Everglades National Park

🇺🇸 United States

🐊 Alligators in the River of Grass

🌍 #158 Global · 3.7 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ #19 in North America #9 in Wetlands & Mangrove

Gulf Coast, United States 847 spp. recorded

Everglades National Park is a massive wetland preserve located at the southern tip of Florida, defined by dense mangrove forests and winding coastal waterways. This protected wilderness is famous for the American Alligator, its signature species, which surfaces slowly in the murky shallows throughout the day.

25.256° N 80.870° W

Wildlife

⭐ Iconic Species

American Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis

70–80% · Very likely

American Crocodile

Crocodylus acutus

40–50% · Likely

West Indian Manatee

Trichechus manatus

40–50% · Likely

Roseate Spoonbill

Platalea ajaja

10–20% · Possible

📊 Most Spotted

Turkey Vulture

Cathartes aura

70–80% · Very likely

Northern Mockingbird

Mimus polyglottos

70–80% · Very likely

Brown Anole

Anolis sagrei

60–70% · Likely

Great Egret

Ardea alba

60–70% · Likely

White Ibis

Eudocimus albus

60–70% · Likely

Northern Cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalis

60–70% · Likely

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Melanerpes carolinus

50–60% · Likely

African Redhead Agama

Agama picticauda

50–60% · Likely

Palm Warbler

Setophaga palmarum

50–60% · Likely

American Crow

Corvus brachyrhynchos

50–60% · Likely

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

50–60% · Likely

Osprey

Pandion haliaetus

40–50% · Likely

⭐ Iconic Species

West Indian Manatee

Trichechus manatus

40–50% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Sciurus carolinensis

20–30% · Possible

Common Raccoon

Procyon lotor

10–20% · Possible

White-tailed Deer

Odocoileus virginianus

10–20% · Possible

Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

10–20% · With luck

Virginia Opossum

Didelphis virginiana

10–20% · With luck

Fox Squirrel

Sciurus niger

10–20% · With luck

Hispid Cotton Rat

Sigmodon hispidus

0–10% · With luck

Eastern Cottontail

Sylvilagus floridanus

0–10% · With luck

American Black Bear

Ursus americanus

0–10% · With luck

Coyote

Canis latrans

0–10% · With luck

Gray Fox

Urocyon cinereoargenteus

0–10% · With luck

Mexican Free-tailed Bat

Tadarida brasiliensis

0–10% · With luck

⭐ Iconic Species

Roseate Spoonbill

Platalea ajaja

10–20% · Possible

📊 Most Spotted

Turkey Vulture

Cathartes aura

70–80% · Very likely

Northern Mockingbird

Mimus polyglottos

70–80% · Very likely

Great Egret

Ardea alba

60–70% · Likely

White Ibis

Eudocimus albus

60–70% · Likely

Northern Cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalis

60–70% · Likely

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Melanerpes carolinus

50–60% · Likely

Palm Warbler

Setophaga palmarum

50–60% · Likely

American Crow

Corvus brachyrhynchos

50–60% · Likely

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

50–60% · Likely

Osprey

Pandion haliaetus

40–50% · Likely

Red-shouldered Hawk

Buteo lineatus

40–50% · Likely

Boat-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus major

40–50% · Likely

⭐ Iconic Species

American Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis

70–80% · Very likely

American Crocodile

Crocodylus acutus

40–50% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

Brown Anole

Anolis sagrei

60–70% · Likely

African Redhead Agama

Agama picticauda

50–60% · Likely

Green Iguana

Iguana iguana

40–50% · Likely

Northern Curly-tailed Lizard

Leiocephalus carinatus

40–50% · Likely

Florida Cottonmouth

Agkistrodon conanti

40–50% · Likely

Florida Softshell Turtle

Apalone ferox

40–50% · Likely

Green Anole

Anolis carolinensis

40–50% · Likely

Florida Redbelly Turtle

Pseudemys nelsoni

40–50% · Likely

Tropical House Gecko

Hemidactylus mabouia

30–40% · Possible

North American Racer

Coluber constrictor

30–40% · Possible

Corn Snake

Pantherophis guttatus

20–30% · Possible

Banded Water Snake

Nerodia fasciata

20–30% · Possible

📊 Most Spotted

Cuban Treefrog

Osteopilus septentrionalis

30–40% · Possible

Southern Toad

Anaxyrus terrestris

30–40% · Possible

Eastern Cane Toad

Rhinella marina

20–30% · Possible

Greenhouse Frog

Eleutherodactylus planirostris

10–20% · Possible

Southern Leopard Frog

Lithobates sphenocephalus

10–20% · With luck

Green Treefrog

Dryophytes cinereus

10–20% · With luck

Pig Frog

Lithobates grylio

10–20% · With luck

Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad

Gastrophryne carolinensis

10–20% · With luck

Squirrel Treefrog

Dryophytes squirellus

10–20% · With luck

Oak Toad

Anaxyrus quercicus

0–10% · With luck

Southern Cricket Frog

Acris gryllus

0–10% · With luck

Little Grass Frog

Pseudacris ocularis

Animal Events

🦭

Manatee Season

DecJanFebMar

West Indian manatees seek warm water from , gathering in the park's coastal canals and Florida Bay around Flamingo.

