Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Florida Men Catch Shark With Baseball Bat

Three self-proclaimed Florida Panhandle "rednecks" done caught themselves a 277-pound bull shark using nothing but a baseball bat, their bare hands, and common sense. The perfectly redneck-named Cody Harlan, Jonathan Cook, and Robert Trutt went fishing for pompano off Okaloosa Island on Thursday mo ... More >>

Florida Alligator Attacks Child at the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge

A 6-year old boy was attacked by an eight-foot alligator at the edge of the Refuge Lee Road boat ramp on the L-40 canal at the A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge on Friday afternoon. The boy, Joey Welch, had slipped and fallen into the shallow water when the alligator lunged at him, grippi ... More >>

For First Time, Florida Panther Released Into Palm Beach County

For the first time, an endangered Florida Panther has been released into Palm Beach County. Not to worry. The wild cat won't be roaming the strip malls or come knocking on your door looking to borrow a cup of sugar. The 120-pound panther was released into the Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area, ... More >>

Catch a Lionfish, Get a Shirt in New Contest

Lionfish are beautiful. They're also taking over Florida waters. These nonnative, invasive fish are aggressive and prey on native saltwater species. They also compete for food with some of our local food species, like grouper and snapper.Luckily, lionfish are also very tasty, though parts of the fis ... More >>

Alleged Manatee Molester Cuddles With Animal, Lets Kids Ride It

Last October we told you about Ana Gloria Garcia-Gutierrez, the Pinellas County woman who was arrested for hopping on top of a manatee and riding it like it was a horse. See also: -Accused Manatee Molester Is on the Loose in St. Petersburg -Manatee Molester Ana Gloria Garcia-Gutierrez Arrested ... More >>

Grizzly Bear On The Loose In Florida (UPDATED)

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have been on the lookout for an escaped grizzly bear in Naples. The 125-pounder named Booboo, apparently escaped from a private ranch near Naples in the Golden Gate Estates area on Tuesday. Which means this little guy's been hanging around, go ... More >>

Lionfish Are Spreading Through Florida Waters

It's official. The lionfish have arrived. While fishing off the Naples shoreline, an angler snagged a 16-pounder last week. The fish originally made its first appearance in the waters off the Florida Keys in 2009. Now, it appears to be spreading. Native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, lionfis ... More >>

PETA Demands that Great Burmese Python Challenge Not Allow the Decapitating of Snakes

More than 400 people have decided to step up and take on Florida's 2013 Python Challenge, where they'll be competing for $1,000 to snuff out evasive Burmese pythons in the Everglades this weekend. No hunting license, or snake-killing experience is required. Only your dedication to hitting the swamp ... More >>

FWC Says Giant Eyeball Belonged to a Swordfish

Bigeye thresher shark? Nope. Squid? Nope. Paul Ryan? Most definitely not. The freakishly beautiful giant eyeball found on Pompano Beach last week belongs to a swordfish, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. See also-Giant "Mystery" Eyeball Discovere ... More >>

Giant "Mystery" Eyeball Discovered in Pompano Beach; FWC Investigates

What in the hell is going in Broward County these days? First a guy dies from eating too many bugs, then this thing washes up in Pompano Beach.The above picture is of a giant eyeball that a Pompano Beach resident discovered and turned over to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Alligator That Bit Off Elderly Woman's Arm Has Been Killed

Yesterday we told you about 84-year-old Carol Hough being found bleeding in a Lake County canal from an apparent alligator attack. We also told you the alligator ripped her arm off. BECAUSE IF ARMS GET RIPPED OFF FROM TORSOS, IT LEADS ... er something. Anyway, that alligator should've thought twic ... More >>

Alligator Rips Elderly Woman's Arm Off

An 84-year old woman, whose name has not yet been released, was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center after she was found bleeding in a canal from an apparent alligator attack, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. The alligator apparently ripped her arm off in the attack. A man f ... More >>

Florida Man Almost Cooked and Ate Endangered Sea Turtle

A Tampa fisherman caught himself a turtle a few months ago, put it in a fresh-water tank, and kept it in his backyard. But his intent wasn't so much to make the little guy a pet but to totally make him into soup. Turns out, the guy caught a Kemp's ridley sea turtle, which happens to be a rare and e ... More >>

Dan Rather Jumps Into The Everglades' Burmese Python Problem (VIDEO)

See also "Feds Likely To Face Legal Battle Over Python Ban" and "JAVMA Probes Whether Burmese Pythons Are Mere Hype or Destructive Force"Want to see a guy get bit by a relatively huge and very pissed off Burmese python? Then keep reading because esteemed broadcast journalist Dan Rather has you ... More >>

