Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission Featured Creature:  The Florida Panther 

Florida’s state animal: The Florida panther in a league of its own

Loss of habitat forces the panther to roam near highways and other roads.

By FWC Staff

When the Spanish first discovered Florida, the Florida panther roamed throughout the southeastern United States.  Now, more than 500 years later, the range of the panther has been reduced to Southwest Florida where less than 100 of the unique cats exist today.  The loss of habitat, as a result of urban growth, endangered the very existence of the panther.

Recognizing the plight of the cat, elementary students in Florida voted to make it the state animal in 1982.  The designation helped bring public awareness to the perils existing for the panther as scientists found a way to manage and protect the endangered animal.

Despite loss of habitat and other threats, the Florida panther has managed to survive with the help of the dedicated biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

“Research by biologists includes field studies on the panther to determine denning habits and movement patterns,” said Kipp Frohlich, with the FWC’s Imperiled Species Management Section.  “All of these studies will aid in the long-term survival and recovery of the Florida panther.”

A subspecies of the cougar, also known as the mountain lion or puma, the Florida panther has developed its own unique characteristics, setting it apart from other subspecies.  The Florida panther has longer legs, smaller feet and a shorter, darker coat. Its skull’s shape gives it a distinctive Roman-nosed look with its arched nasal bones.  The Florida panther is the only cougar found east of the Mississippi River.

The panther’s numbers declined to approximately 30 cats by the early 1980s but efforts to conserve its dwindling numbers began as early as 1958 when the state listed it as endangered.  The low population resulted in severe inbreeding, which created many health and physical problems.  A genetic restoration project in 1995 brought success by improving the genetic health and vigor of the panther population.

Further help in protecting the panther occurred with the development of the Florida Panther Research and Management Trust Fund.  This fund receives its money directly from the purchase of panther specialty license plates.  The popularity of the Florida panther can be seen in the number of these tags purchased each year.  Currently, it ranks as the second most popular specialty license plate in Florida.

Panthers are strictly carnivores, characterized by sharp teeth adapted for eating meat.  They live mostly on feral hogs, white-tailed deer, raccoons and armadillos.  Only occasionally will they feast on rabbits, rats or alligators.  For wild panthers to remain healthy, males need the equivalent of one deer or hog per week.  Females with kittens may need more than twice that amount.

 Wildlife biologist Maurice Hornocker, Ph.D., one of the pioneers in the study of the great cats, stresses the importance of the panther’s health “. . .because it sits at the top of the food chain, along with other large carnivores, its health is an indicator of the health of everything in the chain below it.”

Threats remain for the panther as it struggles to survive.  Continued loss of habitat forces the panther to roam near highways and other roads where vehicles become its greatest enemy.  The panther trust fund was developed partially to help aid in the recovery of injured and orphaned panthers.

Pictured above:  An adult Florida panther roams its home range in search of food, shelter and water. (FWC photos) 

Give a panther tag this holiday season

A unique idea for gift-giving this holiday season can help the Florida panther.  The Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles now offers gift certificates for the purchase of any specialty tag in Florida.

While the efforts of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have resulted in positive strides in panthers’ once-dwindling numbers, funds are still needed to keep the research moving forward.  By giving the panther specialty license plate gift certificate, residents can help the Florida panther.

Each panther license plate gift certificate costs $25.  Eighty-five percent of that $25 goes directly into the trust fund for research and management of Florida panthers.  To purchase the gift certificates, visit any authorized motor vehicle office and a credit will be issued in the name of the gift recipient.  When recipients renew their license plates, they can use the gift certificate to buy the specialty tag.

Since most tags are renewed on the birth date of the registered vehicle owner, these gift certificates make great birthday presents also.  Information on projects funded through the Panther Research and Management Trust Fund can be found at MyFWC.com/panther.  This holiday season, help save the Florida panther from extinction by giving a gift that can be used year-round.

Panther specialty tag gift certificates may be purchased at any authorized motor vehicle office, such as a state motor vehicle office, local tax collector’s office or a licensed tag agent.

Florida panther safety tips

Be alert from dusk to dawn – Florida panthers are most active at night.

Landscape for safety – Remove vegetation that provides cover for panthers or that attracts wildlife such as deer.

Keep panther prey away – Deer, raccoons and wild hogs are prey for the Florida panther, so keep garbage, pet foods and vegetable gardens safe from their scavenging.

