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Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

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alligator sunning

Florida Wildlife

From toothsome alligators to scampering lizards, you will see wildlife while enjoying Florida’s outdoors. Here are photos and descriptions of some of the creatures you may encounter along our trails.

Move quietly through the outdoors, and you’ll be rewarded with wildlife sightings. From top-of-the-food chain creatures to tiny toads, here are examples of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and more you may encounter in Florida.

American alligator

Contents

  • 1 Alligators
  • 2 Florida Black Bear
  • 3 Florida cooter
  • 4 Florida Panther
  • 5 Florida’s Venomous Snakes

Alligators

Alligators are the number one fear that folks new to Florida have about playing in the outdoors. Here’s how to handle yourself when you’re in alligator territory.

Florida black bears

Florida Black Bear

Learn about the Florida black bear and how to handle yourself in bear habitat, whether you’re hiking, camping, or a homeowner in an area where bears are common

Florida cooter

Florida cooter

The most common turtle you’ll see basking on logs along rivers and lakes, the Florida cooter is one of Florida’s largest freshwater turtles, up to a foot long or more.

 
Florida panther

Florida Panther

A subspecies of cougar, the Florida panther has been making a slow but steady comeback in their stronghold in Big Cypress and the Everglades, with sightings of individual cats reported by hikers throughout the state

Coral snake

Florida’s Venomous Snakes

Florida has six species of venomous snakes. Here is what they look like, and how to identify them when you are outdoors and encounter them in the woods

 

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