Click here to learn about "non-native" wildlife in Florida.

Nearly 20 acres of wildlife habitat are lost to development every hour in Florida, forcing people and animals into close contact. As wildlife habitat gives way to urban sprawl, many animals adapt with great resourcefulness to their new circumstances. Unfortunately, when conflicts between people and wildlife do occur, the animals are usually trapped, shot, or poisoned. While killing wild animals may offer short term solutions, in the long run it is ineffective, inhumane, and ecologically unsound.

As Florida residents, each of us has a responsibility to protect wildlife. Because the truth is, we cause our wild neighbors far more trouble than they do us - as each day we invade thousands of acres of their territories, destroy their homes, and terrorize them with motor vehicles.

Fortunately, there are precautions people can take to reduce potential conflict with wild animals and spare them unnecessary suffering. For more information about nonlethal means for resolving conflicts between wildlife and humans, visit the Humane Society of the United State's Urban Wildlife Program. Contact the Wildlife Care Center with questions about wildlife in south Florida.