Wondering About Wildlife: A Series that Answers Questions About Wildlife Around You

About the “Wondering About Wildlife?” blog series

photo of person holding out a potato chip to racoon near a car on a road — NOT best practice to co-exist with wildlife. Image credit: Quentin Bounias, Unsplash

Enjoying and conserving wildlife, understanding and connecting with nature, and learning how to best co-exist with the wildlife that call Sarasota County home are part of our experience on the Suncoast.

In 2024, experts from UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County launched two new programs. Sarasota County Starter Kit: A Guide to Living on the Suncoast is a series of virtual, on-demand, 30-minute webinars developed to provide new residents with a range of information, from saving on utilities to dealing with wildlife, to help build happy, healthy, thriving homes and lives in this area (current residents welcome too!). Neighborhood Best Practices is an online, self-paced course that provides videos, fact sheets, resource links and more on topics from wildlife interactions to preservation areas, from water quality to sustainable landscapes to foster thriving, informed, and sustainable communities.

Both series of classes offer a wildlife portion developed by our Ecology and Natural Resources program, which in 2026, developed this companion blog series “Wondering About Wildlife?” as a resource to provide answers to frequently asked questions and concerns about the wildlife around us.

Starting in July 2026, we will release a “Wondering About Wildlife?” blog each week on Wednesdays through October 2026. Follow us weekly, or use this link to go to all blogs currently released in the series, or check out the list below for individual topics. Links will become active once each blog is published. We hope this is helpful and you enjoy learning more about how to best co-exist around wildlife in our local environments.

A close-up image of a rabbit with large ears with grass sticking out of its mouth. — Image credit: Michele Kenno.

Wondering About Wildlife: Alligators in our Environment

Wondering About Wildlife: Snake Encounters

Wondering About Wildlife: What to do if I See a Coyote

Wondering About Wildlife: What to do About Rodents

Wondering About Wildlife: Minimizing Interactions with Wildlife

Wondering About Wildlife: Bats in Your Building

Wondering About Wildlife: Who to Contact for Wildlife Concerns

Wondering About Wildlife: Who Made this Hole?

Wondering About Wildlife: What to Do About Rabbits in Your Yard

Wondering About Wildlife: What to Do About Deer in Your Yard

large alligator basking on the edge of a riverbank — Image credit: K.

Wondering About Wildlife: Being a Good Neighbor to Wildlife

Wondering About Wildlife: Iguanas and Other Non-native Lizards

Wondering About Wildlife: Did I See a Bobcat?

Wondering About Wildlife: What to do if I Find an Invasive Cuban Tree Frog or Cane Toad?

Wondering About Wildlife: More Resources for Learning About Wildlife

Other Series of Interest

Enjoy blogs about identification, biology, ecology, and fun facts about our native wildlife with our “Wild Sarasota” blog series. Find accompanying webinars on our Florida Wildlife Webpage.