Florida panther needs care and space to survive

The remaining approximately 100 panthers are found in south Florida and restricted to less than five percent of their historic range.

Florida panther needs care and space to survive

According to a new federal plan for saving the Florida panther calls for building new populations outside the endangered cat's South Florida stronghold in the future, while currently working to strengthen the Florida population.

The plan by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the South Florida population has rebounded from a low of 20 or 30 to about 100 today. While that's the highest number in decades, it says the population remains too small and too geographically concentrated to ensure the panther's survival.

The Florida panther is the last subspecies of Puma (also known as mountain lion, cougar, or catamount) still surviving in the Eastern United States. Historically occurring throughout the southeastern U.S., today the remaining approximately 100 panthers are found in south Florida and restricted to less than five percent of their historic range.

The Florida panther was federally listed as an endangered species in 1967 and ultimately under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The Service issued the first recovery plan in 1981, and it was revised in 1987 and 1995. Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation are among the greatest threats to panther survival.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is among the partners working directly with the Service to recover the Florida panther. Its director, Ken Haddad, concurs that this ongoing partnership is critical to conserving Florida panthers and their habitats.

"Florida panthers are part of our nation’s and state’s wildlife heritage. The state of Florida has been a key partner in panther conservation for the past three decades and Floridians have demonstrated their strong support for panther conservation. We’re pleased to be part of the team that will implement this comprehensive plan," he said.

This recovery plan includes specific recovery objectives and criteria to be met in order to reclassify (downlist) and eventually delist the Florida panther under the Endangered Species Act. The plan also includes provisions that contemplate reintroduction of panthers in locations across central and north Florida as well as the Southeast. Among the potential spots to reintroduce panthers are forests in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The government tried a panther relocation program in 1993 when they released more than a dozen captive-raised Texas cougars near Osceola National Forest in North Florida.

Because the cougars were not afraid of people, they invaded back yards and killed exotic deer, newborn calves, a hog, a horse and one unlucky house cat. By the time the experiment ended, seven cougars had been killed. Two were shot with arrows and one was crippled by a rifle bullet.