Alligators

Experience the wonder of otters and gators at the Wonder Gardens

Pam James

Jessie and James and Ivy and Mae are the newest residents of The Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs. Two female American river otters (Ivy and Mae) and two juvenile American alligators (Jessie and James), were feted at the zoological park for a grand opening celebration on Thursday, Aug. 28.

Alligator resting at the CREW Bird Rookery Swamp Trails in Collier County. A woman was hurt Sunday when she was bit by a gator at the CREW site after tripping over the animal on a trail.

Environment

Woman bit on arm, leg by gator at CREW Bird Rookery Swamp Trails; an animal later trapped, removed

WGCU Staff

A Fort Myers woman suffered bites to her arm and leg Sunday after wildlife officials said she had an encounter with an alligator while walking along a submerged area in the CREW Bird Rookery Swamp Trails in Collier County.The gator was later trapped and removed from the area.

Environment

Walk the boardwalk in the moonlight at Audubon's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary next week

Tom Bayles

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is a highly popular attraction located in the Western Everglades, straddling the line between the eastern portions of Lee and Collier counties, and will stay open late August 7, 2025.

Environment

‘Greater flexibility’ considered in Florida's alligator hunts

Jim Turner/News Service of Florida

A limited number of alligator hunters could get special permits that would expand where they can hunt, under a proposal that state wildlife officials are considering.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at a Dec. 5 meeting in Orlando will take up a proposal that would lead to a random draw for five special-use permits that would give alligator hunters “greater flexibility” next season.

A 10-year effort is now published in the journal Management of Biological Invasions by wildlife biologists from the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences revealing how a series of efforts and strategies led to successful control and removal of spectacled caimans in the Eastern Everglades. The animal resembles a smaller American alligator

Blueprint created for invasive species removal in Everglades

Tom Bayles

A coordinated series of efforts over 10 years to eradicate the spectacled caiman from the Western Everglades resulted in the removal of 251 of the creatures

A least tern feeds its chicks. Least terns are a threatened species. Beachside fireworks can cause the terns to abandon their nests and young, leaving eggs and chicks vulnerable to predators.

Environmental Roundup July 2, 2021

Valerie Vande Panne

We are all connected by the environment we share. The Earth is our home. This is the space where we share the environmental stories that caught our attention this week in Florida and beyond.

Statewide Recreational Hunting Of Florida's Alligators Underway

Sascha Cordner

The statewide recreational hunting of Florida’s alligators began Wednesday.

With Increasing Alligator Sightings, FWC Urges Floridians To Be Careful

Sascha Cordner

Florida’s 1.3 million alligators inhabit all of the state’s 67 counties, and wildlife officials are urging the public to be careful around the reptiles....

Shark-eating Alligators in the Gulf

Rachel Iacovone

While you may be used to seeing alligators in and around lakes and ponds in Southwest Florida, it may come as a surprise they also sometimes venture to…

Environment

Alligator Bites Reach Record High In Florida

Florida is seeing a record high number of reported alligator bites this summer. With 2016 only seeing 7 alligator bites, 2017 has already surpassed that…