Puma concolor coryi

The Florida panther, Florida’s state animal, is one of the most endangered mammals on earth.  It is tawny brown on the back and pale gray underneath. The Florida panther is one of 30 Puma concolor subspecies known by many names – puma, cougar, mountain lion, painter, catamount and panther.

Height 23-27 inches at the shoulder for males; females are smaller
Length 7 feet from nose to tip of tail for males; 6 feet for females
Weight males average 130 lbs; females 70-75 lbs

Lifespan 10-15 years

Staples Mostly white-tailed deer.
Also known to eat feral hog, rabbit, raccoon, armadillo and birds. When people who live near panthers leave their pets and small livestock out in the open at night, panthers have been known to take these animals opportunistically.

Estimated at fewer than 100 adults and subadults in the only known breeding population (South Florida).

Historically ranged across the southeastern United States including Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and parts of Tennessee and South Carolina. Now, the breeding population is found only in the southern tip of Florida, south of the Caloosahatchee River. In recent years, young male panthers have traveled as far as northeast Florida. Females do not roam as widely.

Panthers are habitat generalists, meaning that they use a variety of habitat types, including forests, prairies and swamps.

They are solitary and territorial animals that travel hundreds of miles within their home range. Panthers are mostly active between dusk and dawn, and rest during the heat of the day. Males have a home range of 200 square miles and females about 75 square miles.

Panthers are usually quiet, but they do communicate through vocalizations. Sounds they make have been described as chirps, peeps, whistles, purrs, moans, screams, growls, and hisses. Females signal their readiness to mate by yowling or caterwauling.

Reproduction
Mating Season Throughout the year with a peak in winter/spring
Gestation About 90 days
Litter size 1-4 kittens 
Rarely do all kittens survive. Kittens are born with dark spots that soon fade away as they become adults. They stay with their mother for up to two years.

Habitat loss and fragmentation due to human development, collision with vehicles, territorial disputes between panthers (intraspecific aggression), inbreeding resulting from an isolated population, mercury poisoning, parasites and disease (such as feline leukemia and feline distemper).

Federally listed as Endangered (Federal Register, 1967) and state listed as Endangered. *Endangered Species Act; Florida Endangered and Threatened Species Act; Florida Administrative Code; (Georgia) Protection of Endangered, Threatened, Rare or Unusual Species; and Georgia Code. **CITES Appendix 1.

* The Endangered Species Act requires the US federal government to identify species threatened with extinction, identify habitat they need to survive, and help protect both.  In doing so, the Act works to ensure the basic health of our natural ecosystems and protect the legacy of conservation we leave to our children and grandchildren.

** Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international treaty with 172 member countries. Appendix I listed species cannot be traded commercially. Appendix II listed species can be traded commercially only if it does not harm their survival.

Fewer than 100 Florida panthers are left in the United State today. Once ranging across eight southeastern states, they are now isolated in south Florida.

Unchecked development has pushed panthers into a tiny fraction of their historic range and increases the possibility of human-panther interactions, which are usually fatal to panthers. It has also fragmented the remaining habitat so that panthers are forced to cross dangerous highways to find food and shelter.

Defenders of Wildlife is working to save them by protecting the large tracks of habitat necessary to their survival in Florida. Defenders is also working with public partners, private partners and wildlife agencies to re-establish panthers in their historic range.

See a timeline of panthers and recovery efforts

Florida panthers are tawny brown on the back and pale gray underneath. The Florida panther is one of 30 Puma concolor subspecies known by many names – puma, cougar, mountain lion, painter, catamount and panther. They are tawny brown on the back and pale gray underneath. Males measure 7 feet from nose to tip of tail and weigh up to 130lbs.

Panthers use a wide variety of habitats to find the food, water, and shelter they need to survive and raise young. For denning and daybedding, panthers need habitat with adequate ground cover vegetation, which keeps kittens safely hidden in the den and provides a cool shady place to rest during the day.

Male panthers use large well-defined home ranges that often include the overlapping home ranges of several females. A male panther will attempt to kill males who enter his range. The large area must provide for his needs as well as those of his potential mates and the cubs they produce. An adult panther may cover hundreds of miles as it moves between areas within its territory.

