Species Hang in the Balance

BINOMIAL NAME:

Puma Concolor

ANATOMICAL PROPORTIONS:

6-7 ft. long (tip-to-tail)/ 2-2.5 ft. tall/ 75-130 lbs.

POPULATION:

80-100

CONSERVATIONS STATUS:

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT:

Low tidal regions, palm forests, and swamplands in the southern portion of the state of Florida, U.S.A.

DIET:

Primarily white-tailed deer, but also feral hog, rabbit, raccoon, armadillo and a few bird species; infrequently and opportunistically, small pets and local livestock

SPECIES THREATS:

The Florida panther is directly effected by climate change, while global warming raises average sea levels, worldwide. Due to Florida's low elevation, global warming is a serious threat to all of the state's flora and fauna.

Habitat loss, via human overpopulation and development, is also extremely stressful to Florida's delicate ecosystem. The Everglades is the world's largest saw-grass marsh, and a growing number of people moving into the panhandle requires an increase in real estate development. Much of the Everglades is part of the national park system, but when combined with global warming, there is no telling how much of this land will remain under federal protection.

Directly associated with dense human populations, is a high volume of traffic and interstate travel. A few Florida panthers are killed annually by fast-moving cars and trucks, especially along southernmost highways (like the infamous Alligator Alley, stretching east to west through virtually uninhabited Everglades wilderness). With Florida panther numbers below 100, even a few untimely deaths are catastrophic for the survival of the species.

Such low numbers also encourage inbreeding among Florida panthers, which leaves offspring more vulnerable to infectious disease, parasites, and hereditary illness/ deformities.

UNIQUE FACTS:

Like all panther species, the Florida Panther has a unique roar, or scream (as panthers cannot technically roar). It is said that before people began flocking to the southern panhandle, the cats's iconic scream was heard echoing through the grasslands, throughout the southeastern United States.

Despite the Florida panther's large size and weight, it is actually more closely related to smaller wild cats, than it is to other "big cats" (i.e. lions, tigers, jaguars, cheetahs, and leopards).

DEVOTED ORGANIZATION:

Friends of the Florida Panther Refuge

• Donate to the FFPR
• FFPR Apparel/ Merchendise

• < Prev
• Next >