KSC-2009-2602

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A thick-bodied alligator moves through shallow water behind the NASA News Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A protected species, alligators can be spotted in the drainage canals and other waters surrounding Kennedy. The center shares a boundary with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge that includes saltwater estuaries, brackish marshes, hardwood hammocks and pine flatwoods. The diverse landscape provides habitat for more than 310 species of birds, 25 mammals, 117 fishes and 65 amphibians and reptiles. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky