A male fiddler crab. Female fiddler crabs have two small claws while males have one small claw and one much larger claw. The male's larger claw is used to attract females and to defend territory. Small claws are used for picking up sediment and eating. Sunrays break through the thick canopy of mangroves and illuminate this raccoon foraging in the tidal flats of West Lake Park.
Raccoons are mammals that are mostly nocturnal.
They are common in wetland areas throughout most of the United States. Raccoons may eat a variety of foods including fruits, insects, frogs, fish, small mammals and birds. A red mangrove and its intricate aerial root system in west lake waters. Red mangroves grow arching and branching prop roots from trunks and drop roots from branches to anchor into the muddy bottom. Some scientists believe that the exposed roots allow the trees to take in oxygen.