Florida Panther by JimB, ZT2 Endangered Species Options

[JimB]

FLORIDA PANTHER

Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Puma
Species: Puma concolor (refers to plain coat color)
Subspecies: Puma concolor coryi
Common name: Florida panther

HISTORY & POPULATION

The Florida panther is the most endangered species of mammal in the United States. At one point, their numbers fell to just 30 to 50 individuals left in the wild and they were in grave danger of becoming extinct. It appears they are now slowly recovering, with an estimated 87 panthers inhabiting more than 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) of land in southwest Florida.

 flpanthr.jpg ( 157.27K ) Number of downloads: 28

Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi).
From The Animal Photo Archive at:
http://animals.timdura.org/view/puma%2520cougar,flpanthr.jpg

Panther is just an old general term that has become a common name for the Florida subspecies of puma. Pumas also go by many other names including mountain lion, fire cat, catamount, cougar, and painter. Within North America, all of these names are used interchangeably.

Until 1993, the Florida panther was scientifically classified as a separate cat species in the genus Felis, along with the domestic cat, the ocelot, and 27 other species. In 1993, the Florida panther was reassigned to the genus Puma as one of 15 subspecies of puma in North America and 12 subspecies found in Central and South America. (Also see the article on “Cheetahs & Pumas” in this forum.)

Panthers have been part of the Florida ecosystem for eons and the first human threat to their existence was likely hunting. The Calusa Indians who lived in southwest Florida until the late 1700s depicted the panther in their art. A small panther statuette was found with various warrior and hunter accoutrements, suggesting the panther may have been a god of war or of the hunt. The Seminole Indians call the panther “coo-wah-chobee” (or “big cat”). Seminole society is divided into clans named after animals; traditionally, medicine people have come from “The Panther Clan.” Panther tails and claws are thought to alleviate muscle disease and to increase strength and endurance. Seminoles warned their children to be quiet in the early evening when the panther is hunting so as not to scare away the panther’s prey. They believed that scaring away the prey would bring illness to their village.

In the 1600s, settlers began moving into the panthers’ territory, crowding them into smaller areas and killing their prey. As a result, the panthers were forced to look for new food sources – which sometimes included the settlers’ livestock. The panther became greatly feared and hated. In 1887, the state of Florida authorized a $5 bounty for panther scalps. As expected, this caused a dramatic decline in the Florida panther population.

 US_se1.jpg ( 88.92K ) Number of downloads: 92

Florida panther range map.
By JimB, based on maps from Wheeling Jesuit
University and NASA Classroom of the Future™.

Florida panthers have been isolated from other puma populations for at least 100 years. This subspecies originally ranged throughout the southeastern United States – from eastern Texas through Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and parts of Tennessee and South Carolina. Today, these big cats are relegated to the swampy southwest corner of Florida (less than 5 percent of its historic range).

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Physically, all pumas superficially resemble a lioness in appearance. The Florida panther differs slightly from all the other puma subspecies – it is typically smaller than pumas found in the American West and has longer legs, smaller feet, and a shorter, darker coat (tawny color with a particularly rich cinnamon-brown color on their midbacks). The Florida panther also has white flecks of fur on its neck, nape, and shoulders (which some believe are the result of tick bites because older panthers have more of these spots than younger panthers). Its underbelly is pale gray and its muzzle is white. The tail tip, back of the ears, and sides of the nose are dark brown or black.

 BigCyp_Panther.jpg ( 25.64K ) Number of downloads: 20

Florida panther walking in forest.
From the U.S. National Park Service at:
http://www.nature.nps.gov/sustainabilityNe...Update_Page.htm

Florida panthers have no marks to distinguish males from females, except their size. An adult male’s average body length is 7 ft. (2.13 m), while an adult female’s is 6 ft. (1.83 m). Their tails are typically 21 to 37 in. (53 to 92 cm) long. Their shoulder heights range from 23 to 28 in. (60 to 70 cm). Adult males weigh between 102 and 154 lbs. (46 and 70 kg), while adult females are between 50 and 108 lbs. (23 and 50 kg).

