Stories from - FLORIDA
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U.S. Breeding Population of Wood Storks
Both beautiful and odd, the wood stork's appearance is hard to confuse with any other bird. From its long spindly legs, to its bulky body covered in white feathers trimmed in black, to its buzzard-like neck... Read More
Stories from - FLORIDA
View All StoriesWorking Lands for Wildlife Initiative Helps to Improve Gulf of Mexico Too
Levy County, on Florida's "Nature Coast," is home to a variety of ecosystems, from dense hardwood forests and marsh lands to sand hills and Gulf Coast waters. The historic Suwannee River borders the north end... Read More
Stories from - FLORIDA
View All StoriesProtecting Florida's Gentle Giants
Florida has more federally listed endangered and threatened species than any other state on the Atlantic coast. One of its most high profile and popular animals is the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus). ...Read More
Featured Species in Florida
Okaloosa darter
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed reclassifying the Okaloosa darter from the status of endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act in February 2010, saying that the small fish has made significant strides toward recovery.
Okaloosa darter.
Photo credit: Bill Tate, USFWS
Swallow-tailed kite
The rare swallow-tailed kite is considered one of the most threatened land birds currently without federal protection.
Swallow-tailed kite.
Photo credit: Todd Schneider, GA DNR Wildlife Resources Division
Florida panther
The Florida panther is one of 30 Puma concolor subspecies known by many names?puma, cougar, mountain lion, painter, catamount and panther. The most profound and continuing threat to their survival can be traced to an increasing human population.
Florida panther.
Photo credit: Larry Richardson, USFWS
Key largo woodrat
The Key Largo woodrat resides in tropical hardwood hammocks on Key Largo. This small endemic rodent once ranged throughout all of Key Largo, but today is limited to the northernmost portions.
Key largo woodrat.
Photo credit: Clayton Degayner
Scrub lupine
Only 10 populations of scrub lupine remain. This plant is vulnerable to destruction by off-road vehicles, grazing and trampling, and development.
Scrub lupine.
Photo credit: David Price
Partnership Stories in Florida
Saving Rare Plants in Florida
Bok Tower Gardens is a member institution of the Center for Plant Conservation and works to conserve both live endangered and threatened plants and seeds for the future.
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Unique to Florida
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Scrub lupine (Lupinus aridorum) is a short-lived perennial that grows in central Florida – Polk, Orange, and Osceola Counties – and nowhere else in the world. Only 10 populations of scrub lupine remain. Habitat loss associated with urban development is a substantial threat to scrub lupine.
Photo credit: David Price, Bok Tower Gardens -
The Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) is the only bird species entirely restricted to Florida. These rare birds are found only in the north and central peninsular part of the state—in scrubby and pine flatwood habitats. The Florida scrub-jay was listed as a threatened species because of loss, fragmentation, and degradation of these habitats throughout Florida, due primarily to urbanization, agriculture, and fire suppression.
Photo credit: David Irving
