Each fall, Florida’s manatees start moving to warmer water sites around the state — show you’re in the know this Manatee Awareness Month by going slow & looking out below when on the water: 🛑 Follow all manatee protection zones when boating or on personal watercraft. 🛑 Wear polarized glasses and keep an eye out for manatee “footprints” – circular patterns on the water that show where manatees are moving underneath the surface. 🛑Whether on the water or admiring them from the shore, always give manatees plenty of space. If you see an injured, sick, orphaned or dead manatee, call our Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).

It’s Bat Week! Celebrate our 13 native bat species this week by constructing a bat box of your own.

A reminder to help our feathered friends, ➡️Keep 300+ feet from wading, shore and seabird…groups? flocks? *Googles quickly* A group of seabirds are called WRECKS. ➡️Do not intentionally force birds to fly or run boats or personal watercrafts close to shore. ➡️Keep pets leashed when visiting the shore. ➡️Avoid bird colonies during the nesting season. ➡️Honor signs that designate areas as closed or sensitive for wildlife and encourage others to do the same. ➡️Always dispose of trash and food in designated containers to avoid attracting predators.

We are in the peak of turtle nesting season and it’s not uncommon to find land turtles crossing roads while they search for nesting areas. You can help a land turtle by moving it across the road in the direction it’s heading (but only if it’s safe to do so!) #EveryTurtleCounts