Florida Panther

In 1967 the department of the interior listed the florida panther as an endangered subspecies.

Florida panther. Female panthers have only been documented in south florida so that is where all known breeding occurs. The florida panther is a subspecies of the cougar whose last remaining population only exists in south florida in less than 5 of its former range. The florida panther is a north american cougar p. The florida panther is a subspecies of puma concolor also known as mountain lion cougar or puma and represents the only known breeding population of puma in the eastern united states.

Since then the u s. In south florida it lives in pinelands tropical hardwood hammocks and mixed freshwater swamp forests. Today the primary threats to the remaining panther population are habitat loss fragmentation and degradation. Although most panthers are found south of lake okeechobee they have been documented throughout the peninsula and even into georgia.

Endangered species act 1973. Males can weigh up to 73 kg 161 lb and live within a range that includes the big cypress national preserve everglades national park the florida panther national wildlife refuge picayune strand state forest rural. The florida panther is the only subspecies of mountain lion that remains in the eastern united states. Florida panthers are the only breeding group of pumas in the eastern united states.

Florida panthers once prowled and flourished in woodlands and swamps throughout the southeast. Florida panthers were heavily hunted after 1832 when a bounty on panthers was created. When european settlers arrived in the 1600s the clear cutting building and other human activities that destroy degrade and fragment habitat began and the fear and misconceptions that. Perceived as a threat to humans livestock and game animals the species was nearly extinct by the mid 1950s.

Fish and wildlife service has worked. Through historical bounties habitat destruction habitat fragmentation genetic bottle necking and road collisions florida panthers are estimated to only have a total population of 120 230. Florida panther member of a population of large new world cats of the species puma concolor family felidae confined to a small isolated and inbred group in southern florida and protected by the u s. Florida panthers are the larger of florida s two native cat species panthers and bobcats.

The florida panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the miami metropolitan area they compete in the national hockey league nhl as a member of the atlantic division of the eastern conference the team initially played their home games at miami arena before moving to the bb t center in 1998. Located in sunrise florida the panthers are the southernmost team in the nhl.