Hello friends! This past summer, I spent some time working as a Tour Guide in Everglades National Park. During my time there, I met an Anhinga whom I have very lovingly named Ani.
Although Ani was already a feature of the Buttonwood Canal when I got there, I feel like we began our Everglades journeys together.
Ani was a young female when I first began working in the canal. Our boat passed through that canal 2-4 times a day, depending on how busy it was. Ani was usually somewhere to be found in the canal. Whether she was perched on a tree branch curving out into the canal like she was the day I first met her, or hidden among bromeliads, or sunning herself on a low branch, I could expect to see her once a day or once every other day.
Ani grew into her adult plumage. She learned to dive for her food and what spots offered her the best catch.
One day, I realized it had been a few days since we’d seen Ani. This broke my heart and distressed me. I was worried she had been eaten by the local crocodiles.
The day after my worries, Ani came to visit once more. I took a million photos, somehow knowing it would be our last meeting.
Even though I saw other female Anhinga in the canal, I knew they were not Ani. She had moved on in her life, likely to another area of the massive park.
I’m grateful to have known her and grown with her.
Groleau 
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