Florida Panther
DB: This is Earth and Sky. The Florida panther is the most endangered species of mammal in the U.S.
JB: It’s estimated that there are fewer than 100 Florida panthers left in the wild. These last panthers live in the tip of Florida, south of Lake Okeechobee. They’re large, tawny-colored cats that laze around in the day and hunt at night. By the 1950s, they were hunted to near extinction. In 1967, the Florida panther joined the list of endangered species.
DB: By that time, genetic defects were killing off the last Florida panthers – the result of inbreeding among a small, isolated population. In 1995, to revitalize the gene flow, eight female Texas cougars were introduced into the panther population. Panthers bred naturally with Texas cougars back when their ranges overlapped. Now, it appears the cougar-panther offspring have saved the Florida panther from certain demise.
JB: Human development is quickly crowding out what little wild land is left in Florida. Roads are a problem, too. But “right of way” fencing and “panther crossings” have been installed along some roadways that cross public lands. No panthers have been killed where this “right of way” fencing is set up.
DB: Special thanks today to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation – supporting the conservation of native fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats. We’re Block and Byrd for Earth and Sky.
Our thanks to the following individuals and institutions who assisted in the preparation of this script:
Larry Richardson Wildlife Biologist Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge Layne Hamilton Refuge Manager Florida Panther National Wildlife RefugeAuthor’s Notes:
Each panther needs up to 200 square miles of habitat. Since the early 1970’s, over 800 thousand hectares – over two million acres – of land in Florida have been set aside for wildlife. But the panther, whose range is wide, will need even more protected land to survive.
The Florida Panther Society (Hosted by Altantic.net)
Additional Teacher Resources
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Florida Panther
The Florida panther, a subspecies of the mountain lion or puma, is a wide-ranging predator found only in south-central and south Florida. Once roaming the southeastern United States from Arkansas and Louisiana, east to South Carolina and south through Florida, today the panther struggles to maintain a population of only about 80 cats within 5 percent of it historic range. This site explains the natural history of this species and how its population decline came about.
U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Florida Panther
This site explains the current population status of the Florida panther. It discusses the increasing rate of growth in the counties encompassing the panthers range, as well as the current efforts underway to protect the species for human encroachment.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge: Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge
This site provides an overview of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. The site gives an overview of the refuge, the wildlife and habitat of the refuge, and the history. Also provided are links to more information.
