Everglades Endangered Species

Everglades Endangered Species – Incredible Animals in Florida

Everglades Endangered Species – The Florida Manatee

Florida’s West Palm Beach has always attracted nature lovers’ curiosity. There are plenty of reasons why its nature reserve is amongst the favorite tourist spots. Beyond the more traditional holiday activities, the Everglades of West Palm beach allows us to witness many fascinating endangered animals. Those rare species make rare sightings amongst the animal lover community. Here are some of the endangered species you can come across while booking West Palm Beach Airboat Rides:

The West Indian Manatee

The North American manatee and is often called the ‘sea cow’. The manatee mainly inhabits estuaries and rivers, basically focusing on shallow coastal areas as their primary habitat. They are herbivores by nature, and are peaceful, despite their average size of around 10ft long. The manatee is mostly a solitary creature, but manatees tend to group the winter and throughout their breeding seasons. Another truly extraordinary being that you must witness to appreciate fully.

The Snail Kite

The snail kite is a bird species to the Everglades and counts a small population smaller than 400 breeding pairs. This species is endangered because of efforts to control water levels but not threaten extinction. They are a rare sight for avid bird watchers and are often the reason why bird watchers travel to Florida. Florida is the only state in the USA where they live. The next close places they inhabit are the Caribbean and South America.

The Florida Panther

This animal is the rarest of its kind, with low numbers of around 120 specimens across the Florida Everglades. Their natural habitat is the swamplands, mostly in the uplands, but they also live in the Everglade’s lower flooded habitat. This species’ 1995 Genetic Restoration Program has allowed it to grow from numbers as low as 20 panthers, back up to the healthier 120-130 creatures. They make for an extremely rare sighting, genuinely offering a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The American Crocodile

This crocodile species is one of the two main crocodilians that lives in Everglade’s saltwater habitats. They enjoy a diet of fish and crustaceans, amongst other delicacies found in the saltwater sections of Florida. As they are on top of their food chain, they represent an essential part of the Everglade’s ecosystem. Those reptiles are more aggressive than their alligator counterparts, though they rarely attack human beings. American Crocodiles are a sight to behold, and one must see them in the flesh to fully appreciate such species’ grandeur.

The American Alligator

These other crocodilian species can be found in the freshwater swamplands of the everglades and are less aggressive than the American crocodile. They enjoy a diet of small mammals and reptiles, so they prefer the lower swamplands where those live in abundance. Alligators have a different look than crocodiles, such as a more substantial upper jaw, which enables them to hide their teeth, which crocodiles cannot do. Over the years, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) has allowed restoring their freshwater habitat, enabling a healthy and steady growth in their species’ numbers.

Those are just some of the rare and endangered animal species that inhabit the Florida Everglades. Going on a West Palm Beach Everglades tour could allow you to catch some of those rare sightings. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to witness those unusual animals and discover even more of the animal world by visiting Florida’s Everglades; it is a unique experience that any animal lover will genuinely enjoy.

During your airboat ride, our captain will take you to the best places in the Everglades where you are most likely to encounter those animals. Of course, we can’t guarantee that you will see any specific creature. We however understand that your journey in the Everglades will be best when you do come across those animals. As such we will always go out of our way to make sure it happens.

So if you are interested in learning more and potentially witnessing some of the Everglade’s native species, why not book a ride today? Booking with us is easy, you can contact us on our website, or you can simply call us. We will get back to you fast, and we will answer any questions you have about the wildlife, and about anything else you want to know.