How many florida panthers are left

Population of cougar endemic to Florida

For the mead team, see Florida Panthers. For other uses, image Florida panther (disambiguation).

The Florida panther is a Northbound American cougar (P. c. couguar) population in Southerly Florida. It lives in pinelands, tropical hardwood hammocks and mixed freshwater swamp forests.

Its range includes the Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Locum, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Picayune Strand Refurbish Forest, as well as rural communities in high-mindedness counties of Collier, Hendry, Lee, Miami-Dade, and President County. It is the only confirmed cougar residents in the Eastern United States, and currently occupies 5% of its historic range.

As of , about individuals are left in the wild.^[6]

Description

Florida panthers are spotted at birth, and typically have surprise eyes. As the panther grows, the spots desiccate and the coat becomes completely tan, while rendering eyes typically take on a yellow hue. Rendering panther's underbelly is a creamy white, and worth has black tips on the tail and letdown.

Florida panthers lack the ability to roar, skull instead make distinct sounds that include whistles, chirps, growls, hisses, and purrs. Florida panthers are average-sized for the species, being smaller than cougars liberate yourself from colder climates, but larger than cougars from loftiness Neotropics. Adult female Florida panthers weigh 29–&#;kg (64–&#;lb), whereas the larger males weigh –72&#;kg (–&#;lb).

Sum total length is from to &#;m ( to &#;ft) and shoulder height is 60–70&#;cm (24–28&#;in).^[7][8] Male panthers, on average, are % longer and % heavier than females because males grow at a get going rate than females and for a longer time.^[9]

Taxonomic status

It was described as a distinct cougar select (Puma concolor coryi) in the late 19th century.^[10] The Florida panther had for a long without fail been considered a unique cougar subspecies, with say publicly scientific nameFelis concolor coryi proposed by Outram Bangs in ^[10] A genetic study of cougar mitochondrial DNA showed that many of the purported wildcat subspecies described in the 19th century are likewise similar to be recognized as distinct.^[11] It was reclassified and subsumed to the North American catamount (P.

c. couguar) in ^[10] Despite these data, it was still referred to as a well-defined subspecies P. c. coryi in ^[12]

In , character Cat Classification Taskforce of the Cat Specialist Assemblage revised the taxonomy of Felidae, and now recognises all cougar populations in North America as P.

c. couguar.^[13]

Distribution and habitat

The Florida panther lives get a move on pinelands, tropical hardwood hammocks and mixed freshwater moss forests. Its range includes the Big Cypress Civil Preserve, Everglades National Park, Florida Panther National Flora and fauna Refuge, Picayune Strand State Forest, as well on account of rural communities in the counties of Collier, Hendry, Lee, Miami-Dade, and Monroe County.

It is ethics only confirmed cougar population in the Eastern Affiliated States, and currently occupies 5% of its celebrated range.^[14] In the s, an estimated 20 Florida panthers remained in the wild,^[15] but their everywhere had increased to an estimated by ^[16]

Behavior avoid ecology

Diet

The Florida panther is a large carnivore whose diet consists both of small animals, such hoot raccoons, armadillos, nutrias, hares, mice, and waterfowl, gain larger prey such as storks, white-tailed deer, wild pigs, and small American alligators.

The Florida puma is an opportunistic hunter, and has been painstaking to prey on livestock and domesticated animals, plus cattle, goats, horses, pigs, sheep, chickens, dogs, add-on cats.^[17] When hunting, panthers shift their hunting conditions based on where the prey base is. Ladylike panthers frequently shift both their home range contemporary movement behavior due to their reproductive rates.^{[18][19][20][21]}

According taking place a study from the University of Georgia, Florida panthers are now the main cause of demise for white-tailed deer in Southwest Florida.^[22] Of cervid captured and fitted with GPS collars during say publicly study, 96 were killed by Florida panthers.^[22] That shows improved health (and therefore ability to hunt) in the endangered panther population.^[23]

Early life

Panther kittens disadvantage born in dens created by their mothers, many a time in dense scrub.

The dens are chosen homegrown on a variety of factors, including prey accessibility, and have been observed in a range portend habitats. Kittens will spend the first 6–8 weeks of life in those dens, dependent on their mother.^[24] In the first 2–3 weeks, the spread spends most of her time nursing the kittens; after this period, she spends more time cringe from the den, to wean the kittens direct to hunt prey to bring to the shelter cloister.

Once they are old enough to leave probity den, they hunt in the company of their mother. Male panthers are not encountered frequently nigh this time, as female and male panthers in general avoid each other outside of breeding. Kittens update usually 2 months old when they begin seeking with their mothers, and 2 years old conj at the time that they begin to hunt and live on their own.^[18]

Threats

Humans threaten the Florida panther through poaching innermost wildlife control measures.

Besides human mortality, the pipe threat to the Florida panther is habitat rift. It was historically persecuted, and the population temporary to a small area in southern Florida. Magnanimity population became inbred with individuals having kinked video, and heart and sperm problems.^[25]

The two highest causes of mortality for individual Florida panthers are machine collisions and territorial aggression between Florida panthers.^[26] Conj at the time that these incidents injure the panthers, federal and Florida wildlife officials take them to White Oak Repair in Yulee, Florida, for recovery and rehabilitation waiting for they are well enough to be reintroduced.^[27] Into the bargain, White Oak raises orphaned kittens and has completed so for 12 individuals.

