Wildlife Encounters

The Florida Keys are home to remarkable neighbors, from dolphins and sea turtles to butterflies, Key deer, and countless native and migrating birds. Here you can visit rehabilitation centers, aquariums, and sanctuaries that care for injured wildlife while offering visitors a chance to learn and connect. Hand-feed giant tarpon, watch butterflies drift by, or join a charter to spot marine life in the wild. We invite you to meet these creatures, fall in love with them as we have, and help us keep The Keys clean and healthy so our wildlife can thrive for generations.

Key Largo

Capt. Sterling's Everglades Tour

Captain Sterling's Everglades Eco-Tours offers personalized, small-group boat excursions through the Everglades National Park, Pennekamp Park, and Florida Bay, led by experienced guides passionate about wildlife conservation.

Key Largo

Mother Ocean Fund

Mother Ocean Fund – A Florida Keys-based nonprofit restoring coral reefs, rescuing marine life and training adaptive divers for aquatic therapy.

The Lower Keys

Blue Hole Observation Platform

Visit the trail and observation deck at Blue Hole, a cenote-like pond that is the largest body of fresh water in the Florida Keys.

Key Largo

MOTE Key Largo Coral Nursery

Mote Marine Laboratory’s Florida Keys Research Campuses are dedicated to coral reef science and restoration.

The Lower Keys

WILD about DOLPHINS-Captain Sheri's

Wild About Dolphins — private eco-boat tours and wild dolphin encounters departing from Key West, Florida.

Islamorada

Crustacean Plantation

Crustacean Plantation Inc. is a nonprofit sanctuary in Tavernier dedicated to conserving native Florida Keys hermit crabs—known as "Purple Pinchers"—through habitat support, education, and community outreach.