FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION

Residents are complaining about burning eyes and breathing problems.

“Pets often resemble alligators’ natural prey.”

The massive bridge carries four lanes of traffic.

A Florida alligator that's responsible for killing an 85-year-old woman first tried to attack her dog during a walk, according to a state agency.

Alligator safety is the focus of a statewide meeting being held this week in Jacksonville.

An alligator killed an 85-year-old woman as she walked her dog near a canal in a senior living community on Florida's Atlantic Coast.

The animal was killed less than 24 hours after arriving at Wild Florida.

A 15-year-old right whale named Nimbus is now free from being entangled in a fishing rope.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission conducted a multi-year investigation into an illegal snake trafficking ring, resulting in the arrest of eight individuals.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said a whale washed up Wednesday morning on the beach at Hanna Park.

News4JAX is taking a look back at some of the most unforgettable stories of 2022.

Multiple people on social media have been sharing photos and videos saying they’ve seen coyotes roaming near homes in northern St. Johns County in recent weeks.

“Poor baby sticks out like a sore thumb!”

Bats serve a purpose in Florida's ecosystem, so there are certain times of the year when Florida residents aren't allowed to disturb them. But bat maternity season is over and now is the time to bat proof your home, state wildlife officials say.

All 14 people aboard a boat that crashed off the Florida Keys over Labor Day weekend were ejected from the vessel, according to the first official report on Tuesday.

The boy is recovering with his family.

The boy was snorkeling with his family at the time.

The girl was in stable condition as of July 25, FWC reports.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved new redfish regulations and management regions for state waters Wednesday, including decreases in per-person bag and vessel limits.

Two nests with dozens of hatched and unhatched eggs were found, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Two nests with dozens of hatched and unhatched eggs were found, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Two nests with nearly 100 eggs were found, most had hatched

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Monday confirmed that a man died in a boating crash over the weekend in St. Johns County.

A woman was killed in a boating accident Tuesday in Clay County, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

A day after a deadly boat crash on Black Creek, the water was calm as the investigation continued.

After a record number of manatee deaths mostly linked to malnutrition, state and federal wildlife officials hope to double rescue and rehabilitation capacity before the sea cows again congregate in warm waters during the winter.

So far, just in the area of Naval Station Mayport, 21 Loggerhead nests have been spotted.

A boat passenger was ejected and killed Tuesday when the vessel hit a dock along Black Creek in the Lake Asbury area, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

The saltwater waiver covers any recreational activity requiring a saltwater fishing license such as crabbing, lobstering and scalloping, whether fishing from shore or boat.

It’s believed the man was in the lake looking for a Frisbee.

It’s National Safe Boating Week — and officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are reminding boaters to play it safe on the water.

News4JAX on Tuesday obtained a report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission into a canoeing accident in Julington Creek, in which a 16-year-old boy died.

Two teenagers got a bull shark from a stranger who caught it in Mayport last week and then they gutted it and stored the dead fish with ice overnight at a friend’s house before hoisting it from the rafters at Ponte Vedra High School as a senior prank, according to an incident report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission obtained Wednesday by News4JAX.

A petition launched by animal advocates seeks criminal charges against five students accused of hoisting the shark's carcass above a school stairwell.

The FWC approved increasing hunting hours and adding precharged pneumatic airbows to the legal methods of “taking” an alligator.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has approved regulation changes for cobia and redfish in state waters and a temporary modification to the 2022 recreational blueline tilefish season in Atlantic state waters.

With shorebird and seabird nesting season underway, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission thanks building owners for hosting species such as black skimmers, least terns, roseate terns and American oystercatchers that nest on their roofs from March through August.

Florida anglers this year will have extra days to fish for Gulf red snapper under an expanded season.

Sheriff’s deputies captured video of a large alligator crawling through a front yard in Florida before making its way into a community lake.

If you’ve got a rod and reel, now is the time to fish them out of the closet -- the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s TrophyCatch program is in full swing for the 10th season.

A fisher tried to outsmart wildlife officials with a tricky cooler to hide illegally caught snook, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is asking Florida residents and visitors to help keep manatees safe, especially while out on the water.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission needs the community’s help tracking a virus that is killing freshwater turtles in Florida.

This was the last meal for a Florida snake.

The dog’s owner was not hurt.

