Florida panthers in the USA

This video from the USA says about itself:

May 9, 2013

Presented by The Park Service, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and The US Environmental Protection Agency. Produced by Bridget Litten and Karrie Carnes. Directed by Erik D. Hutchins.

Florida Panthers 2013: In the 1980s, south Florida’s panther population was down to only 20 to 30 individuals. Today, they are on the rebound with an estimated population of around 120. To many, this is an endangered species success story.

AND Pharmaceuticals in our Waters: And all the pharmaceuticals that we use, our bodies don’t use them all up. All of our birth control pills, all the different medications that we have for all these different ailments, they pass through our bodies the go into our sewer systems. There’s one type of pharmaceutical that has scientists especially nervous about finding in our waters, called endocrine disrupters.

From Wildlife Extra:

Florida Panther sightings survey

Panther sightings reported throughout Florida

August 2013. The public has reported hundreds of sightings of Florida panthers to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). As of August 2013, the public had submitted 790 sightings.

Mistaken identity

Only 12 percent of the reports included a photograph and could be evaluated by Commission biologists. Of those with photos, the majority were confirmed as panthers. Other animals identified by FWC biologists were bobcats, foxes, coyotes, dogs, house cats and even a monkey. Most often the reported animal or tracks belonged to a bobcat, when it was not a panther. The verified panther reports were largely confined to southwest Florida, the well-documented breeding range for panthers in the state. There also were several verified sightings in south central Florida.

“The public’s willingness to share what they have seen or collected on game cameras is incredibly helpful and shows us where panthers presumably are roaming in Florida,” said Darrell Land, who heads the FWC’s panther team. “We thank everyone using the Report Florida Panther Sightings website and encourage others to participate in this citizen-science venture.”

“As the population of this endangered species grows, the FWC expects more Florida panthers to be seen in areas of the state where they have not lived for decades,” Land said. “To properly plan and manage for the expansion of the panther’s range in Florida, information about where the panthers are is vital.”

Identify tracks

The FWC has a new “E-Z guide to identify panther tracks” available at www.FloridaPantherNet.org.

100 – 160 panthers alive

The Florida panther population is estimated to be 100 to 160 adults and yearlings, a figure that does not include panther kittens. As recently as the 1970s, the Florida panther was close to disappearing, with as few as 20 animals in the wild.

Sightings can be reported to the FWC website launched a year ago, where people can record when and where they saw a panther or its tracks at MyFWC.com/PantherSightings.

Related articles

• Hundreds of Panther Sightings Reported in Florida (natureworldnews.com)
• Hundreds of Panther Sightings Reported in Florida (newswatch.nationalgeographic.com)
• Florida’s Future Felidae (walkingwiththealligators.wordpress.com)
• It’s a girl! Kitten born to rescued and released Florida panther (dvidshub.net)
• Florida Panther Killed By Car (wctv.tv)