The Florida panther often has a right-angle crook at the end of its tail and a whorl of hair (or cowlick) in the middle of its back (found in 83 percent of 35 Florida panthers studied, but only in 4.8 percent of other subspecies). These two distinguishing features may be a result of inbreeding rather than defining characteristics of this subspecies.

The skull of the Florida panther is relatively small, broad and flat overall. It differs from other puma subspecies by having an exaggerated rise of the nasal arch, giving the face a Roman-nose appearance.

 FloridaPanther_01_Cougar.jpg ( 111.14K ) Number of downloads: 19

Florida panther resting in pine forest.
From The Animal Photo Archive at:
http://animals.timduru.org/view/puma%2520c...r_01-Cougar.jpg

The Florida panther’s short muzzle, strong jaws, and sharp teeth exert a more powerful bite than the longer-muzzled Florida black bear, for example, but far less than that of the American alligator. The panther’s tongue is extremely rough to help it remove all the flesh from the bones of its prey.

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Florida black bear (Ursus americanus floridanus).
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission photo at:
http://www.floridaconservation.org/educato...sson5slide1.htm

 Alligator.jpg ( 78.6K ) Number of downloads: 15

American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).
Photo by George Gentry, USFWS, at:
http://training.fws.gov/deo/endang/IMAGES.html

Florida panthers have a keen sense of smell and a field of vision of 130 degrees with excellent depth perception, but they lack the panoramic view that deer have. Their eyes are uniquely equipped with a special layer of reflective tissue (called the “tapetum lucidum”) to help them gather enough light to see in dim light.

The Florida panther has small, rounded ears. Like all cats, it can move each ear independently to quickly pinpoint the location of other animals in its vicinity.

 BICY_anpic.jpg ( 89.34K ) Number of downloads: 17

Young Florida panther with radio collar.
From the U.S. National Park Service at:
http://www.nps.gov/bicy/pphtml/animals.html

The panther has whiskers on its upper lip, cheeks, chin, over the eyes and on the inside of the forelegs. These whiskers are especially important at night, helping the panther feel its way through dense underbrush. The whiskers also help the panther sense its prey. Each whisker is attached to a sensitive nerve ending so the panther immediately perceives even the slightest change in air flow or movement of its prey.

The Florida panther’s paw prints consist of a three lobed pad surrounded by four toes. The front paws of adult panthers are about 2.75 in. (7 cm) wide, whereas the hind ones are narrower at about 2.4 in. (6 cm) wide. Each foot has sharp, retractable claws. At a walk, the hind feet are often placed in the prints of the fore feet. At a run, the hind feet may reach as far as 7 in. (18 cm) in front of the fore feet and the claws of the hind feet may be extended to increase traction.

Like all other puma subspecies, the Florida panther has more in common with the house cat than a lion or tiger. Its throat is narrow and made of a number of hardened bones that allows it to make purring noises both when breathing in and when breathing out. Unlike other large cats, the panther lacks a flexible hyoid bone at the base of its tongue and is unable to roar.

Although Florida panthers are generally quiet, they sometimes communicate vocally with chirps, peeps, purrs, moans, screams, growls, and hisses. Panther kittens make a sound like a whistle to let their mother know where they are. When frightened, kittens emit a series of short, high-pitched peeps.

HABITAT

Most Florida panthers are found south of Lake Okeechobee, with occasional cats that wander as far north as Orlando. This part of Florida was the last to be settled because the terrain was so harsh. It is no coincidence that the Seminole Indians retreated to the same area to evade the new settlers.

South Florida has a tropical savannah climate with two distinct seasons: 1) wet and hot (May to October) and 2) dry and mild (November to April). About 80 percent of south Florida’s total rainfall – typically 55 in. (140 cm) – comes in the wet season, mostly in afternoon thunderstorms.