When young panthers are ready to leave their mother they will travel in search of new territory. Females disperse as  [ send green star]

Young males, or transients, have been known to travel as far as north-central Florida, which may account for some of the panther sightings across the state.

Panthers are mostly active between dusk and dawn when they hunt and travel through their territory. During the heat of the day panthers are usually resting (or daybedding) in the cool shade of ground vegetation such as saw palmetto and cabbage palm thickets.

Panthers are solitary. A male pairs up with a female only briefly during breeding. Kittens stay with their mother as long as 2 years before they disperse to set up a home range of their own.

Panthers are territorial. Occupied habitat is identifiable by panther markings such as tracks, tree and earth scrapes, scat, and kills. Panther tracks are asymmetrical with a 3 lobbed pad surrounded by 4 teardrop shaped toes and no claw marks. Kills are covered with leaves and vegetation after the panther has eaten. Panthers may return to feed on the remains over several days.

Panthers prefer a secluded environment away from people. Sometimes their roaming behavior brings them in contact with people. If you see a panther, stay calm. No Florida panther has ever attacked a human. More than likely, it will run away.

Learn More About Living with Panthers

Conservation organizations including Defenders of Wildlife are helping with panther recovery in many ways:

• protecting habitat from development, and preserving habitat as conservation lands
• advocating for wildlife considerations in transportation planning and installation of wildlife underpasses
• reducing panther mortality on roads urging agencies to use sound science in development planning and panther management
• restoring panthers to their historic range of the southeastern United States
• promoting education and raising awareness of panthers and their recovery needs

Other conservation organizations working on panther recovery include: The National Wildlife Federation, The Florida Wildlife Federation, The Friends of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, and The Florida Panther Society, Inc.

With fewer than 100 panthers remaining in the southeastern United States, it may be tempting to do no more than attempt to hang on to what is left. However research has shown that re-establishing additional populations of panthers reduces the threat of extinction by:

The US Fish and Wildlife Service's Florida Panther Recovery Plan includes establishing two additional panther populations, which is based on scientific research that shows that 3 populations are essential to recovery of this endangered wild cat.

Even though the persecution and hunting that brought them near to extinction ended in the mid-1950s, panthers have continued to face many threats. Today, the largest threats are vehicle collision and habitat loss to development.

Roads are becoming more deadly to panthers each year. And misguided development continues to destroy and fragment panther habitat.

Panthers also face an uncertain threat from public perception. Full recovery of this endangered big cat may depend on the public's ability to learn to live with panthers again.

Read more on threats

Florida panthers have had some things go their way. In 2004, the Federal Court ruled in favor of the National Wildlife Federation, Florida Wildlife Federation, and The Florida Panther Society, and revoked a Florida Rock Industry mine permit that would have destroyed over 5000 acres of panther habitat.

The permit was issued based on a "no jeopardy" opinion reached by the USFWS. The Judge found that the permit did not consider the project's cumulative impact on the overall loss of panther habitat.

The Florida panther was federally listed as an endangered species in 1967. Panthers are protected under other legal measures including:

• International: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITE Appendix 1.
• Florida: Florida Endangered and Threatened Species Act; and Florida Administrative Code.
• Georgia: Protection of Endangered, Threatened, Rare of Unusual Species; and Georgia Code.

The Endangered Species Act is a safety net for wildlife, plants, and fish that are on the brink of extinction. It includes one of the most effective ways to protect species, which is to protect the places where they live.

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The panther, also known as cougar, mountain lion, puma and catamount, was once the most widely distributed mammal (other than humans) in North and South America, but it is now virtually exterminated in the eastern U.S. Habitat loss has driven the subspecies known as the Florida panther into a small area, where the few remaining animals are highly inbred, causing such genetic flaws as heart defects and sterility. Recently, closely-related panthers from Texas were released in Florida and are successfully breeding with the Florida panthers. Increased genetic variation and protection of habitat may yet save the subspecies.

DESCRIPTION: One of 30 cougar supspecies, the Florida panther is tawny brown on the back and pale gray underneath, with white flecks on the head, neck and shoulder.

