

As the name implies, this species is the giant of the series. Iris giganticaerulea, despite its imposing size, was not described until 1929 when Dr. John K. Small of the New York Botanical Garden registered several species he had discovered. While none of the other irises afforded species status by Dr. Small have held up to intense botanical and taxonomic examination, Iris giganticaerulea still shines brightly in the Hexagonae firmament.

Sometimes reaching six feet in height, Iris giganticaerulea is a truly imposing iris. Imagine a clearing deep within a cypress swamp, and suddenly shafts of sunlight illuminate vast drifts of this blue species, its rigid stalks hoisting large six inch flowers of the most wonderful blue, lilac, lavender, and on to pure white. Signals are often large and brightly colored, providing a nice contrast. This iris is found in a narrow band along the gulf coast of south Louisiana and east Texas. This limited range is a hint of the cold tender nature of this beautiful iris.

Previous Natural States
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Idaho
Iowa
Kansas
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mississippi
Montana
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Washington
West Virginia


Previous Natural Provinces
Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Northwest Territories
Ontario
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
Saskatchewan

 

[Snowwark]

Wow, Louisiana seems to be blessed with an abundance of natural symbols!

Love the Magnolia, the Iris, the Wild Strawberry! My parents have been enjoying lots of wild strawberries lately. They're up at the cottage, and my Dad has been picking them everyday.

Two fish? Is there another State with two? Also, has the alligator been featured before (maybe Florida... )?

Speaking of black bears, last week a black bear was shot and killed by Animal Control officers, not more than a 20 min. drive from my house!!! This is NOT a bear district, and the authorities were totally unprepared.....It's causing quite a stir that a tranquilizer gun wasn't used, and the bear re-located.

Olena, a wonderful job, with great pictures!! Thank you!

 

[olena]

The alligator is the state reptile of Florida. On the list of the last post of these threads, you can find links to all previous Natural State threads. So if you missed one or just wanted to revisit one, it's all right there.


Previous Natural States
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Idaho
Iowa
Kansas
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mississippi
Montana
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Washington
West Virginia


Previous Natural Provinces
Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Northwest Territories
Ontario
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
Saskatchewan




As for state fish, there are many states with Official saltwater fish, official freshwater fish and sometimes official shell and game fish. There really is no set pattern. State legislatures just make it official. Some states have many symbols of all kinds and others have very few overall.


I wondered why they killed that bear. Was it too bold with people?

 

[Snowwark]

Originally posted by olena
I wondered why they killed that bear. Was it too bold with people?

The bear was inside city limits, a VERY unusual occurence. It had apparently gone on to people's porches, drank from birdfeeders/baths, got into garbage cans, and even ate cat food right out of a dish!

People are upset that the bear was killed and not tranquilized and re-located. The authorites claim that the tranquilizer gun they have is old and unsuitable for bears, with an insufficient range.