Center of Biological Diversity...updates on our Florida Panther, as they have partnered with the Florida Panther Society. The Center has been honored to carry their work forward to PROTECT AND SAVE OUR FLORIDA PANTHERS. Puma concolor coryi. The Florida panther is a subspecies of Puma concolor (also known as mountain lion, cougar, or puma) and represents the only known breeding population of puma in the eastern United States. In 1967, the Department of the Interior listed the Florida panther as an endangered subspecies. (reference: US Fish and Wildlife 2017) Today, the panther is recognized as Florida's official state animal but it is one the most endangered mammals on Earth. Did You Know? Proportionately, panthers have the largest hind legs of any cat, allowing them to leap up to 15 feet vertically and 45 feet horizontally. Panthers are an umbrella species and they once prowled and flourished in woodlands and swamps throughout the Southeast. When European settlers arrived in the 1600s, the clear-cutting, building and other human activities that destroy, degrade and fragment habitat began, and the fear and misconceptions that led to panther persecution took root. Today, they are one of the most Endangered Species known. In 2017, the ranchers of Southeast and here in Florida are pushing to delist our Florida Panther, so they may be shot on sight. Center of Biological Diversity, their advocates and other very high powered organizations will fight and take their fight to the courts of Florida to keep our Panther SAFE AND PROTECTED by the Endangered Species Act. Today the most threat to our Panthers are vehicles and trucks especially down Alligator Alley and State Road 29 where they roam along the Everglades. Referencing Big Cat Rescue what is actually being done? There are only 120 to 200 on last count, and plans to save the panthers focus on 3 areas of action. First, additional habitat must be secured and enhanced. Second, programs are under way to breed panthers in captivity for later release back in the wild. Third, scientists are exploring ways to increase the genetic variability of panthers through cross-breeding with closely related subspecies. We need team support from all peoples of Florida, and as Florida increases its population by leaps and bounds educating the public on our Panthers, and taking the education to the schools will give the newcomers, and locals the tools to allow our Florida Panthers to flourish not to become extinct... EXTINCT IS FOREVER!!!! Mahalo

                             

A New Chapter in Saving Florida Panthers
Saving Florida Panthers has long been a shared goal between the Center and the Florida Panther Society. With the Society winding down, we're honored that they've chosen us to carry on this important work to protect and conserve one of the most awe-inspiring wild cats on the continent. Learn more.

SAVING THE FLORIDA PANTHER

A reserved, stealthy predator of enormous physical grace and power, the Florida panther is one of the most majestic large felines in the wild. While jaguars roamed as far east as Louisiana, and pumas were widespread from the East to the West coasts, today the Florida panther is the only large feline remaining in the Southeast, and it's separated from western puma populations by more than 1,000 miles. Once found throughout the southeast United States, the Florida panther now occupies only a small area of South Florida, about 5 percent of its former range, and it numbers just 100 to 120 individual cats. 

By far the greatest threats to Florida panthers are habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation — all driven by Florida's burgeoning human population and the developments and highways that accommodate it. Without room to roam, male Florida panthers clash, often with fatal consequences; with its restricted size and absolute isolation, the panther population remains particularly vulnerable to fatal diseases and parasites. Roads, besides slashing through precious panther habitat, also directly kill the great cats through vehicle collisions. But Florida development and road-building can only increase as humans expand; already, numerous new towns are planned to be built inland from the state's southwest coast.

For the Florida panther to survive — much less recover — it needs federally protected critical habitat, as well as reintroductions to additional habitats in Florida and the Southeast. The Center petitioned for the protection of roughly 3 million acres of critical habitat in September 2009, but early the next year, the Obama administration denied our petition — so we and four allies sued, and when our lawsuit was struck down, we appealed. In 2011, we also petitioned to reintroduce the panther in and around the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southern Georgia and northern Florida. That petition was denied, but we won't give up on earning this species the room it needs to roam and recover, and we've won several victories defening its habitat, such as a 2014 settlement to significantly curtail damaging off-road vehicle use in Big Cypress National Preserve, where the panther roams

.The Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge is one of the 58 refuges established under the authority of the Endangered Species Act. The refuge area has long been known as an important Florida Pantherhabitat. Several female panthers have had litters and raised kittens on the refuge in recent years.