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Wildlife in the theater

Mother Nature gets all the screen time at Redfish Revue, where free flicks can be followed by a walk in Crystal River Preserve State Park.

By JORGE SANCHEZ
Published June 19, 2006

At the Redfish Revue Theatre, you'll see plenty of action. Flesh-hungry beasts hunt down and devour unfortunate prey. Special effects? Sure, from Mother Nature's own animation studio. There's even a sex scene or two.

Unlike most movie theaters, where admission and soft drinks will take a bite out of your wallet, you won't spend a penny watching two hours of high-quality entertainment at the Redfish Revue. Even the snacks are free. Or bring your own; no usher will get angry at you.

And afterward, feel free to explore the nearby nature trails, where real-life animals can easily be seen.

The Redfish Revue Theatre screens nature films at the Crystal River Preserve State Park. The movies are shown on a large roll-down projector screen, and the room has surround sound. Saturday's double feature were the Nova documentaries Animal Imposters, followed by Mysteries of Animal Pathways.

The early show had a small audience of about a dozen people.

"We really enjoyed it,'' said Dory Denicola of Inverness.

She and her husband, Joseph, sat in the back, munching on chocolate chip cookies and ice tea provided by the state park's volunteers.

After watching the first film, which showed how some animals have adapted to mimic more dangerous animals to avoid being eaten or to convey a false image of being venomous, Joseph Denicola gave it a thumbs-up.

"It was interesting, and more than we expected,'' he said.

Viewers learned that a viceroy butterfly has genetically adapted its colorations to resemble the monarch butterfly, which birds find unpalatable and poisonous.

Same goes for the harmless kingsnake, which closely resembles the venomous coral snake. Only the coral's black nose and an easy-to-confuse nursery rhyme helps tell the two apart.

As the narrator points out, if you see a brightly colored snake near your foot, you are not likely to try and recite a poem or peer down to see if the snake's nose is black. Snakes have small noses.

Chances are you will simply flee, which is what both the deadly coral and the deceptive kingsnake want.

With the heat of summer bearing down, there's not much else to do on a hot afternoon, so taking in a free nature documentary is a great way to escape the heat and still feel connected to the outdoors.

The state park building has several wildlife displays, featuring an impressive-looking indigo snake and several aquariums.

There is also a skull of a sabre-tooth tiger to examine.

The park has an eco-walk trail off Curtis Tool Road and a separate 9-mile-long loop for biking and hiking.

The eco-walk takes in a spring and cuts though a sawgrass marsh, a hardwood swamp, a sabal palm oasis and a pine stand.

Other trails include the Churchhouse Hammock Trail, off U.S. 19 across from the Crystal River Mall.

There is also a cove known as the Mullet Hole, where anglers try to catch mullet by chumming with bread crumbs and then slipping a dough-baited hook into the chum slick.

A quick walk around the Mullet Hole on Sunday turned up plenty of wildlife.

Three small black wild pigs, not much bigger than a Boston terrier, peeked out from a palmetto stand. An osprey and a hawk made hunting passes over the water, and a large brown water snake lay by the side of the trail.

The Crystal River Preserve State park is at 3266 N Sailboat Ave., Crystal River. Show times are at 3 and 7 p.m. Call 563-0450.

Here is the schedule of the upcoming shows.

- Challenge of the Seas presents the documentaries Otter Coast, Once Upon a Manta, Tribes of the Sea and In Over Our Heads on July 15.

- Design for Living and Secret Weapons on Aug. 19.

- Four water management videos on Sept. 16.

- Venom Cure and Ultimate Guide to Snakes on Oct. 21.

Jorge Sanchez covers arts and entertainment. Contact him at sanchez@sptimes.com or 860-7313.

[Last modified June 19, 2006, 08:31:05]