The Florida panther is a North American cougar (Puma concolor couguar) population in South Florida. It lives in pinelands, tropical hardwood hammocks and mixed freshwater swamp forests. Its range includes the Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Picayune Strand State Forest, as well as rural communities in the counties of Collier, Hendry, Hardee, Desoto, Lee, Miami-Dade, and Monroe County. It is the only confirmed cougar population in the Eastern United States, and currently occupies 5% of its historic range. As of 2024, about 200 individuals are left in the wild.
Description Florida panthers are spotted at birth, and typically have blue eyes. As the panther grows, the spots fade and the coat becomes completely tan, while the eyes typically take on a yellow hue. The panther's underbelly is a creamy white, and it has black tips on the tail and ears. Florida panthers lack the ability to roar, and instead make distinct sounds that include whistles, chirps, growls, hisses, and purrs. Florida panthers are average-sized for the species, being smaller than cougars from colder climates, but larger than cougars from the tropics. Adult female Florida panthers weigh , whereas the larger males weigh . Total length is from and shoulder height is .WEC 167/UW176: Jaguar: Another Threatened Panther. Edis.ifas.ufl.edu. Retrieved on 2012-05-02.PantherNet : Handbook: Natural History : Physical Description . Floridapanthernet.org. Retrieved on 2012-05-02. Male panthers, on average, are 9.4% longer and 33.2% heavier than females because males grow at a faster rate than females and for a longer time.
Taxonomic status It was described as a distinct cougar subspecies (Puma concolor coryi) in the late 19th century. The Florida panther had for a long time been considered a unique cougar subspecies, with the scientific name Felis concolor coryi proposed by Outram Bangs in 1899. A genetic study of cougar mitochondrial DNA showed that many of the purported cougar subspecies described in the 19th century are too similar to be recognized as distinct. It was reclassified and subsumed to the North American cougar (P. c. couguar) in 2005. Despite these findings, it was still referred to as a distinct subspecies P. c. coryi in 2006.
In 2017, the Cat Classification Taskforce of the Cat Specialist Group revised the taxonomy of Felidae, and now recognises all cougar populations in North America as P. c. couguar.
Behavior and ecology
Habitat The Florida panther lives in pinelands, tropical hardwood hammocks and mixed freshwater swamp forests. Its range includes the Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Picayune Strand State Forest, as well as rural communities in the counties of Collier, Hendry, Lee, Miami-Dade, and Monroe County. It is the only confirmed cougar population in the Eastern United States, and currently occupies 5% of its historic range. In the 1970s, an estimated 20 Florida panthers remained in the wild, but their numbers had increased to an estimated 230 by 2017.FWC Florida Panther . myfwc.com June 24, 2017
Diet The Florida panther is a large carnivore whose diet consists both of small animals, such as raccoons, armadillos, nutrias, hares, mice, and waterfowl, and larger prey such as storks, white-tailed deer, feral pigs, and small American alligators. The Florida panther is an opportunistic hunter, and has been known to prey on livestock and domesticated animals, including cattle, goats, horses, pigs, sheep, chickens, dogs, and cats. When hunting, panthers shift their hunting environment based on where the prey base is. Female panthers frequently shift both their home range and movement behavior due to their reproductive rates.
According to a 2022 study from the University of Georgia, Florida panthers are now the main cause of death for white-tailed deer in Southwest Florida. Of 241 deer captured and fitted with GPS collars during the study, 96 were killed by Florida panthers. This shows improved health (and therefore ability to hunt) in the endangered panther population. The panthers are also competing with the Burmese pythons. With the snakes eating the panther's food, it is making it harder for them to hunt and stay alive.
Early life
Panther kittens are born in dens created by their mothers, often in dense scrub. The dens are chosen based on a variety of factors, including prey availability, and have been observed in a range of habitats. Kittens will spend the first 6–8 weeks of life in those dens, dependent on their mother. In the first 2–3 weeks, the mother spends most of her time nursing the kittens; after this period, she spends more time away from the den, to wean the kittens and to hunt prey to bring to the den. Once they are old enough to leave the den, they hunt in the company of their mother. Male panthers are not encountered frequently during this time, as female and male panthers generally avoid each other outside of breeding. Kittens are usually 2 months old when they begin hunting with their mothers, and 2 years old when they begin to hunt and live on their own.
