Orlando
ELEMENTS OF BIODIVERSITY – ANIMALS
4
Florida Panther
Tampa
St. Petersburg
West Palm
Beach
95
Ft. Lauderdale
75
Puma
Historical range
Present range
Primary zone
Hall, 1981
Secondary zone
Panther Habitat Zones
Miami
Dispersal zone
A team of panther experts assembled by the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service used a combination
of radiotelemetry records and land use/land
cover data to delineate Primary and Secondary
zones that support the current Florida panther
population. The Primary Zone generally
supports the present population and is of highest
conservation value. The Secondary Zone requires
some level of habitat restoration to accommodate
expansion of the population. The Dispersal Zone
was identified to accommodate future panther
dispersal outside of South Florida.
Location recordings
outside of the habitat zones
FWC
40
miles
Pe a c e
Tracking Movement
Kiss
m
im
L.
Istokpoga
ee
Lake
Okeechobee
ah
loos
Ca
atchee
2004
2005
2006
75
Young male panthers
are known to move long
distances in search of new
territories and mates. This
is illustrated by the series of
positions recorded over a
three-year period of panther
#130, a young male. These
data also show the use of a
variety of habitats for hunting
and that forested areas are
important for daytime resting.
David Moynahan
FWC
0
20
miles
Front
0
3
Inches
Rear
Baby Blues
Florida panther kitten eyes, like these from radiocollared panther FP158’s litter, start out blue at birth
and turn golden after a few months, about the same
time they lose their camouflaging dark spots.
Panther Population
90
80
70
Florida panther (relative size)
bobcat house cat
60
50
Total number
Number killed on the road
40
30
20
10
FWC
Number of Panthers
Though protected by state and federal
listing as an endangered species, the
Florida panther continues to face the
threats of habitat loss, road mortality,
and reduced genetic health. Recovery of
the Florida panther is dependent upon
protection of extensive areas of habitat
in South Florida with safe connections
between these areas.
FWC
Lake
Okeechobee
he Florida panther (Puma
concolor coryi) is the last surviving
subspecies of Puma in the eastern
U.S. It once ranged throughout the
southeastern U.S. from Arkansas and
Louisiana eastward across Mississippi,
Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and parts
of South Carolina and Tennessee. As
a result of extermination efforts and
habitat loss, Florida panthers were
eliminated from most of their former
range and now are restricted to an
isolated population in southern Florida.
Two other eastern subspecies, P. c.
couguar (Northeast) and P. c. schorgeri
(Great Plains), are considered extinct.
Several western subspecies of Puma,
commonly referred to as cougar or
mountain lion, range from Canada
through Central America and down the
Andes Mountains to Chile.
0
91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99
00
20
90
19
81
19
82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89
01 02 03 04 05 06 07
Highlighted Species
m
sim
Pe a c e
Kis
T
ee
75
0
II
Because Florida panthers are secretive
and wide ranging, estimating their total
number is difficult. Panther biologists
maintain data including approximate
birth date for all individuals
encountered to determine the known
(minimum) number of panthers over
time. These data show a notable
increase in the population following
the release of eight female Texas
pumas (Puma concolor stanleyana)
within South Florida during 1995,
which was intended to increase the
genetic health of the population.
Causes of Death
Radiocollared Panthers, 1981–2009
Unknown, 20%
Intraspecific
aggression, 44%
Other, 13%
Feline leukemia
virus, 3%
Vehicle collisions,
20%
FWC
81