The Wilderness Coast

The Wilderness coast… that portion of the Florida Panhandle that juts south into the Gulf of Mexico is home to Gulf Specimen company and the source of most of the marine creatures that it supplies to educational institutions and research facilities. But the pursuit of unsual sea creatures and the answers to puzzling biological questions takes Jack and Anne Rudloe elsewhere, too. The farthest depths of the Gulf of Mexico, the Florida Keys, Port Canaveral, even Surinam--these are the scenes of their activities. Like any profession, specimen collecting has its attendant hazards: being slashed by a sawfish, zapped by an electric ray, nipped by a sea turtle, or attacked by an alligator. More perilous yet is being caught in 50 fathoms of water in a violent storm in a less-than-seaworthy boat. These and other adventures are recounted in this entertaining and informative book.By Jack Rudloe, illustrated by Julia Damon Hanway.