Lifespan Florida panthers can typically live up to 20 years but some individuals might live longer. Male panthers often have a shorter lifespan due to fights with other panthers over territory and females, and they travel more widely exposing them to accidents such as with vehicles and encounters with people.
Threats
The biggest threat to the species is habitat loss. The two highest causes of mortality for individual Florida panthers are automobile collisions and territorial aggression between Florida panthers.
Habitat loss Primary threats to the population as a whole include habitat loss, habitat degradation, and habitat fragmentation. A crucial requirement for Florida panthers is the need for dense vegetation that provides concealment for resting, hunting, and raising kittens. This vegetation allows panthers to stalk prey, avoid conflicts, and protect their cubs. This loss through development or habitat thinning can directly affect their ability to survive. The FWC explains that even areas with sufficient prey may become unsuitable if vegetation is stripped too thin.
Southern Florida is a fast-developing area, and many developments such as Ave Maria near Naples, have become extremely controversial for their location in prime panther habitat, and for the roads surrounding them that kill panthers at an increasing rate.
Fragmentation by major roads has severely segmented the sexes of the Florida panther, as well. In a study done between 1981 and 2004, most panthers involved in car collisions were found to be male. However, females are much more reluctant to cross roads. Therefore, roads separate habitat, and adult panthers.
The space that they have to travel in has shrunk to 2 million acres. In its place are homes and roads that they have to compete with.
Development, as well as the Caloosahatchee River, are major barriers to natural population expansion. While young males wander over extremely large areas in search of an available territory, females occupy home ranges close to their mothers. For this reason, panthers are poor colonizers and expand their range slowly, despite occurrences of males far away from the core population.
Vehicle collisions Vehicle collisions are the leading cause of individual panther mortality. Florida panthers live in home ranges between . Within these ranges are many roads and human constructions, which are regularly traveled on by Florida panthers and can result in their death by vehicular collision. The number of Florida panthers killed by vehicular collisions has increased in recent years, and traffic collisions were responsible for the majority of recorded panther deaths each year between 2014 and 2021. Males are killed at a higher ratio (60%) because they travel more widely. Eighty-percent of panthers that are killed in vehicle collisions are young, four years of age or less.
Intraspecies aggression Territorial aggression between Florida panthers is the second leading cause of individual panther mortality.
Competition with invasive snakes Florida's invasive snakes like Burmese pythons are a leading threat to panthers. These snakes are known to consume large animals like deer and alligators. Snakes also eat the animals panthers depend on for their own survival. After the introduction of the pythons, resulting from the exotic pet trade in Florida, large mammals have decreased by an average of 90% since 1990 levels. Specific figures on the decline in panthers is not known.
Pollution Exposure to a variety of chemical compounds in the environment has caused reproductive impairment to Florida panthers. Tests show that the differences between males and females in estradiol levels are insignificant, which suggests that males have been feminized due to chemical exposure. Feminized males are much less likely to reproduce, which represents a significant threat to a subspecies that already has a low population count and a high level of inbreeding. Chemical compounds that have created abnormalities in Florida panther reproduction include herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides such as benomyl, carbendazim, chlordecone, methoxychlor, methylmercury, fenarimol, and TCDD.
Mercury pollution poses a serious risk to Florida panthers. Scientists first became aware of the threat in 1989 when a female panther died and was later found to have high concentrations of mercury in her liver. Air pollution from metal-mining and smelting, coal-fired utilities, and incinerators deposit into the Everglades through rainfall. It is converted by bacteria into toxic methylmercury, which builds up in the food chain; from algae and periphyton, to insects, fish, raccoons, and panthers. Because panthers in parts of their range rely on raccoons or fish as a food source, their health is threatened when an abundant amount are consumed.
Corruption Financial corruption and political changes pose a significant risk to panthers. According to a 2021 investigative report, "money and politics could doom the Florida panther".
David Maehr
In 2003, a corruption controversy emerged involving David Maehr, a leading Florida panther expert. Land developers hired Maehr, who then produced scientifically unsound papers that deliberately downplayed the importance of certain lands for panther survival. These flawed studies were then submitted to permitting agencies to justify development and forest-clearing projects, destroying habitat for the Florida panther.