The University of West Florida is known for its 146 acres of wildlife sanctuary, which includes some pretty amazing nature trails for students. While we absolutely love living with nature, sometimes the wildlife on campus can be a bit much. Most UWF students can relate to the following situations.
1. Taking the trash out at night is risking murder at the hands of raccoons.
I like to call these little guys “trash pandas” to make them slightly more endearing, though they are not to be messed with during nocturnal hours. Stay safe and take your trash out during the daytime.
2. Taking your food outside to eat might result in the following situation:.
In this case, sharing is not caring. Please do not feed the animals and keep the Nautilus market food away from them. They probably wouldn’t want it, anyway.
3. Squirrels. Squirrels everywhere.
Most people might worry about running over squirrels while driving, but we worry about running over them walking to and from class. UWF squirrels have no personal boundaries.
4. Armadillo sightings are normal.
You see them most often during the dusk and night time hours, but under no circumstances are they to be provoked. Not only is it against University policy, but also they can jump three to four feet in the air when frightened. No thank you. There may also be a small gang of them living in the bushes around campus.
5. Your heart skips a beat when you almost run over a critter, and we feel terrible if we actually do end its life.
Why raccoon? You still have so much trash to eat.
6. There is no escaping it, no matter where you go.
UWF wildlife is everywhere. Whether you’re walking between the library and the commons or along the nature trail, there will be wildlife to greet you. My theory is that the biology department has a squirrel-cloning machine that’s the root of the problem.
In the end, we wouldn’t have it any other way. Being one with nature and beautiful Pensacola wildlife is worth the animals with no regard for personal space.