The Florida panther is clinging to survival on a habitat area that represents just five percent of its original range. Once abundant throughout the state, the panther now occupies just a few parcels in southwest Florida in a population that is thought to number around 100 animals.
While the panther’s survival is increasingly imperiled by habitat loss, vehicle collisions, and loss of genetic diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has yet to designate critical habitat to protect what little viable habitat area remains for the iconic cat. Despite agreement by biologists that the species faces a high likelihood of extinction in the absence of protections for its remaining habitat, FWS continues to approve new roads and other development in the heart of panther country.
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- Only 9 kittens were born in 2018 litters, well below a replacement level, continuing a negative trend with births falling more than two-thirds in five years. Litters last balanced deaths in 2014;
- Since 2014, Florida has experienced almost twice as many panther deaths as births; and
- One third of the panthers killed in 2018 were females of reproductive age, whose survival is key to re-growing the population.
In its checkered history of panther conservation, the agency has hidden behind numerous excuses to justify its failure to act including flawed science and the position, outlined in its Recovery Plan, that insufficient habitat exists in Florida to allow for recovery, regardless of agency actions. Panther biologists say that the panther can recover in Florida, given the political will to establish and enforce protections. Read more about the woefully deficient plans to protect the panther
thus far and take action.
NEWS FROM PEER
Florida Panthers Pad Toward Extinction
2018 Another High Lethality Year as Deaths Increasingly Outpace Declining Births
...Another Lethal Year for Florida Panthers in 2017
Deaths Again Outstrip Litters with Heavy Toll on Females of Reproductive Age
...Florida Panther Deaths Tie Record High in 2016
80% Killed in Collisions – a New All-Time High Rate and Number
...FLORIDA PANTHER DEATHS SET ANOTHER RECORD IN 2015
70% Killed in Collisions; Nearly One-Quarter Females of Kitten-Bearing Age
...RECORD FLORIDA PANTHER MORTALITY IN 2014
50% Increase over Prior Year; More Than a Third Females of Kitten-Bearing Age
...FOUR MORE FLORIDA PANTHERS DIE IN NOVEMBER; TWO THIS WEEK
With 23 Deaths So Far This Year, 2012 Could Become Deadliest on Record
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