Another Boat From Bahamas Caught Smuggling Humans and Drugs Into Broward

See also "Bahamian Men Sink Boat While Smuggling Six People Into Florida, Including A Drug Dealer"Speeding through a manatee zone is no joke, especially if your boat is stuffed with weed and illegal aliens. At the end of August, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stoppe ... More >>

Sixteenth Dead Panther of 2012 Killed By Cat-on-Cat Aggression

See also "Urban Sprawl Kills Endangered Florida Panthers"The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission this week recovered a "heavily scavenged" panther carcass, marking the sixteenth dead panther recorded by state officials this year. The endangered predator was found on a pi ... More >>

Woman Dies After Falling 200 Feet In Parasailing Accident

A Connecticut woman was parasailing tandem with her husband in Pompano Beach yesterday afternoon when the unthinkable happened. Her safety harness broke and she fell approximately 200 feet.The victim, identified as 28-year old Kathleen Miskell, was taken to Broward Health North, where attempts to sa ... More >>

Florida Fish and Wildlife Declares Open Season on Lionfish

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recently announced changes to the harvesting on lionfish. Namely, that you no longer need a fishing license to catch one (when wearing certain gear). Which means you're totally screwed, lionfish!Now before you go thinking this is some ... More >>

A Wild Bobcat Is Roaming the Streets of Boynton Beach

A wild bobcat was spotted roaming the streets of a gated community in Boynton Beach recently.Stories of a bobcat walking around the neighborhood had been circulating for some time, but amateur photographer Thelma Myerson actually ran into it one sunny afternoon and took a picture of it.The cat stopp ... More >>

Florida Woman Hospitalized After Sturgeon Leaps From Water and Knocks Her Off Boat

Sturgeons are big, ugly fish that look like something a dinosaur crapped out a few million years ago that never properly evolved. Some can top 200 pounds and grow up to seven feet in length, yet they have no internal skeleton and are covered with razor-sharp scutes. And though they're not ... More >>

Mystery Sponge-killing Disease Now Seen From Palm Beach To Lower Keys

From Sombrero Reef down in the Keys to the waters of West Palm Beach, red barrel sponges are disintegrating at worrisome rates. The culprit is unknown, and state scientists are busy trying to figure out just how widespread the disease outbreak is.At the end of April, Ed Tichenor of Palm Beach C ... More >>

The World's Coral Reefs Are Being Decimated, All for a Few Gaudy Trinkets

JAVMA Probes Whether Burmese Pythons Are Mere Hype or Slithering Destructive Force

​Despite the string of national headlines, television specials, a federal ban, and grotesque photographs, it's becoming increasingly unclear whether Burmese pythons are permanently wrecking the Everglades or if they're just an overhyped nuisance. Earlier this year, scientists r ... More >>

Why Local Fish Costs As Much As It Does

​I'd been hearing about Sushi Bon since the week I moved here as worth the trek an hour north of where I live for fresh, local sushi. I was told to skip the hard copy of the menu and look to the board by the sushi bar. I finally visited several times to see for myself.I had also heard chef Ebi Han ... More >>

Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods America: Get Your Own Turtle, Raccoon to Eat

​Get ready for another season of Bizarre Foods, as host Andrew Zimmern eats his way through the entire wildlife encyclopedia. This year, Zimmern's staying in the United States, giving us at home the opportunity to try strange foods in our own backyard.This morning, Zimmern visited the Today Show t ... More >>

South Florida Alligator Trappers Wanted, Only Need an Email Address and No Criminal History

Jobs, people, jobs.​Who says there aren't any jobs out there?If you've got an email address and have managed to avoid being arrested, you can get a job in Palm Beach County (or Martin County) now.All you have to do is capture some alligators.

Reminder From Broward County: Don't Mow Over Sea Cows

snuzzy.comDon't run over manatees with your spaceship either.​Due to new rules from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the impending manatee season in Broward County, the Natural Resources Planning and Management Division would like to remind you not to slice up sea cows wit ... More >>

Wildlife Officers Find Felon With a Gun, as Well as a Few Bags Containing 260 Baby Alligators

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation CommissionThat, ladies and gentlemen, is a sack of alligators.​Here's what Robert "Bo" Martin Duval and Christopher Cork Scroggins found out a few days ago: Having a sack full o' baby alligators is a felony.According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservat ... More >>

Florida Panther Population Up to a Whopping 160; Everything Is Wonderful Now

​Hunters and environmentalists are clashing over a plan that would open the last unhunted section of Big Cypress National Preserve in the Everglades to hunting. Opponents argue that a man-made reduction in the white-tailed deer population would reduce a primary food source for the region's dwindli ... More >>

