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A young Florida panther’s death in January marked a grim start to the year for the endangered species.
The male panther, known as UCFP479, was killed in a vehicle collision on a rural road in southwestern Florida, highlighting the increasing threat of human development to the vulnerable population.
Sadly, UCFP479, just under two years old, is unlikely to be the last panther lost this year. 2024 saw a record 36 panther deaths documented by state wildlife officials, the highest number since 2016. Vehicle collisions accounted for the majority of these fatalities, including one instance involving a train.
The growing human population and accompanying development in southwestern Florida are encroaching on the panthers’ habitat. Current estimates suggest only 120 to 230 adult Florida panthers remain in the wild, concentrated in this increasingly urbanized corner of the state.
Loss of habitat
The Florida panther, which is similar to but smaller than the Western cougar or mountain lion, once roamed across a large swath of the southeastern U.S. Hunting and habitat loss have decimated the species’ numbers and confined them to a shrinking space of about 2 million acres, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Indeed, along what were once narrow country roads in eastern Collier and Lee counties there are numerous major projects under way that will create tens of thousands of homes and the traffic that comes with them.
“We’re at a critical juncture now,” said Michael McGrath of the Sierra Club, which recently led a tour of panther country for journalists and activists. “We’re going to see more and more deaths. Sprawl kills.”
Environmental groups have been fighting an uphill battle to curb some of the development and vow to continue those efforts.
“You can see all of that land is primary panther habitat,” said Amber Crooks, environmental policy manager at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. “We have to fight until that last decision is made.”
Conservation efforts
The Florida panther is the only established population of pumas east of the Mississippi River, according to the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. They have been listed as federally endangered since 1967. A 26,600-acre (10,700-hectare) panther refuge was established in 1989 next to the Big Cypress National Preserve, west of the Everglades.
In 1981, the state began capturing panthers to check their health, administer vaccines, take genetic samples and fit them with radio collars to track them.
The panther population at one point in the 1990s dropped to around 50 animals, in part because of inbreeding that caused numerous health problems. That led officials to import eight female Texas pumas to Florida to breed with males, helping boost panther numbers and improving their genetic diversity. The offspring are considered to be Florida panthers and are protected under the Endangered Species Act, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Characteristics of panthers
Florida panthers resemble the cougars and pumas found in the American West, with beige or tan fur and white markings underneath. They eat various types of prey, especially deer and raccoons.
Males tend to roam more than females in search of territory and sometimes are spotted near the Orlando area. One male was shot and killed by a hunter in Georgia in 2008, wildlife officials say. Because males roam more, they are more prone to being struck by vehicles.
Panthers face the threat of disease, including a form of feline leukemia transmitted to them by domestic cats. Bobcats also are prone to the disease.
A 2002 outbreak of feline leukemia killed at least five panthers, federal wildlife officials say.
Another emerging disease appears to cause weakness in the rear legs of panthers and bobcats, many of them seen walking unsteadily on trail video cameras.
“We encourage the public to continue to submit footage and pictures of wildlife that appear to have problems with their rear legs,” the Florida wildlife commission said in an online post.
Some are killed through fights among themselves, especially males.
