florida carnivores
Information adapted from Boughton, R. K., Wight, B. R., Pienaar, E., & Main, M. B. (2020). Mammalian Carnivores of Florida. EDIS, 2020(1), 20-20.
Florida's diverse wildlife includes a group of mammals that are carnivorous. These Mammalian predators belong to the animal Order Carnivora, which are characterized by having teeth designed for tearing and consuming flesh. However, it should not be thought that all carnivores only eat meat. Bears and coyotes are omnivorous and will eat both animal and plant materials like humans do. This page provides an overview of Florida's mammalian carnivores from large to small.
Although ecologists and wildlife enthusiasts consider the existence of Florida's carnivores both important and fortunate in a world where many large carnivores are rapidly disappearing, there are people who fear and dislike carnivores. There are also people who kill carnivores on sight. Fear and persecution of carnivores, combined with intensive human population growth and habitat destruction, is threatening the continued existence of carnivores worldwide.
When European settlers first arrived on North American shores they brought with them a prejudice against predators. The first wildlife legislation enacted in the British colonies was a bounty upon wolves. This policy of killing predators dominated wildlife policy until the ecologist Aldo Leopold demonstrated the important role of predator-prey relationships in the 1950s. Aldo Leopold documented that while the removal of predators initially increased the deer population, the deer population ultimately collapsed. Predation, and particularly predation by top-level carnivores, is a critical component of how ecosystems function. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the loss of top-level predators can have negative effects on ecosystems, including declines in biodiversity.
Predator-prey relationships are complex. The removal of large predators has been shown in some cases to lead to an increase in deer and other herbivore populations that damage and eventually modify habitats. When gray wolves were nearly extirpated from Yellowstone National Park, the elk population increased but woody or herbaceous plants decreased, which in turn affected other herbivores. After wolves were reintroduced, elk populations decreased, but other herbivores like beavers and bison increased, possibly due to an increase in woody or herbaceous vegetation. Elimination of large predators also may result in an increase in smaller, middle-sized predators or mesopredators such as racoons and opossums, which may in turn increase predation pressure on ground-nesting birds such as turkey and quail, as well as other small game and non-game species. In California, a study suggested that the decrease in coyote populations allowed for an increase in mesopredators such as raccoons, skunk, foxes and domestic cats, which in turn resulted in higher mortality of bird populations. Analogous results were found in a study of duck nesting success in the Prairie Pothole region of North America, with nest predation by foxes being much greater in areas where coyotes were actively controlled and nesting success being greater where coyotes were not controlled. Consequently, as our understanding of the complex interplay between predators and prey has increased, so has our acknowledgment that these relationships are important for the continued existence of whole suites of species within the food cascade and how they impact the ecosystems in which they live.
The diversity of Florida carnivorous mammals is remarkable, and some can be found nowhere else. This document provides information for each of Florida’s 13 land-based carnivore species. Our beliefs and actions as humans will be critical for their continued survival in Florida.
Although ecologists and wildlife enthusiasts consider the existence of Florida's carnivores both important and fortunate in a world where many large carnivores are rapidly disappearing, there are people who fear and dislike carnivores. There are also people who kill carnivores on sight. Fear and persecution of carnivores, combined with intensive human population growth and habitat destruction, is threatening the continued existence of carnivores worldwide.
When European settlers first arrived on North American shores they brought with them a prejudice against predators. The first wildlife legislation enacted in the British colonies was a bounty upon wolves. This policy of killing predators dominated wildlife policy until the ecologist Aldo Leopold demonstrated the important role of predator-prey relationships in the 1950s. Aldo Leopold documented that while the removal of predators initially increased the deer population, the deer population ultimately collapsed. Predation, and particularly predation by top-level carnivores, is a critical component of how ecosystems function. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the loss of top-level predators can have negative effects on ecosystems, including declines in biodiversity.
Predator-prey relationships are complex. The removal of large predators has been shown in some cases to lead to an increase in deer and other herbivore populations that damage and eventually modify habitats. When gray wolves were nearly extirpated from Yellowstone National Park, the elk population increased but woody or herbaceous plants decreased, which in turn affected other herbivores. After wolves were reintroduced, elk populations decreased, but other herbivores like beavers and bison increased, possibly due to an increase in woody or herbaceous vegetation. Elimination of large predators also may result in an increase in smaller, middle-sized predators or mesopredators such as racoons and opossums, which may in turn increase predation pressure on ground-nesting birds such as turkey and quail, as well as other small game and non-game species. In California, a study suggested that the decrease in coyote populations allowed for an increase in mesopredators such as raccoons, skunk, foxes and domestic cats, which in turn resulted in higher mortality of bird populations. Analogous results were found in a study of duck nesting success in the Prairie Pothole region of North America, with nest predation by foxes being much greater in areas where coyotes were actively controlled and nesting success being greater where coyotes were not controlled. Consequently, as our understanding of the complex interplay between predators and prey has increased, so has our acknowledgment that these relationships are important for the continued existence of whole suites of species within the food cascade and how they impact the ecosystems in which they live.
The diversity of Florida carnivorous mammals is remarkable, and some can be found nowhere else. This document provides information for each of Florida’s 13 land-based carnivore species. Our beliefs and actions as humans will be critical for their continued survival in Florida.
View or download our EDIS document Mammalian Carnivores of Florida.
Ecological and biological parameters of Florida's mammalian carnivores.
Boughton, R. K., Wight, B. R., Pienaar, E., & Main, M. B. (2020). Mammalian Carnivores of Florida. EDIS, 2020(1), 20-20.
Boughton, R. K., Wight, B. R., Pienaar, E., & Main, M. B. (2020). Mammalian Carnivores of Florida. EDIS, 2020(1), 20-20.
To learn more about livestock predation in Florida visit our extension site, Livestock Predation.