List of mammals of Florida
This includes a few species, such as the black-tailed jackrabbit and red deer, that were introduced after the arrival of Europeans.
Rodents account for roughly one quarter of all species, followed closely by mammals from the families Cetacea and Carnivora.
The species included in this list are drawn from the work of the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM), which compiled information from five different publications.
[3] Information on the international conservation status of species has been drawn from the IUCN Red List.
Darker than their solitary counterparts and less furry, these bats prefer to live under bridges, in tree holes or caves.
Only three Florida species live in caves: the eastern pipistrelle, the gray bat and the southeastern myotis.
[5] The greatest threat to bats in Florida is the disturbance or destruction of roost sites, due to either vandalism or urban development.
The native gray fox can be found in the United States almost anywhere, except the northern plains and Rockies.
[33] The red fox was introduced to Florida by hunting clubs, although it may have been native in the northern panhandle.
The skull of the Florida panther is broader and flatter with highly arched nasal bones.
[42] North American river otters are a common sight close to freshwater streams in Florida.
Attacks by predators like the bobcat cause minimum mortality, and the main reason for raccoon deaths is considered to be car accidents.
Differences between subspecies are very small; the Florida black bear has a highly arched forehead and a long and narrow braincase.
Named as such because they were the "right" whales to kill, their only known calving ground is located off the coasts of Georgia and Florida.
Pregnant females migrate from feeding grounds located far north and deliver calves from mid-December to March.
It is the most economically important hunting mammal in all of North America, and is one of the major prey animals of the Florida panther.
Hunt restraining measures and purchases from other states were very successful bringing the population to more than 700,000 deer statewide.
[139] Wild boar found their way to Florida in 1539 with Spanish colonist Hernando de Soto.
[140] They are a popular hunting prey, but are regarded as a pest, due to the damage they inflict to agriculture and environment.
Six rhesus macaques were introduced sometime in the 1930s as tourist attractions, confined to an island in a Central Florida river and flourished.
Six of eight subspecies of the oldfield mouse (commonly named 'beach mice') are in endangered status, and one is extinct.
This herbivorous aquatic mammal lives in rivers, springs and shallow coastal waters.
Threatened by habitat loss, entanglements in fishing gear and crab traps, or by being asphyxiated or crushed by canal locks and flood gates, the most common cause for manatee deaths is being struck by boats, which caused one quarter of all deaths recorded since 1974.