SIZE: Weight: males, up to 130 pounds; females, 70 pounds.

HABITAT: Cypress swamps, pine and hardwood hammock forests.

RANGE: Originally from western Texas and throughout the southeastern states; now found only in Florida.

FOOD SOURCE: Mostly white-tailed deer, sometimes wild hog, rabbit, raccoon, armadillo and birds.

POPULATION: 30-50 individuals.

BEHAVIOR: Solitary, territorial, often travel at night. Males have a home range of up to 400 square miles and females about 50-100 square miles.

REPRODUCTION: Reach sexual maturity at about 3 years. Mating season is December through February. Gestation lasts about 90 days and females bear 2-6 kittens. Young stay with mother for about 2 years. Females do not mate again until young have left.

SURVIVAL THREATS: Habitat loss because of human development and population growth, collision with vehicles, parasites, feline distemper, feline alicivirus (an upper respiratory infection), and other diseases.

LEGAL PROTECTION: CITES, Appendix I, Endangered Species Act.

CONSERVATION: Reduced speeding zones, construction of panther underpasses, public education, captive breeding program and research.

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elcome to Florida Panther Net where you can learn about our state animal, the elusive endangered Florida panther. At your fingertips is a rich store of knowledge about the panther, its habitat and the fascinating plants and animals that share its southwest Florida home. Panther Net was a project of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Advisory Council on Environmental Education. Panther Net is brought to you through proceeds from the Florida panther license plate.

by Anthony M. McDonald, Nov 5, 2007

Florida Panthers are primarily found in cypress swamps, mixed swamps, pine lands, and hardwood forests. Within these lands lie ranges in which the males and females live and roam. In general, the male Florida Panther will roam within a 200 square-mile area while the females are confined to a smaller area of about 70-80 square miles.

These majestic creatures can actually travel an astonishing 15-20 miles a day. They travel in a zigzag like pattern by night and usually dedicate their daytime to rest. The speed at which a Florida Panther moves can be as fast as 35 mph. but can only maintain that speed for a few hundred yards. This lack of endurance by no means limits their ability to get food; These cats are specialists at launching short spring attacks by creeping up to their prey little by little, getting as close as possible, until they have optimal positioning to strike and attack.

The unfortunates that end up being the cat's dinner include: Deer, Wild Hogs, Raccoons, and Armadillos. Among these available morsels, deer are the meal of choice and are most favored when available and within range. Another savory meal for the Florida Panther can be alligator if there is nothing else available. Contrary to popular belief about felines and water, the Florida Panther is an excellent swimmer and can cross large bodies of water if they have to. Another very interesting fact about the Florida Panther is that they are attracted to woodland fires.

These fires draw out prey, and that prey needs to travel in search of new vegetation; the Florida Panther exploits this situation. The cats simply lurk in the shadows scanning the destroyed landscape in search for deer and other prey. The sense of these amazing creatures is rather fascinating. It is said that their field of vision can encompass 130 degrees and they are known to have excellent depth perception and a strong sense of smell as do all cat species.

The Florida Panther is considered an endangered national capitol and is said to reach extinction within the next 40 years. There are two main reasons these beautiful creatures are nearing extinction. The first and most obvious reason is the limited amount of land for breeding and the unavoidable cohabitation with humans.

Because of the rate at which South Florida is growing, traffic on highways bordering or near the existing wildlife refuges, pose a great danger for this animal leaving them with very limited space to live. Development, population growth, and collision with vehicles all contribute to this problem; this leaves the cats with loss of habitat, habitat degradation, and habitat fragmentation which makes it very difficult to recover from.

Reduced speeding zones and gateways for the cat to travel would be needed to eliminate this threat. The other threats to this animal lie in their existing health. Contributions to this threat include: parasitic sicknesses and various diseases of respiratory organs (including upper respiratory infections and heart problems). This is said to be the result of inbreeding and caused by the lack of an adequate gene pool.

The gene pool reduction is caused by the small population size of this creature that is now present in South Florida. To reduce this threat, the state of Florida would have to fund programs that foster research through breeding and separate populations of the same blood and/or gene pool.

Very sad.

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