Saving the Pumas & Florida Panthers
Florida panthers are the most endangered mammals in the world. Habitat loss and hunting are the key reasons there are so few of them. The Florida panther is a subspecies of the cougar. The Florida panther was hunted until the 1950’s when it was removed from the gaming list and put on the endangered species list. Automobiles are hitting a common cause of panther deaths and hunters still shoot them occasionally.
The cougar will eat anything in its habitat range that is an animal. Deer make up most of its diet. It will also eat squirrels, rabbits, beavers, armadillos, wild pigs, rodents, turkeys, alligators, carrion, insects, porcupines, and even skunks. The cougars are very stealthy hunters. Cougars have been known to attack people. The cougar’s habitat is mostly in the western Rockies.
The cougar is a very cool animal. These cats exhibit a light tan to grayish brown coat. The underside is lighter with darker markings on the ears, around the eyes, and tail. Although this is a large cat (up to at least 70 kg for an adult male), it is not officially a big cat. The hyoid bones are like those of the lesser cats including the domesticated cat. Thus the cougar can purr but cannot roar. The cougar is mostly nocturnal. The cougar is the second best leaper in the cat family, second only to the snow leopard. Leaps close to forty feet are known with vertical leaps in excess of fifteen feet.
Its habitat is in large wilderness tracts with adequate cover and prey. Water does not present a barrier. Swimming is well documented.
In general, panther population centers appear to indicate a preference toward large remote tracts with adequate prey, cover, and reduced levels of disturbance. A telemetry study on the Florida panther was initiated in south Florida by the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission (Commission) in 1981. This initial study has since been expanded by the Commission, and the National Park Service initiated additional studies in 1986. One of the goals of these telemetry projects is to learn more about panther habitat. As of June 1993, data had been gathered from 54 radio-instrumented panthers.
Data from panthers monitored by the Commission in southwest Florida since 1985 indicate that, overall, habitat use is highly diverse and varies from north to south. Diversity of habitats used by panthers is greater in northern parts of the study area and dominated by uplands (hardwood hammocks, low pinelands, and palm forests). Lower diversity and predominately wetland habitat use are characteristic of southern areas (mixed swamp and cypress swamp). Appropriate cover is an important component of habitats used, especially during hunting, dinning, and day bedding. Saw palmetto was the dominant cover in 72 percent of observed day bedding sites.
Annual home-range sizes of 26 instrumented panthers monitored in southwest Florida varied from 20 to 457 mi2. Home ranges averaged 200 mi2 for resident adult males, 75 mi2 for adult females, 241 mi2 for transient males, and 69 mi2 for sub adult females
Its diet uaslly is carnivorous: small to medium prey. White-tailed deer is favored. Creatures as large as moose are consumed and footage of cougars chasing snowshoe hares is commonly seen on nature programs. Other predators like foxes and bobcats are also known prey for cougars.
The life of the panthers solitary except during breeding and females with cubs. An average of two to four cubs are born after a three-month gestation. Cubs are born spotted but will mature into their uniform coat by their first year. Approximately 30% of the cubs will die prior to maturity. Juveniles leave the mother around 18 months. Longevity of twenty years in captivity.
Mature male panthers examined in the wild in Florida since 1978 have weighed from 1O2 to 154 pounds and measured nearly 7 feet from nose to tip of tail. Females were considerably smaller, with a weight range of 50 to 1O8 pounds and measuring about 6 feet.
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Copyright © 2001 Shawn Swanson,Matt Keating,David Rule,Ian Mosher. All Rights Reserved