West Indian Manatee

Trichechus manatus

40–50% · Likely

🐊

Dry-Season Alligator & Crocodile Concentration

DecJanFebMarApr

As water levels drop in the dry season, alligators and crocodiles concentrate at shrinking pools and canal banks, creating the densest reptile viewing in the continental US.

American Crocodile

Crocodylus acutus

40–50% · Likely

American Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis

70–80% · Very likely

🐦

Wading Bird Nesting Congregation

DecJanFebMarApr

The Everglades Protection Area hosts the largest wading-bird nesting effort in South Florida (tens of thousands of nests); dry-season water drawdown concentrates fish and triggers mass nesting and feeding congregations.

Wood Stork

Mycteria americana

20–30% · Possible

Great Egret

Ardea alba

60–70% · Likely

Roseate Spoonbill

Platalea ajaja

10–20% · Possible

Sighting Calendar

Chance of spotting each species, month by month

Species Total

60–70

50–60

60–70

50–60

40–50

40–50

40–50

40–50

50–60

50–60

60–70

60–70

American Alligator

80–90

80–90

80–90

70–80

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

60–70

70–80

80–90

American Crocodile

50–60

40–50

50–60

40–50

40–50

40–50

30–40

30–40

30–40

30–40

50–60

50–60

West Indian Manatee

40–50

40–50

40–50

30–40

30–40

40–50

30–40

30–40

30–40

30–40

40–50

40–50

Roseate Spoonbill

10–20

10–20

20–30

10–20

0–10

0–10

<5

<5

0–10

10–20

20–30

10–20

80–90

80–90

70–80

60–70

50–60

40–50

50–60

40–50

50–60

60–70

80–90

80–90

Northern Mockingbird

70–80

70–80

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

70–80

70–80

80–90

80–90

70–80

60–70

50–60

60–70

70–80

70–80

70–80

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

70–80

70–80

70–80

50–60

50–60

60–70

60–70

50–60

60–70

50–60

70–80

70–80

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

40–50

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

70–80

70–80

Northern Cardinal

50–60

60–70

60–70

70–80

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

70–80

60–70

40–50

40–50

Red-bellied Woodpecker

50–60

50–60

50–60

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

70–80

60–70

50–60

50–60

African Redhead Agama

50–60

50–60

50–60

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

70–80

70–80

60–70

20–30

10–20

<5

<5

<5

10–20

70–80

80–90

70–80

60–70

50–60

50–60

40–50

40–50

40–50

30–40

30–40

40–50

40–50

50–60

50–60

Great Blue Heron

60–70

60–70

50–60

40–50

30–40

30–40

30–40

20–30

20–30

40–50

50–60

60–70

50–60

50–60

50–60

40–50

30–40

30–40

30–40

30–40

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

Animal Events

🐊 Dry-Season Alligator & Crocodile Concentration

🐦 Wading Bird Nesting Congregation

🦭 Manatee Season

Sighting Zones

Warm areas are where all species together are recorded most, so they track where people go as much as where animals are. For one species, see the map on its own page.

0.0 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ Good

🐊 Alligators in the River of Grass

🦜

Biodiversity

Excellent

How rich is the wildlife?

4.3 Global avg

5.0 ★★★★★ ★★★★★

Species by taxon

🦅 Birds

583

🐒 Mammals

99

🦎 Reptiles

111

🐸 Amphibians

54

847 Total Species

841 Global average across 280 parks

57 Threatened 171 Endemic

🔭

Sighting

Good

How likely to see animals?

3.6 Global avg

3.1 ★★★★★ ★★★★★

🎯

Top-12 Avg Probability

62% Global avg

63%

📊

Coverage (184 species at ≥5% of 847 in the inventory)

24% Global avg

22%

🔀

Taxon variety in top 12 (9 bird, 3 reptile)

47% Global avg

50%

🔭

Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)

132 Global avg

115

🌟

Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)

14 Global avg

6

⭐

High-prob species (>40%)

26 Global avg

31

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