During the summer, lightening ignites wildfires. Many plants and animals in south Florida are adapted to, and in some cases, require fire to survive. Florida panthers are attracted to wild fires, especially in wooded areas, and may stay near burned sites for days as deer and other prey are drawn to the new vegetation.

 510.jpg ( 56.61K ) Number of downloads: 16

Even the Everglades burn!
Photo by J. S. Levine, NASA, at:
http://ask-www.larc.nasa.gov/biomass_burn/.../fla_ca/510.htm

In the fall, the average monthly rainfall is 3 to 5 in. (8 to 13 cm), except when tropical storms or hurricanes strike Florida and may dump 8 to 15 in. (20 to 38 cm) of rain or more in one day. Torrential rain, high winds, and storm surges from hurricanes can cause flooding in excess of 20 in. (50 cm) in 24 hours, dramatically affecting both plants and animals.

Radio tracking of Florida panthers indicates that their habitat use varies from northern to southern areas. Habitat use is more diverse in the north, which is dominated by pine flatlands, palm forests, and hardwood “hammocks” (sometimes called “tree islands,” they are areas slightly higher then their surroundings, typically with hardwood trees such as Dahoon holly, red bay, and willow). Habitat use is less diverse in the south, which is predominately a wetland area with mangrove or cypress strands, mixed hardwood and pine forests, and freshwater marshes.

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Florida pinelands in the northern part of the panther’s habitat.

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Freshwater marshes in the southern part of the panther’s habitat.
Both photos from the Everglades National Park at:
http://www.nps.gov/ever/presskit/sceneryimages.htm

Adequate cover is an important part of the panthers’ habitat use, especially for hunting, denning, and daytime-bedding. Saw palmetto thickets, some taller than 6 ft. (1.8 m), are the predominant cover in 72 percent of the panthers’ daytime habitat, while at night they use more open prairies and marshes. Florida panthers are good swimmers and can cross canals, swamps and marshes easily. However, they tend to avoid mangrove swamps and barren or agricultural land.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE & BEHAVIOR

The Florida panther establishes a “home range” (an area that it uses habitually, where it finds food, water, and access to mates), which is usually rather large and often overlaps the ranges of potential mates. Male home ranges typically cover from 168 to 251 sq. mi. (435 to 650 sq. km), whereas female home ranges are typically 75 to 153 sq. mi. (193 to 396 sq. km). To put this in perspective, the millions of people in New York City live in only 309 sq. mi. (800 sq. km).

Male panthers will not tolerate other males in their territory and will fight, sometimes inflicting deadly wounds. Young male panthers, without home ranges of their own, are forced to live on the edges of other males’ established territories. These “transient” panthers have suboptimal hunting grounds and an increased chance of human encounters.

They must kill the established males before they can establish their own home ranges and mate.

Female panthers often share portions of their range, or even the entire range, with other females. Since the female’s range is smaller, prey animals must be abundant, especially when she is raising kittens.

Both males and females mark their home ranges with defecation and urination, as well as with scrapes. The panther uses its hind feet to scrape small piles of dirt, leaves, or pine needles, about 4 to 8 in. (10 to 20 cm) long, and deposits urine or feces on top. From the scent of the scrape, other panthers can identify the gender of panther that left it and how long ago it was left. Scrapes are made more often during breeding season, perhaps to advertise readiness to breed. At other times, scrapes notify other panthers of their presence and warn against encroachment on their territory.

Panthers sharpen their claws by scratching on logs or trees. These scratches are probably not made to mark the panther’s territory, or to communicate with other panthers, but they do alert humans to the panther’s presence.

Florida panthers are predatory carnivores. They subsist on a variety of prey dominated by white-tailed deer, wild hogs, and in some areas raccoons and nine-banded armadillos. Sometimes, panthers will consume rabbits, rats, and birds – plus an occasional alligator. In the southern area of the panthers’ habitat, deer account for 42 percent of their diet and hogs 22 percent, whereas in the northern area, deer account for 23 percent and hogs 63 percent. Consumption of smaller prey is similar in both areas. Although cattle are abundant on private ranches within the panthers’ habitat, they are rarely consumed by panthers.