As “bird flu” continues to spread across coastal counties in the state, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said Monday it has identified a presumptive case in Duval County.

State wildlife officials seized $30,000 worth of shrimp from a commercial fishing vessel in Tampa Bay earlier this month.

“He came up fast and out of nowhere. Scared the daylights out of me.”

The search for the pilot and passenger of a plane that was reported missing this week has been suspended after Monroe County sheriff’s divers found a section of the aircraft in the water off the Florida Keys.

Snook reopens for recreational harvest on Feb. 1 in Florida’s Atlantic coastal and inland waters (from the Miami-Dade/Monroe county line north), including Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River.

Preliminary data shows there were more than 1,100 reported manatee deaths in Florida last year — nearly double the five-year average.

A team with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed a North Atlantic right whale named “Snow Cone,” and her calf, are swimming their way through Northeast Florida waters.

A black bear was found shot to death last week near Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The Argentine black and white tegu is multiplying and mobilizing in the backwoods and backyards of the Sunshine State — a creature more ominous than pythons because of its cold hardiness and indiscriminate palate.

A research team was stunned in 2019 when it asked for help identifying monitor lizards in Palm Beach County and half of the photos were of tegus.

A female black bear that had a plastic container stuck on her head for 28 days was freed with the help of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

The giant snakes, which have plagued the Everglades for decades, were recently spotted in Palm Beach County, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Florida’s recreational red snapper quota in Gulf state and federal waters was met during the June 4 through July 28 open season, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced Friday.

The state is approaching 1,000 manatee deaths this year, from a population estimated around 8,800, with a large number of the deaths linked to poor water quality along the East Coast.

A couple was taking their boat on a maiden voyage in the waters off Islamorada when it burst into flames Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

Add the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to the supporters of doing away with the mockingbird as the state bird during the 2022 legislative session.

The recreational harvest of flounder in all state and federal waters will close Oct. 15 and remain closed through Nov. 30, reopening Dec. 1.

A resourceful rattler has captured the attention of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Hundreds of boaters were out on the water Sunday during Labor Day weekend.

A man crossed paths with an alligator at a Florida park Monday and ended up in the hospital.

The first seven months of this year have seen a record 900-plus manatees die in Florida’s waterways.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is offering free hunter safety internet-completion courses in seven Northeast Florida counties during September.

A few minutes after midnight Wednesday, dozens of boats with bright lights shining in the water dotted Cowpens Cut in Islamorada.

Though it’s only July, the total number of Florida manatee deaths in 2021 has already reached a higher total than it did in all of 2020, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

U.S. Reps. John Rutherford (R-Jacksonville) and Stephanie Murphy (D-Orlando) introduced the Scientific Assistance for Very Endangered (SAVE) Right Whales Act that would invest $5 million annually in grants that states, nonprofits and members of the fishing and marine shipping industries can use to fund research and efforts that restore the North Atlantic right whale population.

The death of seagrass caused the death of Florida manatees at a record rate in 2021, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

A grand prize of $10,000 will be awarded to the person who removes the most pythons.

The snake hunt is on again.

New this year, biologists will also ask permission to take a small piece of fin tissue from harvested fish for a large-scale genetics study to help estimate the total number of red snapper in the Atlantic population.

The FWC is cracking down on boaters under the influence as part of a statewide initiative called Operation Dry Water.

Manatees are having a difficult time in Florida. So far, 819 manatee fatalities have been recorded by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission through June 25. For perspective, that is 182 more manatee deaths than the total recorded in 2020.

Manatees are having a difficult time in Florida. So far, 749 manatee fatalities have been recorded by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission through May 21. That is 112 more manatee deaths compared to last year.

South Floridians are always on the lookout for creatures big and small, from alligators to pythons to disease-carrying mosquitoes. We can now add coyotes to that list.

Even more cocaine washed up in the Florida Keys over the weekend, continuing a recent spike of illegal drugs found along the shores or in the waters of the island chain.

Police were out on the water in full force across South Florida over the long Memorial Day weekend. They were looking for safety violations, hazards, impaired boaters, anything that could get people hurt or killed.

A Miami man has pleaded not guilty to a single charge of leaving the scene of a boating accident with an injury after what Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers described as a fatal hit-and-run boating crash.

Florida firefighters are used to dealing with emergencies, but wrangling alligators in their own station house isn’t usually in the job description.