Protected Animals

Manatees, including this pair, are sometimes seen around the Dante Fascell Visitor Center.

NPS image by Matt Johnson

The following park animals are listed as threatened or endangered. If you are lucky enough to observe them in the park, cherish the sighting and please give them space (interference is prohibited). Click here to report sightings. Please include as much information as possible such as date, location, number, size, and any photos. For a list of federal endangered species, click here. For information on Florida's Imperiled Species, click here. For more information on threatened and endangered park plant species click here.

	Occurrence in Park	Federal Classification	State Classification
MARINE INVERTEBRATES
Pillar coral	Rare	-	Endangered
Elkhorn coral	Common	Threatened	-
Staghorn coral	Common	Threatened	-
TERRESTRIAL INVERTEBRATES
Florida tree snail	Occasional	-	Special Concern
Miami blue butterfly	Rare	Endangered	Endangered
Schaus swallowtail butterfly	Rare	Endangered	Endangered
FISH
Smalltooth sawfish	Rare	Endangered	-
REPTILES
American alligator	Uncommon	Similarity of appearance	Special Concern
American crocodile	Occasional	Threatened	Endangered
Eastern indigo snake	Rare	Threatened	Endangered
Sea Turtle- green	Common	Endangered	Endangered
Sea Turtle- hawksbill	Common	Endangered	Endangered
Sea Turtle- Kemp's ridley	Rare	Endangered	Endangered
Sea Turtle- leatherback	Rare	Endangered	Endangered
Sea Turtle- loggerhead	Common	Threatened	Threatened
BIRDS
Brown Pelican	Common	Delisted- recovery	Special Concern
Least tern	Common	-	Threatened
Little blue heron	Common	-	Special Concern
Osprey	Common	Special Concern	Special Concern
Piping plover	Uncommon	Threatened	Threatened
Reddish egret	Occasional	Special Concern	Special Concern
Roseate spoonbill	Uncommon	-	Special Concern
Snowy egret	Common	-	Special Concern
Southeastern American kestrel	Uncommon	Special Concern	Threatened
Tricolored heron	Common	-	Special Concern
White ibis	Common	-	Special Concern
White-crowned pigeon	Common	Special Concern	Threatened
Wood stork	Occasional	Endangered	Endangered
MARINE MAMMALS
Fin (finback) whale	Rare, if at all	Endangered	Endangered
Florida manatee	Common	Endangered	Endangered
Humpback whale	Rare, if at all	Endangered	Endangered
North Atlantic right whale	Rare, if at all	Endangered	Endangered
Sei whale	Rare, if at all	Endangered	Endangered
Sperm whale	Rare, if at all	Endangered	Endangered
TERRESTRIAL MAMMALS
Key Largo woodrat	Historical, not known to occur presently	Endangered	Endangered
Key Largo cotton mouse	Historical, not known to occur presently	Endangered	Endangered

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Special protection measures are in place for the following species to ensure their survival:

· All stony corals
· Fire corals
· Sea fans
· Queen conch
· Bahama starfish
· Longspine sea urchin (Diadema)
· Nassau grouper
· Goliath grouper
· Manta ray
· Spotted eagle ray
· Spearfish- longbill, Mediterranean and roundscale
· Sturgeon
· Sharks - many species are protected. Visit www.myfwc.com for a complete list.
· All marine mammals
· All ornamental tropical fish, plants & invertebrates (regulation applies to this park)
· Sponges (regulation applies to this park)
· Lobsters (within the Biscayne Bay Lobster Sanctuary- click here for more details)