Florida Wildlife

Horseshoe citizen scientist classes may be popular among environmentalists just caring for nature, but less well known is how much the creatures do for humans: a compound in the animal's blue blood has the unique ability to ensure the safety of vaccines, injectable medications, and medical devices

As agriculture gives way to planned developments, many worry the Florida panther is on a path to doom.Environmentalists say planned communities — Kingston in eastern Lee and Bellmar in eastern Collier and both the size of small cities — could hurtle the Florida panther from the Endangered Species List to extinction.

Dr. Hollis Stewart is a wildlife veterinarian. She worked on the Florida Panther Project, to help repopulate the endangered cats.

It’s been nearly eight years since the last state-sanctioned bear hunt, and Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith said Florida needs to find solutions as encounters between the animals and humans are increasing.“We need to look at some different ways of doing things,” Smith told The News Service of Florida on Monday.During the past few weeks, a woman in the rural Gulf Coast county southwest of Tallahassee had to lock herself inside a bedroom as a bear broke into her home. In a separate incident, a woman was trapped in a car by a large black bear.

More than a dozen new trails have been added to the growing network of more than 500 wildlife viewing sites throughout Florida. Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail

Southwest Florida is so rich in wildlife habitat and has so many threatened and endangered species that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to add the region to the world’s largest network of protected lands. The Southwest Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Area

What a different year 2022-2023 has been for SWFL Eagle Cam eagles Harriet and M15 and eaglets E21 and E22. A special Gulf Coast Life on Monday will take a look back at the season.

The red-bellied woodpecker is the most common woodpecker in Florida. Over the years they have been found to have adapted well to more urban environments and can be found in just about any habitat type from as far south as Florida and along the East coast all the way up to Canada.

Both eagles vanished, E21 for nearly five days and E22 overnight. But both are now back in the nest.