7 Endangered Species You'll Only Find In Florida

The world is full of endangered species that conservationists are working hard to protect. These species, including their subspecies and other isolated populations, are in imminent danger of ceasing to exist if they don't get help to survive. The list of endangered plants and animals can receive protection under the Endangered Species Act, which was established in 1973. In particular, Florida has several endangered animals and plants, but what's more interesting is that some of these species only live or grow in the state.

Among the endangered mammals that you can't find anywhere other than Florida are the Florida panther, Lower Keys marsh rabbit, and Florida bonneted bat. The Cape Sable seaside sparrow, Schaus' swallowtail butterfly, Miami tiger beetle, and the Florida ziziphus (plant) are on the list of endangered species in the state, too. Working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission aims to save these and other species through its Imperiled Species Management Plan and its Species Conservation Measures and Permitting Guidelines with Species Action Plans.

As one of the most endangered animal species across the globe, the Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) is only known to have a population of about 70 in Southwest Florida's parks and private lands, particularly around the Big Cypress Swamp region. This subspecies of the mountain lion once roamed much of the Southeast United States — from Florida and Georgia to Arkansas and Texas, as well as parts of South Carolina and Tennessee. However, it has been on federal and state endangered species lists since 1967, with population numbers dwindling mainly because of habitat fragmentation and loss.

The Florida panther grows to between 5 and 7 feet long, weighs between 60 and 160 pounds, and has a uniform golden brown coat except for the darker coloration of its ears, sides of its nose, and tail tip. You can tell it apart from other mountain lions by looking for a crooked tail and a distinguishing patch of fur that looks like a cowlick around the middle of its back. These unique features, though, are the result of inbreeding because of the low population and aren't definitive traits. Additionally, the Florida panther has shorter fur, longer legs, and smaller feet than its cousins.

These wild cats may not be one of the most dangerous species in Florida, but they can look intimidating. Although, you're not likely to see one because they prefer secluded habitats with plenty of remote land far away from people.

The smallest of three marsh rabbit subspecies, the Lower Keys rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) lives in a very small area of the Florida Keys that stretches between Big Pine Key and Boca Chica Key. It's possible that these mammals once resided in other parts of the Keys, but more surveys are needed.

These mostly nocturnal wild rabbits have been on the federal endangered species list since 1990 — when only between 200 and 300 were found — mainly because their habitat has been degraded or lost from human developments along the coast and use of limited freshwater resources. Other reasons for the decline in population, which is now limited to small scattered colonies, include invasive vegetation taking over the animal's food, rising sea levels, and mortality from poaching, predators like dogs and cats, and automobiles.

What distinguishes the Lower Keys rabbit from the other subspecies of marsh rabbit are its darker coloration and skull proportions. The fur on its back is brown, belly is gray, and tail is grayish-brown, while it has a broader cranium, an elongated jaw joint, and a higher and more convex frontonasal (forehead to nose) profile. However, they only grow between 14 and 16 inches long and have a life expectancy of about four years in the wild.

With one of the most limited habitat ranges of all bat species, the Florida bonneted bat (Eumops floridanus) is only found in a handful of South Florida counties. There are only three or four subpopulations, likely consisting of fewer than 1,000 bats. They forage for insects in a variety of habitats, such as pineland, mangroves, and semitropical forests, and they've also been seen in neighborhoods and on golf courses. Researchers have found them roosting in buildings, cliff crevices, and tree cavities. Since 2013, the bats have been on the federal endangered list and are vulnerable to habitat degradation, loss, and modification from climate change and human-related threats, such as agriculture and building developments. To make matters worse, it's believed that they only produce one offspring per breeding season.

Florida bonneted bats have a distinct appearance with big, rounded ears that take up much of their heads as if they're wearing a bonnet. They can grow up to 20 inches in length but only weigh up to 2 ounces. To support extended flights, their wings are narrow and long. Like the color of bats in general, most of their fur is either brownish-gray to black or cinnamon brown — darkening from root to tip. Their undersides, on the other hand, are lighter in color. Additionally, the bats use echolocation calls at a low frequency of 10 to 25 kilohertz, so even people can hear them.