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White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission photo at:
http://www.iafwa.org/image_gallery.htm

 Wild_Pig_KSC02pd0873.jpg ( 105.45K ) Number of downloads: 15

Wild hogs (Sus scrofa).
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wild_Pig_KSC02pd0873.jpg

To stay healthy, an adult Florida panther needs to eat about one deer or hog each week, supplemented with smaller prey (a panther has to kill and eat about 10 raccoons to equal the food value of one deer or hog). Females with cubs may need twice that amount. Juvenile panthers (like human teenagers) require more food and sleep than younger kittens.

During the day, especially during the hot Florida summers, the panthers rest in the shade for as long as 18 hours. Florida panthers, like most cats, are solitary hunters and are most active at dawn and dusk when the temperature is cooler and their prey is typically active. With their extreme night vision, Florida panthers are known to travel nightly between 15 and 20 mi. (24 and 32 km).

Florida panthers stalk their prey, moving slowly and silently through the underbrush to get as close as possible, then they attack with short, high speed bursts. They can run at over 35 mi./hr. (56 km/hr), but only for a few hundred yards (or meters), and can leap 15 to 18 ft. (4.6 to 5.5 m) when pouncing on their prey. Large prey, like a deer, is killed with a strong bite to the throat, back of the neck, or base of the skull.

Kills are dragged to a concealed place for the panther to feed. A panther can consume 20 to 31 lbs. (9 to 14 kg) of meat at one meal. A female with kittens typically consumes even more. The forequarters of the carcass are eaten first, and the rest is buried with leaves, twigs, and debris (called a “cache”) to hide and protect the carcass from scavengers. If the weather is suitable, Florida panthers will return to the kill site for several consecutive days. This is not always possible, however, as the heat and humidity of southern Florida can quickly render leftover meat inedible.

When humans approach their area, the panthers disappear, lie still, or attempt to circle behind. Photos sometimes show panthers in trees, but they do not normally spend time in trees. They climb trees to get away from chasing dogs used by researchers. They also commonly use human paths as travel lanes and routinely cross highways, although females do so reluctantly.

There are no documented cases of panther attacks on humans in Florida.

BIRTHS & MATURITY

Florida panthers are polygamous animals. Males try to prevent other males from mating with females within their ranges, but they are not always successful. Males reach sexual maturity at three years of age, while females become sexually mature between two and three years old.

They are seasonal breeders, with the season starting in October and continuing through March. A female panther signifies her sexual availability by the scent of her urine and by caterwauling, a yowl some people think sounds like the scream of a woman. Mating pairs usually remain together for a week, sleeping and hunting together.

Panther births are most common in late spring, when prey is most readily available, although they can occur at other times of the year. The gestation period is 92 to 96 days. The female panther prepares a birthing den in a dry, sheltered area, for protection from the harsh environmental elements. Typically, litters consist of one to four kittens, each weighing about 1.1 lbs. (500 g). The kittens’ fur is grayish-brown with dark spots and five dark rings on their tails. Their eyes are closed for the first week or two, then their bright blue eyes open, but they are still blind until they are about three weeks old. By this time, the kittens weigh about 2 lbs. (1.0 kg) and begin to walk.

The female panther is solely responsible for raising the kittens, which become independent after one-and-a-half years. As a result, females tend to breed every other year.

 panthernursing.jpg ( 97.34K ) Number of downloads: 20

Florida panther nursing kitten.
From Daniel Carroll Taborga’s Florida Panther website at:
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Bleache...llinonenoh.html

For the first two months, panther kittens remain in the den even when the mother leaves to hunt. At six to eight weeks old, the kittens are weaned and introduced to meat. Soon they begin to accompany their mother on hunting forays, hiding nearby while she hunts and then joining her after the prey is killed. Around six months of age, their spotted markings begin to fade, with their coats turning tawny, and their blue eyes starting to turn to their adult color – pale yellow-brown. By a year old, the young cats can catch small prey on their own.

