Everglades Tours – 10 Endangered Species of the Everglades

The unique natural ecosystem of the Everglades is a habitat conducive for the existence of several species of endangered animals and birds. When you are on an Everglades airboat tour or an alligator tour on a fan boat be sure to keep an eye out for these creatures that are on the brink of extinction.

• Florida MouseThese shy little mice are also called the Florida deermouse, the big-eared deermouse, and the gopher mouse. They have large ears with a white underbelly and brown or orange fur. They are omnivores and they feed on anything from nuts, fungi, and seeds to insects and other vertebrates.

• Big Cypress Fox Squirrel

These squirrels are found everywhere in Florida except for the Keys. They have a bushy tail and are found along the Caloosahatchee River and in the southern part of Dade County. They spend more time on the ground and forage for insects, nuts, mushrooms, buds, acorns, and tubers.

• Everglades Mink

The Everglades mink is a member of the weasel family and are semi-aquatic in nature. It has a sleek, chocolate brown coat and lives near rivers, shallow freshwater marshes and swamps. Its webbed toes make it easy to navigate in the water.

• Marsh Rabbit

The marsh rabbit is a tiny creature found in the swamps and freshwater marshes of the Everglades. It is a cottontail and is known to be a very strong swimmer. It is reddish brown or blackish brown in colour and feeds on the bulbs and leaves of marshy plants.

• Rice RatThe rice rat or the Oryzomyini is a tiny rodent that look quite like the common house mouse. Most rice rats live on the ground and thrive around marshy areas like the Everglades.

• Florida Salt Marsh Vole

This tiny short-tailed rodent is also called the meadow vole. It has short ears and a blunt head and feeds mainly on grass and other plant material.

• Red-cockaded Woodpecker The red-cockaded woodpecker is a medium-sized bird that is black and white in color with white flecked crowns. It feeds on small insects. The male woodpecker can be identified by a red patch in the centre of its chest.

• Eastern WoodratThe Eastern woodrat or packrat is a bushy-tailed rodent that feed on twigs, shoots and other kinds of green vegetation. Some of them also feed on fruits, funghi, roots, buds, seeds and acorns. They live in the hollows of trees or in holes in the ground where they make large nests for their young.

• Florida Grasshopper sparrow The Florida grasshopper sparrow is a small, short-tailed bird that is about 5 inches in length. It is usually grey and black with brown stripes. It feeds on small insects, seeds and fruit.

• Whooping Crane

This is the tallest bird in North America and it is famous for the whopping sound it makes. Whopping cranes migrate to Florida but their numbers are depleting because of its primary predator - the bobcat.

They forage in the shallow, marshy water of the Everglades for frogs, crustaceans, fish, mollusks, berries and aquatic plants.

To get from Miami to the Everglades take the Everglades shuttle service. Be on the lookout for the endangered wildlife here while you can still see them.