Have you seen one? Here are Florida’s 13 endangered mammals

Florida hosts nearly 300 unique species of animals that you won’t find anywhere else in the wild, making the Sunshine State one of the most biodiverse states in the country, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

However, Florida also features 92 different species of plants and animals that qualify as endangered, meaning they are in danger of becoming extinct.

Below are the Florida mammals currently considered endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Anastasia Island and Choctawhatchee Beach Mice

These small rodents live along the coastline of many southeastern U.S. beaches, being found in places, including Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

Despite averaging more than 5 inches long, the Anastasia Island beach mouse is actually one of the largest species of beach mice. It’s also much paler than many inland races of oldfield mice.

Meanwhile, the Choctawhatchee beach mouse is about 2.7 to 3.5 inches long and are orange-brown or yellow-brown. These nocturnal herbivores usually eat seeds and grasses along the shore, though they also feast on arthropods during the spring and summer. To date, no studies on ecology have been conducted on this species.

Florida Bonneted Bat

The Florida bonneted bat is the largest species of bat in Florida, with wings that help them take high-speed, prolonged flights in open areas.

This bat’s fur is short and glossy, with colors including black, brown, brownish-gray or cinnamon brown. They also have large, rounded ears that come out from a single point on the bat’s forehead, giving it the appearance of a small bonnet — hence the name.

Florida Panther

This huge cat was listed as an endangered species in 1967 and was rarely found throughout south Florida.

While males have been found weighing over 150 pounds and stretching nearly 7 feet long, the females tend to be much smaller, ranging from 50-108 pounds and measuring about 6 feet long.

The Florida panther’s fur is usually pale-brown or rust-colored, with dull white underparts, tail tip and back of ears.

It can be tough to spot one due to how few there are in the wild, along with the fact that they tend to be solitary creatures that are most active between dusk and dawn.

Despite their rarity, there have been sightings of Florida panthers near homes. Most recently, a family living in southwest Florida took a picture in June after a panther was seen walking around outside.

Florida Salt Marsh Vole

Adding another rodent to the list, the Florida Salt Marsh Vole has a short tail with a blunt head and small ears.

The vole’s fur is usually black-brown with a dark-gray underbelly. While similar to the meadow vole, it’s a big larger, darker and has a differently shaped skull.

While there isn’t a lot of information on its location, it has been reported along the coastline near Cedar Key.

Gray Bat

This nocturnal prowler has been seen throughout the southeast and midwestern U.S., ranging from Kansas to Florida.

It’s notable for its long, glossy brown fur and its long black ears, which are longer than any other mouse-eared bat species at around 7 mm beyond their noses.

Key Deer

The key deer is the smallest race of deer in North America, weighing 45-75 pounds on average.

While they have stocky bodies, their legs are shorter, with wider heads than many other races of white-tailed deer. Additionally, their fur coat varies in color between a deep reddish brown and a grizzled gray.

This animal primarily eats red mangroves, though there are around 60 other plants that make up their diet. This selection typically changes depending on the season.

The key deer has been reported in the islands off Florida’s southern coast near Key West, which is how it got its name.

Key Largo Cotton Mouse

As its name would suggest, this cotton mouse lives in the tropical hardwood hammocks of Key Largo.

While it’s the largest species of cotton mouse found in Florida at around 10 inches from snout to tail-tip, its habitats have been threatened by trash dumping due to more people developing the area.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also says that this species of cotton mouse has had its populations isolated, meaning there’s less genetic diversity in its population and a much higher risk from tropical storms and hurricanes.

They can usually be found making nests in hollow tree stumps, fallen logs and crevices in limestone crops, and they usually have around three mice per litter.

Key Largo Woodrat

Like with the previous entry on this list, the Key Largo Woodrat gets its name from living in the tropical hammocks of Key Largo.

This medium-sized rodent has a gray-brown back and head, though its underbelly is all white, and its tail is rather hairy.

The Key Largo woodrat is also nocturnal, feeding on mushrooms, fruits and seeds after the lights have gone out.

Also like the Key Largo Cotton Mouse, this species of woodrat suffers from habitat fragmentation, so its largely threatened by severe storms, fires and rising sea levels.

Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit

Another Florida rodent found in the Keys, the lower Keys marsh rabbit is found between Big Pine Key to Boca Chica Key.

The rabbit has lost about 50% of its habitat over the past 25 years as people have developed the coast and islands, according to FWC.

These are also the smallest of the three subspecies of marsh rabbits, reaching around 14-16 inches long.

They typically nest in thickets, stumps or logs using grass and breast fur, and mother rabbits tend to stick with their offspring until they reach around 12-to-15 days old.

Perdido Key Beach Mouse

While the third species of beach mouse to make this list, the Perdido Key beach mouse is actually found much farther north than its other two endangered counterparts, located along Perdido Key in Escambia County.

Development along the beaches in that area has damaged a lot of this beach mouse’s habitats, destroying a lot of the vegetation used for food and shelter, according to FWC.

The mice usually eat sea oat seeds and beach grass, though when those foods are scarce, they can instead eat things like sea rockets or invertebrates.

Silver Rice Rat

This rat — with its signature silver-gray fur — calls the mangrove swamps and marsh flats in the lower Florida Keys its home.

Very little information is available about this type of rat, though its been noted to eat marsh grasses, insects, crabs and snails.

They typically live for less than a year in the wild, though they’re able to breed throughout the year, carrying their young for less than a month before giving birth.

A major threat to this species is dredging and filling, which involves excavation in the surrounding wetlands and other surface waters. While heavily regulated under Florida law, these processes are usually used during development and have greatly damaged the silver rice rat population in the region.

St. Andrew Beach Mouse

The last critter on the list is the fourth beach mouse considered to be endangered in the Sunshine State: the St. Andrew beach mouse.

This rodent inhabits sand dunes ranging from Gulf County to Bay County, and like many of the other rodents on this list, its habitats are greatly threatened by continued development along the beaches.

They usually eat seeds from dune plants and other invertebrates, and unlike house mice, they won’t seek out human homes for shelter or food.