Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message

American Alligator at the Big Water Shelter; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. April 20, 2024 ©williamwisephoto.com

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. April 20, 2024. Paddling from Maul Hammock to Big Water shelters.
 - Location: Big Water Shelter; N30.93671° W82.27976°
 - Sunny, high near 91; low around 64
 - Sunrise 6:55 AM; sunset 8:01 PM
 - Daylight hours: 13 hours, 6 minutes (+1m 45s)

Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message

Little Blue Heron near Maul Hammock; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. April 20, 2024

​“We did everything we could to destroy it. We skinned alligators until we like to drove every last one off. We killed bears, otters, foxes, and almost got rid of them. We went after the cypress and cut down 3000 acres of trees. I was a part of all that. We didn’t know any better. But the old swamp came back. The animals came back. The trees came back. You wouldn’t know where the trees were cut. The Okefenokee is God’s work. Men couldn’t destroy it, and now it is as beautiful as it ever was. It is the most beautiful place on earth. I will do everything I can to make sure it stays that way for as long as the world lasts.“

Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message

American Alligator at the Maul Hammock Shelter; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. April 19, 2024.

“I was fishing one time in Billies with my old uncle. I was doing the rowing and he was doing the fishing. The ’gators made such a racket I didn’t know what it was. And he told me it was the gators amuddying Big Bonnet Lake by Billy‘s lake. He told me to paddle easy and not hit the boat with the paddle, so we’d slip up on ’em and not disturb ’em and see ’em fishing. We got around a little clump of bushes in plain of Big Bonnet Lake, and they must have been somewhere between one and two thousand of the gators. Bonnet Lake was about four or five acres big. And them gators would rise and jump their length and go down. The bottom of Bonnet Lake is a soft mud. And it was easy to muddy. And they all muddy at the same time, and then stop at the same time and go to fishing just a few breaths. There was jumping and sloshing. They’d go down to the bottom and dig up the mud and scatter it with their tails. And then they’d go to fishing again. I remember one tremendous big alligator that rose up in the water with a trout in his mouth, about 12 or 14 pounds. Had him crossways in his mouth. And he just moved up to the bank and jammed against the bank until he got him headfirst in his mouth, and then swallowed him. That was the first time I was ever there when there was so many gators. And I’ve seen the gators so thick, it look like if you’d been out of the boat and if the gators had held your weight, you could walk all over the lake on gator heads.”