Florida is famous for its alligators, but the Sunshine State has a much weirder side when it comes to wildlife. .
If you’re planning your own quirky Florida adventure, here’s where I’d go first.
Monkey Island – The Monkeys of Homosassa
This one tops my list simply because it sounds like something out of a children’s book: a tiny island in the middle of the Homosassa River where spider monkeys rule the roost. No fences, no zookeepers—just monkeys leaping, wrestling, and occasionally glaring at boaters as if they own the place (which, to be fair, they do).
Legend says a local doctor put the monkeys there decades ago after they caused too much chaos on the mainland. True or not, it’s delightfully Florida.
How I’d Do It: Take a morning riverboat tour—the monkeys are reportedly most active then. Here’s a livecam of the island (scroll down).
Weeki Wachee Mermaids – Florida’s Original Underwater Stars
Since 1947, women in glittering tails have been performing underwater ballets in a natural spring, sipping air hoses and flicking their fins with elegant grace.
The whole thing feels like stepping back in time, and watching them glide past the glass windows of the spring theater is oddly magical.
Betsy the Lobster – A Giant Crustacean in the Keys
This one’s pure Florida kitsch: a 40-foot fiberglass spiny lobster named Betsy, sitting outside Rain Barrel Village in Islamorada. She’s technically a tribute to the Keys’ lobster industry, but really, she’s just the perfect roadside photo op.
Did You Know? Betsy isn’t a “true” lobster but a spiny lobster, which lacks the giant claws of its Maine relatives.
Sarasota Jungle Gardens – Flamingos That Eat From Your Hand
Feeding a flamingo by hand feels like something out of an Art Deco painting, which is why Sarasota Jungle Gardens is on my must-see list. These pink beauties bend their long necks toward you like ballerinas, delicately plucking food pellets from your palm.
Silly? A little. But the photos look amazing, and who wouldn’t want to say they’ve hand-fed a flamingo?
Silver Springs – Wild Rhesus Monkeys
If Monkey Island feels quirky, Silver Springs takes it up a notch because these monkeys aren’t confined to an island—they roam wild.
Back in the 1930s, a tour boat captain released rhesus monkeys to add “jungle flavor” to his rides, and their descendants still thrive today.
Important Tip: Admire from a distance; they’re known for stealing snacks and sunglasses.
UF Bat Barn – Gainesville’s Bat Cloud
This is one of the strangest and most beautiful natural sights I’ve read about: every evening at sunset, hundreds of thousands of bats pour out of the University of Florida’s Bat Barn and Bat House. The sky reportedly fills with a spiraling “bat cloud” that looks like smoke rising into the dusk.
I’m making a mental note to plan a summer trip just to see it.
Manatees – Florida’s Floating Potatoes
Finally, the gentlest “weird” animal on my list: manatees, nicknamed “sea cows” or “floating potatoes.” The best place to see them is in winter at warm-water springs like Crystal River or Blue Spring State Park.
Personal Note:
After Hurricane Helene last year, I saw manatees closer to shore than ever before, munching seagrass as if nothing had happened. It was strangely reassuring—proof that life settles back in after chaos.
Final Thoughts
Florida might be known for gators, but the real fun is in these odd corners of the state—monkeys ruling their own island, bats painting the sky, and manatees bobbing like potatoes in clear springs.
I’ve only checked one off this list so far, but if you’re planning your own weird Florida adventure, maybe we’ll bump into each other at the bat barn or Monkey Island. Just don’t stand too close to the monkeys—they bite, and they steal.