Where to Find Orlando's Incredible Wildlife
The city of Orlando, Florida, is known as a sprawling metropolis of seemingly ever-expanding and never-ending attractions, but there are many parks, forests, and wildlife refuges that allow thousands of native animals to call “The City Beautiful” home. To point you in the right direction for viewing birds and animals throughout O-Town, here we highlight where to find Orlando’s incredible wildlife.
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1. Tibet-Butler Nature Preserve
The Tibet-Butler Preserve is a 440-acre area made up of cypress swamps, marshes, and pine woodlands that offers ample opportunity to see some of Orlando’s diverse wildlife. Several trails through the preserve and the areas around Lake Tibet-Butler are home to various native birds, deer, and gopher tortoises, while the butterfly garden offers a chance to see colorful butterflies.
8777 Winter Garden Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL, USA +1 407-254-1940
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2. Hal Scott Regional Preserve and Park
Park
4. Gatorland
Park, Zoo
A great way to see some of Florida’s most iconic wildlife species is by visiting Gatorland, a 110-acre wildlife preserve and theme park known as the “Alligator Capital of the World” that’s home to thousands of reptiles, including alligators, crocodiles, snakes, lizards, and the world’s biggest collection of rare leucistic (white) alligators. A 10-acre rookery also serves as a temporary or permanent home for dozens of bird species, such as herons, egrets, wood storks, and others, and the free-flight aviary and petting zoo offer opportunities to get a bit closer to the wildlife species of Gatorland in Orlando.
14501 S Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL, USA +1 407-855-5496
5. Orlando Wetlands Park
Park
6. Split Oak Forest
Forest
7. Lake Apopka Restoration Area
The undeveloped north shore of Lake Apopka is a wonderful place to see Orlando’s incredible wildlife, such as racoons, coyotes, and bobcats, as well as turtles, river otters, and alligators. It’s one of the best birding areas in all of Florida, where you can regularly see hundreds of species such as egrets, herons, warblers, flycatchers, ospreys, peacocks, and cormorants.
24693 County Rd 448A, Mt Dora, FL, USA +1 386-329-4404
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8. Wekiwa Springs State Park
Park
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