As a subspecies of the seaside sparrow, the Cape Sable seaside sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis) is named for its habitat in the southernmost point of Florida — Cape Sable, which is part of Everglades National Park. Dwindling numbers from habitat destruction landed the birds on the federal endangered list in 1967, and the population remains scattered. The main culprits are natural disturbances (such as hurricanes and changing water flows) and human developments, particularly agriculture. Another issue, though, is periodic fires that prevent hardwood species and overgrowth from damaging the Everglades ecosystem but kill their eggs and fledglings (as well as food) while rendering the habitat unusable as a breeding ground for several years.

The Cape Sable seaside sparrows that do survive only grow to about 5 inches long with a 5 to 8-inch wingspan. The feathers on their backs are dark olive-gray but greenish at the nape, while their tails and wings are an olive-brown color. On their bellies, the plumage is an almost-white light gray, and it turns dark olive-gray on their breasts and sides. There are also some yellow feathers that stretch from their beaks to their eyes and at the bends of their wings. Since males and females don't have any obvious differences in plumage, it can be difficult to tell them apart. These nonmigratory sparrows like to eat beetles, caterpillars, spiders, grass, and seeds.

Once common throughout much of South Florida, the Schaus' swallowtail butterfly (Heraclides aristodemus ponceanus) is only found in Key Largo and the Biscayne National Park's islands, living among the tropical hardwood hammocks. Habitat loss from human development is the main reason for its population decline. On the list of federal endangered species since 1976, human development continues to be a threat alongside climate change-related flooding and storms, as well as drought conditions and automobiles. Other problems that this butterfly species faces include invasive ant predation and mosquito-targeted pesticides, while inbreeding limits genetic diversity, which is necessary for the insect to adapt to changing environments.

The Schaus' swallowtail butterfly has a wingspan of up to 2.3 inches, which makes it small compared to the 3 to 4-inch wingspan of the common monarch. The forewings are mostly black with contrasting dull yellow markings, blotches, and median bands that continue to the hind wing. Also, the tail is black with yellow edges, while the underside of the hind wing features an orange-red patch. The distinguishing characteristic between a male and female is the antennae color: Female antennae are entirely black, while male antennae have yellow knobs. Most of its diet consists of cheese shrubs, guava nectar, and wild tamarind, and these butterflies are important for the environment because they're productive pollinators and an indicator of the ecosystem's health.

The Miami tiger beetle (Cicindelidia floridana) is one of the smallest tiger beetle species in the country. As the most endangered beetle in Florida, you can only find it in Miami-Dade County's pine rocklands ecosystem on the southeastern tip. It has been on the federal list of endangered species since 2016 as a result of a degrading and disappearing habitat. In fact, the pine rocklands have shrunk by about 98% over time. The threat to these beetles is expected to continue because of climate change, human construction, invasive vegetation, and poor habitat management.

Only measuring up to 0.35 inches long (about the size of a sunflower seed grain), an adult Miami tiger beetle has an elongated oval shape with a back and hardened forewings that shine dark green with hints of bronze. The underside of the insect, however, is orange to orange-brown. Compared to the rest of its body, the eyes on this beetle are rather large and often described as bulging. That makes the insect a highly visual predator that keeps the ecosystem in balance by feeding on smaller arthropods, such as ants. Although it's seen darting around on the ground more often than flying, it's one of Florida's many flying insects.

As one of the most imperiled and rarest plants in Florida, the Florida ziziphus (Ziziphus celata) is so rare that taxonomists originally believed it was extinct when they named and described it in 1984. They know now, however, that it survives in 17 wild populations in the Lake Wales Ridge Region — which has lost about 87% of its natural habitat to housing, pasture, and citrus grove developments — and three captive populations are grown at Bok Tower Gardens in collaboration with Archbold Biological Station to save the species. While 10% of the wild plants are on public land, the rest are on private land where the risk of further development and lost habitat are high. Other threats to the plant are other species (some invasive) competing for the same resources and cattle trampling the specimens located on pasturelands.

The Florida ziziphus is a type of buckthorn — part of the Rhamnaceae family, which includes a variety of shrubs, trees, vines, and other plants that produce flowers. It's a woody shrub with either single or multiple stems, and it can grow 3 to 6 feet high. The branches are spiny and stretch out in zigzags with alternating shiny leaves that are less than 1 inch long and fall off in December before the tiny flowers emerge in early January. Tens of thousands of flowers can bloom on a mature plant, attracting tons of bees, butterflies, flower flies, and other insects that benefit flower plants. In late May, drupes (fleshy fruits) about 0.5 inches long ripen and turn yellow. Bok Tower Gardens harvests, dries, and packages the fruits for cold preservation storage.