At one-and-a-half to two years of age, juvenile panthers leave their mother to establish their own home ranges. Females often establish a range that overlaps that of their mother, while young males are usually forced out of their mother's range by older males. An adult Florida panther has two to three years to establish a home range before it begins to breed.

Panthers will live to be about 12 years old in the wild and 16 or more in captivity. Males have a tougher time because of competition for females, but if a male can survive its first five years, it's likely that he will live to be at least 10 years old.

THREATS

The Florida panther requires large blocks of forested land to survive, but more than one-third of the forested land in south Florida was cleared for agricultural and residential development between 1936 and 1987. Today, 53 percent of the panthers’ habitat lies in private hands. Since 2000, Florida has had the highest annual influx of new residents of all U.S. states. In southwest Florida, Naples is one of five fastest growing U.S. cities, expected to grow by 85 percent from 2005 through 2030. That means increased draining and clearing of land, further destroying the panthers’ habitat.

Although the habitat preserves represent a great deal of effort toward protecting the Florida panther from extinction, they may not be enough to save the animal. The current protected land reserves in southwestern Florida are barely large enough to hold the current number of panthers, but not enough for all to establish individual home ranges of adequate size.

Formerly, spring and summer rains kept the panther habitat wet, and then, as it dried out, fires would renew the grassy meadows at the forest edges, creating an ideal habitat for the deer. With development and increased deer hunting by humans, the panther's prey base declined and so did the number of panthers. The loss of bordering habitats also has profoundly affected the panthers and their prey. For example, forced flooding of the Everglades to prevent flooding of subdivisions and farmlands may destroy its grassy edges, the primary food source of deer and other panther prey.

Added threats today come from roads dividing the panthers’ habitat, especially the east-west highway (I-75) known as “Alligator Alley.” During peak seasons, over 30,000 vehicles transverse this highway daily. Since 1972, over 44 panthers have been killed by collisions with cars. Wildlife crossing signs, fences, and underpasses have been added every few miles on I-75 have helped reduce deaths from cars, but they have not restored habitat continuity. Female panthers are reluctant to cross major roads or use the underpasses. Thus, roads become barriers increasing isolation of panthers from potential mates. This, in turn, forces them to breed within very small groups. Consequently, inbreeding remains a disturbing pitfall.

 panther_underpass.jpg ( 49.73K ) Number of downloads: 15

Collared Florida panther in highway underpass.
Photo from ©Mark Lotz, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, at:
http://www.floridapanther.org/conservation-plan.htm

Because the population numbers are so low in this subspecies, Florida panthers have less effective immune systems, making them more prone to disease and parasite infection.
Diseases inflicting the Florida panthers include pseudo rabies, a viral pathogen found in hogs. It is fatal to hogs and believed to be transferred to panthers eating infected wild hogs. Florida panthers are increasingly exposed to domestic cat and dog diseases such as the highly contagious panleukopenia (feline distemper), feline leukemia, and feline HIV. Panthers are also vulnerable to parasitic infestations of ticks, tapeworm, hookworm, ring worm, and intestinal flukes.

Another danger is mercury poisoning. Mercury contamination first showed up in fish in the Everglades and has since been found in raccoons, alligators, and panthers. Mercury is believed to have caused the death of at least one panther and has been found in high concentrations in the bodies of others. Although the panthers eat mainly deer and wild hogs, they are at greater risk of mercury poisoning when they prey on raccoons or alligators, which eat contaminated fish.

The source of the mercury has not been determined, but since the usual man-made sources, such as pulp and paper plants, do not exist in south Florida, scientists believe it may be from organic mercury in the peat soil common in the Everglades. It may be released when the soil is burned, drained, or otherwise disturbed. Research is continuing to seek answers to this problem.

