Animals of The Florida Keys

Is there such a thing as getting a Florida Keys animal BINGO? Because I saw all of them. In one day, I saw five of the area's most famous animal inhabitants!

When we first planned the trip to The Florida Keys, the first thing I thought of was manatees! I just wanted to see a manatee! Our house from vrbo.com was located right on a canal and the posting for the house even mentioned that manatees hang out around there. So, one morning, I was awake, but still laying in bed just relaxing because ya know, I'm on vacation. There is a knock on the door. "Hey, there's a manatee in the canal."

Cue me, "WHAT?!?!?!" So, I just throw on a hoodie and some shorts and run outside. Hair a mess and everything. And there he was. I actually have no idea if it was male or female, but we named him Manny Paddleboard. He hung out all morning. Every morning after that I went outside to see if he was back. He wasn't. I miss you, Manny.

I wasn't aware of this, but apparently, chickens and roosters just roam the streets of Key West. They are everywhere and they can be very territorial. Even though they kind of scared me, because they just were not afraid of people, some of the roosters were actually very beautiful in their coloring.

Up next, Key Deer. They look like the deer we have here, but smaller. They are also not afraid of people at all. They're so cute!

A Florida animal staple that isn't so cute, alligators. We visited Blue Hole Observation and Nature Trail, which used to be an old quarry. There were signs saying alligators may be present and by golly, we did see one...from afar. Thank goodness.

Much smaller than an alligator are the many lizards and iguanas. While I was observing my friends as they fished, there was a decent-sized iguana. The iguanas and lizards seemed to be afraid of people like they should be. Unlike all the other animals.

We also visited a botanical garden and you would hear rustling in the bushes and shrubberies. Around here, you might think squirrel, but in Florida, it's most likely a little lizard.

So that was my Florida Keys Animal Bingo all in one day! A manatee, chickens/roosters, Key Deer, an alligator, and an iguana.

There were also a lot of birds! The only one I really know the name of were the pelicans! There was one type of bird that was a weird hybrid fish/bird. It floated along with the water kind of like a duck but would go under the water and literally swim for many feet, then pop right back up and it could fly. It freaked me out a little.

Some other notable mentions are the cats from Hemingway House and of course, my favorite, the sea turtles from The Turtle Hospital! While snorkeling, we saw a sea turtle from the boat! We also saw a turtle take a poop at the Crane Point Hammock Museum and Nature Center. Gotta love nature!