This roly-poly behemoth with the whimsical whiskered face is beloved by Floridians as the “gentle giant of the waterways.” An adult manatee may weigh more than 1,200 pounds and consume 100 pounds of seagrass or other aquatic vegetation each day! Manatee populations in Tampa Bay have been gradually increasing, especially in the winter when more than 200 gather near the warm-water outfalls of power plants to escape the cold. However, collisions with boats, entanglement in crab traps or fishing nets and natural threats such as red tide continue to jeopardize their long-term survival.

Equally at home in fresh or saltwater, the snook’s tackle-busting fighting prowess makes them the ultimate challenge for many fishermen. As tasty to eat as they are thrilling to catch, snook once were harvested commercially, but now are caught just for fun. These sleek and powerful fish are silvery green in color with a sporty black racing stripe. Snook are cold-sensitive fish and have to seek warm water when the temperatures drop below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. In fact, snook in Tampa Bay frequently share the same warm-water refuges near power plants as the much larger, but not nearly so agile manatee!

This tasty but elusive bivalve spends most of its short life hiding in underwater grasses to escape being eaten by stone crabs, blue crabs, whelks and, of course, people. Once common in Tampa Bay, overfishing and poor water quality decimated scallop stocks in the mid-1960s. A scallop recovery program now underway is attempting to restore this pollution-sensitive creature to Tampa Bay by placing adult scallops in protected cages so they can safely spawn. Among the scallop’s unique features are the many pairs of tiny blue eyes arrayed along the outer rim of its shell that allow it to detect and flee from danger.

Wearing a bold wardrobe of black back, white underside, pink legs, yellow eyes and long, orange bill, this clownish bird uses its long, knife-like bill to pry open oysters, mussels and other tasty bivalves. Found along sandy beaches, mud flats, oyster bars and marshes, they are usually solitary -- except during nesting season, when their mate is never far away.

The lumbering but dignified gopher tortoise is a generous host to a variety of different creatures -- including mice, frogs nd even rattlesnakes -- that share its extensive underground burrows. Long claws help it to dig these elaborate tunnels. A homebody, the gopher tortoise does not like to be uprooted and will walk miles to return to its burrow if it has the chance. One of its favorite foods is the spiny Prickly Pear Cactus.

This bright orange butterfly is one of the most frequent visitors to suburban gardens, enjoying the nectar of a variety of plants, including lantana, butterfly weed, pentas and honeysuckle. The passionvine is its preferred larval plant. One of the most common butterflies in Tampa Bay, the fritillary is a smallish specimen that is found here year-round.

Marsh rabbits have cinnamon brown coloring, short broad ears and a very small tail. They live in bogs, swamps, marshes, lake edges, and coastal waterways, building platform homes out of rushes or marsh grasses. When threatened, a marsh rabbit can hide in the water, with only its eyes and nose peeking above the surface. Marsh rabbits can also use their powerful hind legs as an effective “kickboxing” weapon!

The ghost crab’s pale appearance and penchant for coming out of its burrow only at night account for its “scary” name. White with brown spots, the ghost crab is found along sandy beaches, where it skitters sideways searching for food that it captures by pinching it between its sturdy claws. The ghost crab often preys upon newly hatched sea turtle hatchlings, eating the eyes and other soft parts.

This pint-sized bird of prey lives in a burrow, not a tree. It often stands straight up on long, thin legs to better survey the world around it. Burrowing owls live in colonies with other owls, eating insects, small rodents, lizards and birds. The open, grassy habitats that the burrowing owl relies upon are fast-disappearing in the Tampa Bay region, making this bird an increasingly rare sight.