In 1996, veterinarians at the University of Florida necropsied 38 male and 17 female Florida panthers. They ranged in age from two weeks to 14 years. The main causes of death included vehicular collisions (43 percent) and infectious diseases (19 percent). Other deaths came from territorial fights (16 percent) and birth defects (11 percent). Cause of death remained undetermined in 11 percent of the total.

Last, but not least, the tiny Florida panther population is vulnerable to catastrophic events, such as large hurricanes. One bad year could wipe out the remaining Florida panthers living in the wild.

WHAT'S BEING DONE TO HELP

The panther is the official state mammal of Florida and has been protected from legal hunting since 1958. It has been on the Federal Endangered Species list since 1967 and on Florida’s Endangered Species list since 1973.

Florida panthers are considered "Critically Endangered" in the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Species. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) includes the Florida panther in its Appendix I list of species that cannot be traded commercially.

Studying the panther is difficult. Their numbers are small, and they are elusive animals. Often, a veterinarian and a trained tracker will use dogs to locate and tree a panther. If the animal appears in good health, it is tranquilized and carefully lowered to the ground using safety nets and catch bags as a precaution against injury. The animal's vital statistics are then recorded, a tracking collar is attached, and blood, feces, urine, and skin samples are collected. The panther also may be immunized and given vitamins.

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Tranquilized Florida panther gets thorough physical exam.
Photo by John & Karen Hollingsworth, USFWS, at:
http://training.few.gov/deo/endang/IMAGES.html

About a third of the known Florida panther population has radio-collars. These panthers are tracked from aircraft on a regular basis and 40 schools in southwest Florida help monitor their movements and their home ranges as part of the Florida Panther Posse program.

The levels of prey species are also being monitored, especially white-tailed deer. Researchers study the health and density of the deer population, their habitat requirements, and causes of death. Deer are also collared and tracked using radio telemetry. These studies will indicate if the deer herds are adequate to support the panther population or if it is a limiting factor in their survival.

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Locations of radio-collared Florida panthers.
(Note: Individual panthers are identified by colors and numbers in this composite image.)
From South Florida Information Access, U.S. Geological Survey, at:
http://sofia.usgs.gov/pulbications/fs/135-02/

In 1974 the Big Cypress National Preserve and the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve were formed and together have conserved over 645 thousand acres (261 thousand hectares) of panther habitat.

The Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1989, covers 26.4 thousand acres (10.7 thousand hectares). It lies 20 miles east of Naples and links together lands that panthers occupy, such as the Big Cypress National Preserve and the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve. The refuge is used by 5 to 11 panthers. It is closed to the public to protect the panthers and their prey.

In 1999, the Everglades National Park was authorized to acquire 107.6 thousand acres (43.5 thousand hectares) of the east Everglades area. At the same time, the Big Cypress National Preserve was authorized to extend its boundary by 141 thousand acres (57 thousand hectares). Once acquired, these properties, combined with the already protected Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest, will protect more than 285 thousand acres (115.3 thousand hectares) of additional panther habitat.

In a controversial effort to bring much needed genetic diversity to the small population of Florida panthers, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 1995 took eight female Texas panthers (Puma concolor stanleyana) – the closest subspecies to the Florida panther – and released them in southern Florida. After their release, five of the eight Texas panthers went on to produce hybrid kittens with native Florida cats. In 2003 wildlife managers removed the adult Texas cats to reduce native Florida panthers’ exposure to outside genetic material.

In all, 118 purebred kittens and 54 hybrid kittens were born. Researchers found that only 13 purebred and 20 hybrid kittens survived to adulthood. Those cats were fitted with radio collars to track their whereabouts. The researchers found more than three times as many hybrid kittens reached adulthood than purebreds.

Native Florida panthers suffer from an array of genetic abnormalities, including kinked tails, low sperm counts, and heart defects. Once new blood was introduced into the area, those defects began to disappear from the panther population.