Keep pets safe and secure – Roaming pets are easy prey for predators, including panthers.

Keep livestock secure – Where practical, chickens, goats, hogs or other livestock should be placed in enclosed sheds or barns at night.

Supervise children – Educate them about panthers and other wildlife they might encounter.

Never approach a panther – Most panthers want to avoid humans.  Give a panther the time and space to steer clear of you.

Always hike, backpack and camp with a companion when in wild areas.

How to help:

Buy a panther specialty license plate at http://buyaplate.com/panther.html or call 1-800-988-4889.

Heed panther crossing signs and reduce speed when driving in panther areas at night.

Attend county commission, zoning or city planning meetings and express concerns over loss of panther habitat to road construction and urban expansion.

Learn how to live with panthers by visiting MyFWC.com/panther .

Donate to the Florida Panther Research and Management Trust Fund.

Mark Lotz in the field with the Florida panther

Tracking a sample of Florida panthers enables the FWC to monitor important information.

By FWC Staff

Mark Lotz knows that working on the panther capture team each year from November to March helps the effort to keep the Florida panther safe from extinction.

His job with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), along with the other team members, requires capturing panthers to put new radio-collars on them or replacing radio-collars that have failing batteries.  Additionally, kittens are handled at the den while the mother panther is away – when they are about 2 weeks old and permanently marked with a transponder chip similar to what people use for their pets.

Manmade threats to panthers concern the scientists, but discovering how and where the remaining panthers live will help with future planning of wildlife management areas where panthers roam.  For Lotz, finding the panthers in their natural habitat poses one of the greatest challenges of the capture season.

Last year, between November and March, Lotz and the capture team spent 53 search days in several public lands, including the Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park and the Seminole Indian Reservation.  During those days, they captured 13 panthers.
It can take days of tramping through the wilderness, swamp buggies loaded down with the gear necessary to do their job, before they spot a panther.

“We can spend days tracking and never see one,” Lotz said.  “Then when we do find one, he’ll most likely climb the highest tree to avoid us.”

The panthers are chased up a tree with specially trained dogs.  The capture team then sets up a large, portable air cushion and safety net to catch the panther if it falls after being darted.  Then an anesthetic dart is shot through the tree limbs with an air rifle, reaching a very small area on the panther’s rump.  After the cat is sedated, it is up to Lotz to climb the tree to assist the panther safely to the ground where the capture team performs a thorough veterinary exam.

“I sometimes have to climb 30 to 40 feet up a tree to tie a security rope around the panther and slowly lower the 100 to 150 pound cat to the ground,” Lotz said.

After they have performed the necessary work on the panther, the team leaves the area so it is quiet when the panther wakes, which reduces the stress level during recovery.

Capturing and collaring a sample of Florida panthers enables the FWC to monitor the genetic vitality of the population, to guard against new diseases, to determine causes of mortality, and to document reproductive success.

“Everything we do in the field ultimately benefits the panther,” Lotz said. 

Pictured above:  Mark Lotz, FWC panther biologist, prepares to place a transponder chip on each of these panther kittens. Only trained specialists should handle animals in the wild. (FWC photo)

Fun Florida panther facts

The Florida panther is a subspecies of puma, also known as a mountain lion or cougar.

Panthers can live up to 12 years or more in the wild.

Most panthers live in Southwest Florida, south of the Caloosahatchee River, although some panthers have been documented traveling as far north as Flagler County.

The Florida panther’s decline occurred prior to 1950.  It was listed as endangered in 1967 and is protected under federal and state laws.

Florida panthers are found primarily in the Big Cypress/Everglades ecosystem in Collier, Lee, Hendry, Monroe and Miami-Dade counties.

Male panthers weigh from 100 to 160 pounds, while females are smaller at 65 to 100 pounds.  Both males and females generally stand 2 feet tall and are 6 to 7 feet long from the nose to the tip of the tail.

When the panther kittens finally open their eyes around 2 weeks of age, their eyes are blue.  At 6 months, those blue eyes begin turning amber and the black spots on their backs have almost all disappeared.

No pumas, including Florida panthers, are black.  The two species of cats commonly referred to as “black panthers” are melanistic (black) phases of jaguars or African leopards.

— A PRODUCT OF THE FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION’S COMMUNITY OUTREACH — 

 
This article originally published on November 26, 2007.

Written by :

mkwestmark

 

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