Alligator That Attacked Old Woman Was Shot in the Head, Likely Hit by Car, and Is Finally Dead

marathonbooks.comNot the alligator that attacked a 90-year-old woman, survived a bullet to the brain, and a possible car crash, but an alligator nonetheless.​An alligator that wildlife officials believe attacked a 90-year-old woman last week before being shot in the head -- and possibly hit by a c ... More >>

Tree-Huggers and Gun-Toters Trade Barbs in Meeting on Proposed Everglades Hunting

Flickr: artur.pedziwilkReady, aim, fire! Deer in Big Cypress.​A room at the Weston Hyatt was split down the middle last night between hunters and environmentalists who offered two-minute commentaries on what action the Park Service should take regarding deer hunting in the 146,000-acre Big Cypress ... More >>

Alligators Paying Visits to South Florida Neighborhoods

Alligators: Bad for neighborhoods, great for rasslin'.​Another day, another gator.For the second time this week, an alligator paid a visit to a South Florida neighborhood, according to a WSVN report.Early this morning, people living in a Plantation neighborhood near Sunrise Boulevard and Flamingo ... More >>

Florida Wildlife Commission: Be on the Lookout for Freak Seven-Foot Lizards

U.S. Geological SurveyThis is a Nile Monitor lizard, which you should not wrestle​If you see a seven-foot lizard in your Broward or Palm Beach residence, that's a problem, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.Nile Monitor lizards, native to Africa, have been popping u ... More >>

Hideous Giant Squid Found Off the Coast of Jensen Beach

howstuffworks.com​Ever wonder what a 23-foot-long disgusting giant squid looks like?Absolutely repulsive is what it looks like.We got a hold of a photo from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, taken somewhere between the discovery of the squid off the coast of Jensen Beach, ... More >>

7-Foot Burmese Python Escapes in West Palm Beach

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation CommissionThe 7-foot snake that was slithering around West Palm Beach​The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission isn't too happy with David T. Beckett after they say his 7-foot Burmese python escaped its enclosure and began wandering around res ... More >>

Burmese Pythons Not Going Anywhere

Courtesy, AP/Everglades Nat'l Park​At left, you'll find the single most interesting picture taken in Florida in the last five years. (Other than this one, I mean.) Pictured is a 13-foot Burmese Python which has bitten off more than it can chew -- except the python has dispensed with the biting, an ... More >>

Things You Shouldn't Eat: Sperm Whale, Sea Turtle Eggs, Out-of-Season Alligator

​​If your neighbor invites you over for a slice of barbecued sperm whale, don't start planning the sides you'll bring. There's a decent chance your meal could land you in the clink.As several locals have discovered recently, tampering with protected wildlife can cost you. It all began earlier th ... More >>

Chillax, Bird-Watchers! Those Dead Shearwaters Are Not BP's Fault.

Flickr: Callocephalon PhotographyThis is what a shearwater looks like when it's alive.​For those fretting about the effect of the Gulf spill on seabirds, fret not for the greater shearwaters. Yes, some 35 of those majestic birds have been found dead along the South Florida coast, from Delray to C ... More >>

Record Number of Florida Panthers Killed By Vehicles Last Year

flickr.comA panther photographed in Palm Beach county last year.​One of the latest came at the end of December, on I-75 in western Broward county. It was a 110-pound male, crossing the highway around 1 a.m. Last year, 17 Florida panthers were killed by vehicles, according to the Florida Fish and W ... More >>

Whacking Day Comes to South Florida

 The day is upon us. Yes, every Simpsons fan knows Whacking Day started in 1924 as an excuse to beat up the Irish. And yes, technically Texas has had organized snake whacking for years. But now Florida's bravest most cunning snake-hatingest citizens will descend upon the swamps of this state ... More >>

South Florida's Best Fishing Hole, the L-67A Canal, Falls Victim to Environmentalists

Wild Iguana Catchers/Eaters Welcome in Florida

Alexander Rust and Vanessa Palm should have vacationed in South Florida instead of the Bahamas. The pair of 20-something Midwesterners were arrested over the weekend for catching, then grilling and consuming, an endangered iguana in the Exuma Cays. Here in Florida, tho ... More >>

Hog Huntin'

A lost art or a horrible slaughter? It's all in the eye of the hunter.

Duck, Duck, Shoot

Petite and badass, she keeps hunters in her sights

See Cows?

Somebody Bad Stole the Manatees

Off the Leash

In the exotic pet universe, it's all about whose is weirder than whose.

Slaughter Alley

Big, dead cats in the middle of the road -- lots of them

Best Hunting

J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area

Best Hunting

West of U.S. Highway 27

Awful Fishy

For Broward's canal fisherman, potentially toxic levels of mercury are a part of the catch of the day