Canaveral National Seashore - Animals

Canaveral National Seashore by National Parks Service

Canaveral National Seashore (CANA) has a diverse and fascinating variety of aquatic and terrestrial animals. The park provides habitat for 14 species of federally-listed threatened or endangered animals, the second greatest number in the entire National Park Service.

These include seven reptiles:

Loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta

Green sea turtle Chelonia mydas

Leather back sea turtle Dermochelys coriacea

Kemps's Ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys kempii

Hawksbill sea turtle Eretmochelys imbricata

Eastern indigo snake Drymarchon coraisi couperi

Atlantic salt marsh snake Nerodia clarkii taeniata

Four birds:

Bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus

Wood stork Mycteria americana

Florida scrub jay Aphelocoma coerulescens coerulescens

Arctic peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus tundrius

Three mammals:

West Indian Manatee Trichechus manatus

Southeastern beach mouse Peromyscus polionotus niveiventris

Right whale Balaena glacialis

The park and adjacent Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge are well known for great birding and are favored destinations for avid bird watchers. In addition to the the three species listed above, large numbers of migrating waterfowl, wading birds and shorebirds can be seen during the spring and fall migration periods and winter.

CANA is equally renowned for outstanding fishing in the ocean surf and Mosquito Lagoon.

The lagoon also harbors abundant populations of oysters, clams, blue crabs and shrimp.