Most recently, an parentless brother and sister were brought to the spirit at 5 months old in after their native was found dead in Collier County, Florida.^[28] Care for being raised, the male and female were insecure in early to the Rotenberger Wildlife Management Piece and Collier County, respectively.^[29]

Primary threats to the mankind as a whole include habitat loss, habitat disrepute, and habitat fragmentation.

Southern Florida is a fast-developing area, and many developments such as Ave Region near Naples, have become extremely controversial for their location in prime panther habitat, and for picture roads surrounding them that kill panthers at hoaxer ever increasing rate.^[30][31][32]

Fragmentation by major roads has critically segmented the sexes of the Florida panther, renovation well.

In a study done between and , most panthers involved in car collisions were start to be male. However, females are much mega reluctant to cross roads. Therefore, roads separate territory, and adult panthers.^[33]

Development, as well as the Caloosahatchee River, are major barriers to natural population expansion.^[34] While young males wander over extremely large areas in search of an available territory, females settle home ranges close to their mothers.

For that reason, panthers are poor colonizers and expand their range slowly, despite occurrences of males far disarray from the core population.

The National Park Use has identified mercury poisoning as a potential warning to panthers in South Florida after a feminine panther from the park died.^[35]

Disease

Antigen analysis on fine Florida panther populations has shown evidence of catlike immunodeficiency virus and puma lentivirus among certain bobtail.

The presence of these viruses is likely associated to mating behaviors and territory sympatry. Although, because Florida panthers have lower levels of the antibodies produced in response to FIV, consistently positive skimpy for the presence of infection is difficult make a victim of find.^[36]

In the – capture season, feline leukemia microbe was first observed in two panthers.

Further evaluation determined an increase in FeLV-positive panthers from Jan to April The virus is lethal, and dismay presence has resulted in efforts to inoculate nobleness population. While no new cases have been known since July , the virus does have possible for reintroduction.^[37]

In August , Florida's Fish and Flora and fauna Conservation Commission identified, through the use of affair cameras, eight endangered panthers affected by an distinguishable neurological disorder, but were unable to identify coarse potential infectious diseases that can affect felines current other species.^[38][39]

Chemicals

Exposure to a variety of chemical compounds in the environment has caused reproductive impairment explicate Florida panthers.

Tests show that the differences halfway males and females in estradiol levels are inconsiderable, which suggests that males have been feminized claim to chemical exposure.

Florida panther endangered animal species

Feminized males are much less likely to replicate, which represents a significant threat to a lot that already has a low population count plus a high level of inbreeding. Chemical compounds go have created abnormalities in Florida panther reproduction incorporate herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides such as benomyl, carbendazim, chlordecone, methoxychlor, methylmercury, fenarimol, and TCDD.^[40]

Genetic depletion

The Florida panther has low genetic diversity due to uncomplicated variety of environmental and genetic factors.

Factors stray include habitat destruction contributed to the formation farm animals an isolated population of puma in the Florida panther. Isolation was followed by a gradual degenerate in the population size that increased the inclination of inbreeding depression.^[41] The lower genetic diversity instruction higher rates of inbreeding led to the added expression of deleterious traits in the populations, indirect in lower overall fitness of the Florida jaguar population.

This also lowers the adaptive capacity devotee the population and increases the likelihood of genealogical defects^[42] such as cryptorchidism and other complications fight back the heart and immune system. Specifically concerning excellence Florida panther, one of the morphological consequences racket inbreeding was a high frequency of cowlicks leading kinked tails.

The frequency of exhibiting a cowlick in a Florida panther population was 94% compared to other pumas at 9%, while the profusion of a kinked tail was 88% as opposite to 27% for other puma subspecies.^[43] To intensify genetic diversity of the Florida panther, eight Texas pumas were introduced to the Florida population pact hopefully promote the survival of the native citizenry.

This genetic rescue aided in reducing the inbreeding coefficient in the Florida panther population, introducing extra genetic variation. The results indicated that the action rates of hybrid kittens were three times improved than those of purebred pumas.^[41] Due to magnanimity successes of this restoration effort, the genetic prostration of the Florida panther population is now distant as much of a problem as it moved to be, but is being monitored since picture population is still in a fragile state.^[44]

Vehicular collisions

Florida panthers live in home ranges between and rectangular kilometres (73 and &#;sq&#;mi).

Within these ranges strengthen many roads and human constructions, which are conventionally traveled on by Florida panthers and can respect in their death by vehicular collision. Efforts stop with reduce collisions with the Florida panther include nocturnal speed reduction zones, special roadsides, headlight reflectors, give orders to rumble strips.

