— Tag

#florida-scrub

2 posts tagged.

Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) walking across sandy scrub habitat at Lake June-in-Winter Scrub State Park, Florida, with dome-shaped shell and elephantine front legs visible
Wildlife

The Gopher Tortoise — Florida's Most Important Animal That Almost Nobody Notices, and the 350 Species That Live in Its Burrow

The gopher tortoise digs a 30-40 ft burrow, ~10 ft deep, that 350+ other species share — indigo snakes, gopher frogs, Florida mice, rattlesnakes, beetles. Listed Threatened in Florida. Touch one and you commit a state violation. Where to see them, the law, and why this is Florida's most important animal.
Florida Scrub-Jay perched on a low scrub oak branch with bright blue plumage against pine flatwoods
Wildlife

Florida Scrub-Jay — Oscar Scherer State Park and Florida's Only Endemic Bird

The Florida Scrub-Jay is the only bird species found nowhere else on Earth but Florida. Population fell from 40,000 to 4,000 in a century. Oscar Scherer State Park, Sarasota County, is where you go to see one — at sunrise, on the Lester Finley Trail.