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The Florida panther was formerly found throughout the southeastern United States,
but had disappeared from most of its range by the late 1920s (Lowery 1936, Young
and Goldman 1946, Tinsley 1970). Florida was one of the first stated to offer
any legal protection to the panther (in the 1950s), and it is now home to the only
known puma population in Eastern North America, consisting of just 30-50 adult
animals (Jordan 1994) confined to fragmented patches of habitat
(Figure 11).
One sub-population (Everglades National Park) became extinct in 1991, when the last
two females known to live in the area died (Hansen 1992) -- the Everglades
are only occasionally frequented now by one male (D. Jordan, pers. comm. 1994).
Everglades' panthers had been previously analyzed genetically and were found not
to be pure coryi: they carried genes from pumas of partial South American
descent released in the Everglades in the 1950s to early 1960s (O'Brien et al.
1990). In comparison with the main Florida panther population (Big Cypress swamp
ecosystem), this introgression of new genetic material could be advantageous, as the
Big Cypress animals have a number of physiological impairments which can be ascribed
to inbreeding depression, caused by population isolation and decline. These include a
high (95%) abnormal sperm count among males, cryptorchidism (one or two undescended
testicles), heart murmurs, and vaginal fibropapillomas (possibly impeding
reproductive success).
Other health problems affecting the population include exposure to domestic
animal-borne disease, such a feline panleukopenia, rabies, feline HIV and parvovirus
(genetic homogeneity may impede immune response), and events which may be due to poor
nutrition,such as anemia and parasitic infestation (Roelke et al. 1993).
Between 1979-1991, road kills accounted for half of all known panther deaths (11 out
of 22: Maehr et al. 1991a). Very high levels of mercury were found in two of
the dead Eveglades panthers, possibly from eating raccoons which had eaten
contaminated fish ( Jordan 1990, Hansen 1992).
These problems have taken on enormous dimensions because little habitat remains to
support large numbers of panthers. What is left of the Florida panther's habitat is
fragmented by agriculture and settlements and criss-crossed by roads. Some of the
most strategically located forested areas are privately owned, and some owners are
hostile to the panther recovery efforts for fear of losing land-use options -- such
as citrus growing. Of approximately 12,555 km2 of
occupied panther range in south Florida, only 47% is in state and federal ownership
(Logan et al. 1993). None of the radio-collared panthers has restricted its
movements solely to public lands. Moreover, as is the case across much of the world,
it is marginal or less productive land that has been given over to the public trust.
Studies have shown that panthers that primarily inhabit private lands are in better
physical condition and have a higher rate of reproductive success than individuals
on public lands, possibly due to greater prey availability and less disturbance from
hunters (Maehr 1990).
There are a number of lessons to be drawn from the case of the Florida panther. The
response of the American conservation authorities has been impressive and had involved
creative management techniques. Following a private initiative in 1976, a Florida
Panther Recovery Team was established with representatives of various Federal and
State agencies and other experts and a full-time Florida Panther Coordinator. The
first task was to find out if panthers survived and their location. A radio-telemetry
program was initiated amid public controversy which intensified when a panther died
after being darted with a tranquilizer. However, the program continued with official
approval. In 1986, a Florida Panther Interagency Committee was established and went
on to work with private landowners to develop a program to preserve vital corridors
and strategic parcels of habitat, with priority initially allocated to 3,752
km2 of privately-owned land
(Maehr 1990, Logan et al. 1993).
However, government response has still been hampered by bureaucracy. A former member
of the Panther Advisory Council has documented the difficulties which arose in
inter-agency cooperation and declared that problems with the Florida panther program
"focus attention on a poorly understood impediment of the recovery of endangered
species in the United States: a land mangement bureaucracy that will not acknowledge
the novel demands of small population biology -- the requisite discipline"
(Alvarez 1993).
The impact of a major highway which cuts through the heart of panther country is being
lessened by the construction of fences and 36 underpasses, undertaken at a cost of $30
million (Harpster 1990); panthers have been using the underpasses (Humphrey
et al. 1991). Emphasis is being given to ensuring adequate densities of white-tailed
deer and wild hogs by control of sport hunting and other recreational activites on
public lands. Wild panthers have been vaccinated against several diseases. Seven kittens
have been removed from the wild and placed in a captive-breeding program to build up a
reserve population to supplement panthers in the wild (Jordan 1991). The panther
has been disgnated the official Florida State animal. Public support has been remarkably
strong, and interest has been generated by the Florida Power and Light Co.'s publication
and distribution of a popularized but thorough discussion of the Florida Panther Recovery
Plan (USFWS 1987, Van Meter 1988).
The government has set the long-term goal of achieving three viable, self-sustaining
populations within the panther's historic range (Jordan 1993). Given the
likelihood of the current population thriving and expanding, reintroduction is the
government's preferred management strategy, and it is currently carrying out its second
reintroduction feasibility study. In the first attempt, seven wild-caught Texas panthers
were released in the Osceola National Forest, in northern Florida on the boundary with
Georgia. While there was evidence of successful land tenure, all were recaptured earlier
than planned due to conflicts with humans -- one, for example, climbed up a tree in a
Jacksonville backyard (Bolgiano 1991). The latest attempt involves 10 Texas
panthers -- three captive-bred and seven wild-caught adults -- which were radio-collared
and released in the same area in February 1993 (Belden and McCown 1993:
Figure 11). It is interesting that, after four months
of monitoring, the captive-raised panthers (which had been given pre-release training
and catching live prey) appeared to have settled down more quickly than wild-caught cats,
using smaller areas and more frequently catching prey (Belden and McCown 1993:).
However, the same problems which occurred in the last study are happening again. Three
cats (two wild-caught, one captive-raised) have been recaptured, and others (wild-caught)
relocated after people complained that the cats threatened life or property
(Belden and McCown 1993, Jordan 1994). The re-capture of the captive-raised male
occurred after he was seen killing a house cat (D. Jordan, pers. comm. 1994).
This provides a good example of the difficulties of reintroducing and conserving big
cats near people.
The Florida Panther Interagency Committee is attempting to deal with the genetic problems
of the panther by giving conceptual approval to restoring historic gene flow (USFWS
1993), either through eventually facilitating connectivity between the south Florida
panthers and reintroduced Texas panthers, or through interactive outbreeding with captive
animals. These plans are complicated by the fact that the U.S. Endangered Species Act may
not extend protection to progeny resulting from intercross breeding. A policy
determination on this matter is presently under development.
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FIGURE 11: Distribution of the Florida panther (P. concolor coryi).
Range based on radio-instrumented segment of the population (19 panthers/May 1994).
Source: Dennis B. Jordan, Florida Panther Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
© 1996 IUCN - The World Conservation Union