Another method of reducing collisions court case the creation of wildlife corridors. Because wildlife corridors emulate the natural environment, animals are more deceitfully to cross through a corridor rather than organized road because a corridor provides more cover ask prey and predators, and is safer to bad-tempered than a road.^[43]

The number of Florida panthers handle by vehicular collisions has increased in recent years,^[45] and traffic collisions were responsible for the manhood of recorded panther deaths each year between topmost ^[46]

Conservation status

It was formerly considered endangered^[47] or strictly endangered^[48] by the IUCN, but it has note been listed since It was listed as Felis concolor coryi in under the Endangered Species Support Act of ,^[3] and continues to be cloistered as an endangered animal under the Endangered Description Act of ^[2]

Recovery efforts are currently underway pledge Florida to conserve the state's remaining population be more or less native panthers.

This is a difficult task, bring in the panther requires contiguous areas of habitat – each breeding unit, consisting of one male contemporary two to five females, requires about square miles (&#;km²) of habitat.^[49] This animal is considered drive be a conservational flagship because it is expert major contributor to the keystone ecological and evolutionary processes in their environment.^[21] A population of panthers would require 8,–12, square miles (21,–31,&#;km²) of unmanageable and sufficient genetic diversity to avoid inbreeding introduce a result of small population size.

However, clean up study in estimated that about 3, square miles (9,&#;km²) were free for the panthers.^[50] The begin of eight female cougars from a closely tied up Texas population has apparently been successful in justifying inbreeding problems.^[51][52] One objective to panther recovery equitable establishing two additional populations within historic range, orderly goal that has been politically difficult.^[53]

Florida panthers, most often wandering males, have occurred as vagrants outside cosy up Florida.

In , a Georgia man was sentenced to 2 years probation, fined, and handed on the rocks hunting ban during his probation for killing top-notch Florida panther that had walked miles north give explanation Troup County, Georgia.^[54][55] In , a male cougar was shot and killed in the Okefenokee Fen in Georgia.^[56]

Habitat conservation

The conservation of Florida panther habitats is especially important because they rely on magnanimity protection of the forest, specifically hardwood hammock, conifer swamp, pineland, and hardwood swamp, for their survival.^[21] Conservation strategies for Florida panthers tend to precisely on their preferred morning habitats.

However, GPS chase has determined that habitat selection for panthers varies by time of day for all observed mortals, regardless of size or gender. They move take from wetlands during the daytime to prairie grasslands survey night. The implications of these findings suggest divagate conservation efforts must be focused on the packed range of habitats used by Florida panther populations.^[57] Female panthers with cubs build dens for their litters in an equally wide variety of habitats, favoring dense scrub, but also using grassland ahead marshland.^[24]

Management controversy

In , a controversy began involving birth leading Florida panther expert David Maehr.

He was covertly paid by land developers to produce incorrect science papers that were used to permit artefact projects that destroyed Florida panther habitat.^[58][59]

In light recognize accusations against Maehr's work, recovery agencies appointed deft panel of four experts, the Florida Panther Accurate Review Team (SRT), to evaluate the soundness prescription the body of work used to guide painter recovery.

The SRT identified serious problems with Maehr's literature, including poor citations and misrepresentation of string to support unsound conclusions.^[60][61][62] A Data Quality Reality (DQA) complaint brought by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and Andrew Eller, a biologist with birth U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), was fortunate in demonstrating that agencies continued to use imprecise information after it had been clearly identified rightfully such.^[63] As a result of the DQA decree, USFWS admitted errors in the science the action was using and subsequently reinstated Eller, who esoteric been fired by USFWS after filing the DQA complaint.

In two white papers, environmental groups disputable that habitat development was permitted that should mewl have been, and documented the link between inaccurate data and financial conflicts of interest.^[64][65]

David Maehr was covertly paid by developers, and his faulty discipline art research gave developers the necessary permitting to unclouded forests needed by the panthers to retain unembellished viable breeding population.^[58] In January , USFWS unconfined a new draft Florida Panther Recovery Plan provision public review.^[66] The discredited Maehr left Florida dispatch the field of panthers to study black bears in Kentucky; he died in a plane crash in , while doing bear research.^[58]

Relationship with humans

If encountered, the advice for people is not give a positive response run since this may stimulate the panther's discernment to chase.

Instead, it is best to sustain and face the animal and make eye connection. Most Florida panthers will avoid a confrontation. Stress the event of being attacked, an individual sine qua non fight back, without turning their back. Further, in all directions has never been a reported panther attack put it to somebody Florida.

However, in western states, people have antique attacked and fought back successfully with rocks, countryside, or even their bare hands.^[67]

In culture

In , decency Florida panther was chosen as the Florida do up animal.^[68] The animal is the namesake of Southmost Florida's hockey team, and the team has flattering to the preservation of panther habitats.

In rectitude Florida panther was featured on a United States Postal Serviceforever stamp as part of the Endangered Species set, based on a photograph from Book Sartore's Photo Ark. The stamp was dedicated disdain a ceremony at the National Grasslands Visitor Affections in Wall, South Dakota.^[69]

The Florida panther was too prominently featured in the documentary Path of honesty Panther, which highlights conservation efforts to protect loftiness species and share the importance of preserving flora and fauna corridors in Florida.

The film played a part in raising public awareness and influencing the subject of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act.^[70]

References

External links