The Florida Panther
(Puma Concolor Coryi)
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By: Jared Lazor
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About the Florida Panther
The Florida Panther, or Puma Concolor Coryi, is a subspecies of the Puma. It is the last Puma subspecies located on the Eastern coast. These panthers range from 6 to 7 feet long, and males tend to be larger in size. They are covered in tan fur, with white or gray stomachs and chests. It is easy to spot a Florida panther because most have a kink in their tail, and a rough patch of fur on their back. They are also commonly covered in dark markings on their face, tail, and ears . All panthers are carnivores commonly hunting: white tailed deer, feral hogs, raccoons, and other mammals and reptiles (National Wildlife Federation).
Habitat
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Panthers once ranged from Florida down to Louisiana inhabiting all of the land in-between. This is no longer the case, they now have less than 5% of this range. There is only one breeding population located in the southern tip of Florida, in swamplands like the Everglades National Park, and Big Cypress National Reserve (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). This population contains less than 100 individuals, which has risen from about 20 in 1970. Panthers are greatly affected by this loss of habit. The first reason is that males will roam and mark territories in an area of 250 square miles. Since they are very territorial animals it is not easy for them to share small patches of land with other males. With them roaming such large areas they often come in contact with human society. Because of the development of residential and commercialized buildings, these panthers often find themselves crossing busy intersections. While crossing they are generally struck and killed by cars. Panthers live in warm climate habitats within Florida: wetlands, swamps, and upland forests.
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Main Threats
Since there is very few Florida panthers left they are very vulnerable to just about every threat. They were once a thriving subspecies until humans killed them off out of fear, and because of their killing of livestock. The biggest problem that these animals are facing today is habitat loss. Since the panther is so territorial it cannot live with a large group in such a small area. Since all of these highways, buildings, and homes are being built on what was once their habitat, panthers are forced into finding new areas. With this mix of panthers and civilization there is no good outcome and leads to the second threat which is human-wildlife conflicts (National Wildlife Federation). With the total population of panthers under 100 it has created a system of interbreeding between the population. The male panthers are eventually mating with their daughters because the population is so close. When this inbreeding takes place many of the offspring lack the proper ability to form their sperm leading to infertile individuals. This leads to very low genetic diversity for the all future generations. When the genetic diversity is very low it allows all individuals to be more susceptible to disease. With this susceptibility a disease had spread around called feline leukemia virus. This killed off panthers very fast. Fortunately the remaining panthers were given vaccines to prevent from contracting the disease (Florida Panther Net).
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Recovery Plan
The Florida Panther was one of the first animals to be placed under the Endangered Species Act in 1973. It is listed as an endangered animal. It is placed on the endangered list for Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). It has had three revisions to its recovery plan. The originally approved in 1981, then the first revision was approved 1987, the second was approved in 1995, and the third was approved in 2008. “The recovery goal is to achieve long-term viability of the Florida Panther to a point where it can be reclassified from endangered to threatened, and then removed from the Federal List of endangered and threatened species,”(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). Reclassification will be considered when, “two viable populations of at least 240 individuals (adults and subadults) each have been established and subsequently maintained for a minimum of twelve years,”(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). Once this is accomplished delisting will be considered when, “three viable, self-sustaining populations of at least 240 individuals (adults and subadults) each have been established and subsequently maintained for a minimum of twelve years,” (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). The estimated date of recovery if all actions are fully funded and implemented as outlined, including full cooperation of all partners needed to achieve recovery, criteria for reclassification from endangered to threatened could be accomplished within 30 years; criteria for delisting could be accomplished within 45 years following reclassification. However, due to the challenging nature of panther recovery these are estimates that will be reevaluated as recovery actions are implemented,” (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).
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What you can do
As an individual you can raise awareness about the threats hurting these animals. Florida Panthers are not vicious aggressive animals, and will commonly shy away from any human in sight. It is possible to write to the Florida Governor, Rick Scott, about not allowing anymore kinds of development in areas where panthers are residing. We can also emphasize the importance of a reintroduction of panthers into new areas that are more viable for the panthers. There is also a way to exercise the importance of being safe and careful while driving so that more of the panthers are not killed crossing roads. There are other countries that have built animal bridges which are basically grassy roads that go over highways which allow animals to pass from one side to the other. This would be very beneficial for all animals not only the Florida panther.
Works Cited
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Florida PantherNet."
http://www.floridapanthernet.org/index.php/handbook/threats/disease/#.VmSbRpNdUgk
Date Accessed: 1 December, 2015
National Wildlife Federation. "Florida Panther." https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife- Library/Mammals/Florida-Panther.aspx. Date Accessed: 25 November, 2015
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Florida Panther Recovery Plan."
http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/081218.pdf. Date Accessed: 23 November, 2015
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