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Florida panther and its reflected image in its threatened habitat.
From The Animal Photo Archive at:
http://animals.timduru.org/view/puma%20cou...ridaPanther.jpg

A captive breeding program is also underway. A 2002 plan called for up to six kittens to be taken yearly for 3 to 6 years from selected adults in the wild to be bred in captivity so their offspring can be reintroduced into suitable habitats.

Now the Florida panther faces a different peril, a product of the recovery program’s success. Wildlife scientists caution that the current number of panthers may be as many as southwest Florida can hold.

Because at least 250 animals are needed for a self-sustaining population, the biologists say, new habitat must be found to support them. In 1993, state officials released more than a dozen captive-raised Texas pumas in northern Florida. The pumas slaughtered deer, calves, elk, hogs, a horse, and one unlucky house cat. By the end of the experiment, seven pumas had been killed.

Outraged area residents collected petitions calling for the state to stop turning loose big predators near their homes. Meanwhile, panther fans talked of suing to force the state to put wild panthers in north Florida regardless of public sentiment. No agency has attempted any panther relocation experiments since that debacle. Nevertheless, the field test determined that there is enough wilderness and prey to support a self-sustaining population in northern Florida of about 50 panthers.

A 2006 USFWS report says Florida panthers should be moved to other locations across the southeastern U.S. If the Florida panther is to move down the list from “Critically Endangered” to the less severe status of “Threatened,” the USFWS plan calls for establishing two separate populations of at least 240 panthers for at least 14 years (or two generations) – and protecting enough land for them to survive. To remove the panther from the endangered species list altogether, the plan calls for three populations of similar size and an appropriate amount of land.

The plan does not suggest new sites for the panthers or present a timetable. Instead, the plan calls for holding extensive public hearings and coordination with state agencies before any action is taken. No one involved believes that reintroducing panthers any where will be easy, if it can succeed at all.

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Florida panther crossing swamp.
Everglades National Park photo, at:
http://www.nps.gov/ever/presskit/endangeredimages.htm

Meanwhile, the critically endangered panthers remain stuck in a small and shrinking corner of Florida, where development has caged them.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Florida Panther Net: http://www.panther.state.fl.us
Facts about the Florida panther, its habitat, and the plants and animals that share its southwest Florida home. For sounds of Florida panthers, visit their Vocalizations web page at:
http://www.panther.state.fl.us/handbook/natural/vocal.html

Florida Panther Society: http://www.atlantic.net/~oldfla/panther/panther.html
A nonprofit environmental education and support organization with information about natural history, habitat preservation, and genetic restoration efforts.

ARKive – Images of Life on Earth:
http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/...concolor_coryi/
Photos and videos of Florida panthers.

FloridaEnvironment.com: http://www.floridaenvironment.com/programs/fe21209.htm
Audios of the “Florida Environment” daily radio programs featuring interviews with John Kasbohn, a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologist involved in saving Florida panthers.

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This post has been edited by Atlantean_Queen: Feb 1 2009, 04:31 AM

[PsychicZookeeper]

What a wonderful article, Jim! Thank you so much for writing it for us. :notworthy:

I had no idea that the Florida Panther's range was so vast all those years ago, before we non-native types invaded North America.

It's hard to imagine the size of the territory that will need to be set aside for the Florida panthers to survive in a sustainable wild population.

And of course, the names of Florida places -- Lake Okeechobee I have heard many times before, but Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest? Try saying that three times fast!

[marlizdu]

I agree, it is a wonderful article. I learned alot about Florida Panthers and my home state.

[Atlantean_Queen]

Excellent article Jim!
I always enjoy the information you provide in your articles. Thank you!

[Simbabe54]

The Florida panther's numbers could go up,thanks to it's protected status and the protected everglades.I hope this happens because this animal is a national treasure and a wonderfully unique Florida species.I live about 70 miles north of the everglades and it would be a great,great thing if we could once again have a sustainable population of panthers.