Florida's Endangered State Animal

The Florida Panther
by: Noelle Pablo

(floridapanther.com)

                                                                                                                                        

            The state animal of Florida, the Florida Panther, could soon go extinct. The Florida Panther was one of the first animals to be listed as endangered on the U.S. Endangered Species List in 1973, but was listed as endangered even earlier by the U.S. Department of Interior in 1967 (source: panthersociety.org).

Ecology

Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com

   According to the Florida Panther's recovery plan, Male Florida Panthers are polygynous (mate with multiple females) and begin producing offspring around 2-3 years old. The average amount of time between litters is approximately 19.8 months and usually include 2 or 3 kittens. Panthers will disperse after a panther becomes independent and finds a home range for itself. Male Florida panthers tend to disperse farther than female panthers  (42.5 mi vs. 12.6 mi, respectively). Florida Panthers need large habitats to meet their needs. Comiskey et al. (2002) examined the home range size for 50 adult panthers in south Florida from 1981 - 2000 and discovered that resident males had an average home range of 251 square miles and females had an average home range of 153 square miles. Florida panthers are most active during the night, with the highest level of activities around sunrise and after sunset. They are least active during the middle of the day. Florida panthers interact with each other either through direct contact or by urine markers. Panthers use these markers to mark their territory or to announce their current reproductive status. Typical panther prey are white-tailed deer and feral hogs. Other prey include armadillos, rabbits, and raccoons. Hookworm infections are very common among the Florida panther species, however its impact on the animals in the wild is unknown (source: Florida Panther Recover Plan).

Geographic/Population changes

source: http://www.mountainlion.org

    According to defenders.org, the Florida Panther used to dwell across the southeastern portion of the United States, specifically in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and parts of Tennessee and South Carolina. Currently, the panther is limited to less than 5% of its original range and can only be found in southern Florida, below the Caloosahatchee River. In fact, the Florida Panther recovery plan states that there has not been a single sighting of reproducing panther populations beyond South Florida for at least 30 years. In 2004, 2005, and 2006, the number of documented panthers was 78, 82, and 97. Male panthers tend to roam across farther distances than females. Some young male panthers have been documented in central and northeast Florida, even as far as west-central Georgia

 (source: http://www.defenders.org/florida-panther/basic-facts).

Cause of Listing/Main Threats

source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local

 Today, the major cause of mortality for Florida Panthers is aggression from other Florida Panthers as stated in its recovery plan. Other causes for mortality include collisions with vehicles. The panther still faces a multitude of other threats such as habitat loss fragmentation, and degradation, low genetic diversity, mercury pollution, and diseases such as feline leukemia  

(source: http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/wildlife-library/mammals/florida-panther.aspx).

Recovery Plan

source: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/8827/20140619/panther-population-booming-florida.htm

The strategy to recover the Florida panther consists of maintaining, restoring, and expanding the panther population in south Florida into south-central Florida and beyond. Panther recovery will be possible through greater public understanding, support, and education. A habitat of ample quantity and quality is of utmost importance to the panther, so the recovery plan is focused upon habitat conservation and elimination of habitat-related threats. Reestablishing additional breeding panther populations outside of south-central Florida and expanding the panther's habitat range will hopefully expand their population (source: Florida Panther Recovery Plan).