Hello Panther pals!

Just making a quick note that I'm going to be active in my blog again soon. I miss posting for my beautiful big cats, I can't live with myself knowing I'm not at least putting their information out there to be seen. Thanks to any and all who read this blog, bless you for caring :)

Florida Panther Day

Panther Advocates,

Save the Florida Panther Day Refuge Open House flyer is attached.


2011 Open House flier.pdf
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https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=12e915e8987d9fba&mt=application/pdf&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D2730ded0f2%26view%3Datt%26th%3D12e915e8987d9fba%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26zw&sig=AHIEtbRYYxsyJfUkcafwLsUDWpxN8vnEVA

Eastern Cougar Declared Extinct

Not the Florida Panther...

This Wednesday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the eastern cougar extinct and is now moving forward with plans to remove them from the Endangered Species Act.

While many suspected that cougars, otherwise known as catamount, mountain cat, mountain lion, panther, or puma, had been wiped out in the east for a while, others believed they were still here eluding humans as to their whereabouts, which lead to their nickname “ghost cat.”

At least 108 sightings have been reported between 1900 and 2010, although none of them were confirmed. Most were believed to have been western cougars spotted during migration, or domesticated or captive cougars that got loose.

In 2007, the UWFWS began a review of trail cameras, eyewitness accounts and road kill reports and is now confident that the eastern cougar is extinct. It’s been 70 years since the last confirmed sighting in Maine.

Eastern cougars once thrived, but became the victims of overzealous hunting and bounties and also suffered from a decline of white-tailed deer, their main prey, which lead to their decline. They were added to the Endangered Species Act in 1973. 

The loss of a top predator has lead to a vast increase in deer populations and a decline in forest health in the east. Some experts believe that the western cougar will eventually makes its way east to fill in the gap.

Others including organizations, such as the Cougar Rewilding Foundation, would like to see a reintroduction of wolves and cougars, but expect that suggestions or plans to do so would meet opposition.

"Our ecosystems are collapsing up and down the East Coast, and they're collapsing because we have too many white-tailed deer," said Christopher Spatz, the organizations president. "Our forests are not being permitted to regenerate."

He added that cougars and wolves would naturally thin the deer herd through direct predation while also acting as "natural shepherds," forcing deer to become more vigilant and "stop browsing like cattle." Read more: extinct, animal welfare, endangered species act, big cats, fish and wildlife service, eastern cougar, ghost cat

Mysterious Florida panther deaths have officials concerned - DAMN EVIL BASTARDS >(

By Craig Pittman, St Pete Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, March 2, 2011

http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/mysterious-florida-panther-deaths-have-officials-concerned/1154568

Is it open season on Florida panthers?

In the past two years, three of the endangered panthers have been killed under mysterious circumstances, prompting federal investigations that so far have not yielded an arrest. The most recent one was discovered a week ago.

At least one of the three panthers was shot. Federal officials won't say what killed the others.

"This has us worried," said Laurie Macdonald of Defenders of Wildlife, an environmental group whose Florida headquarters is in St. Petersburg.

Panther advocates fear the mysterious deaths may be connected with a growing problem of panthers killing domestic livestock such as cows and goats, said Nancy Payton of the Florida Wildlife Federation.

As the ranchers lose more cattle and other animals to the big cats, "some people finding a panther on their property may shoot them and then bury or dump them someplace else," Payton said. "There are some frustrated men out there, some frustrated ranchers and farmers."

Although Macdonald and Payton were quick to say no one should jump to conclusions, one of the most vocal ranchers says those suspicions about some frustrated person taking the law into his or her own hands might not be off-base.

"Is it possible?" asked Liesa Priddy, whose family runs the JB Ranch — and who figures to have lost 100 calves to panthers. "Sure. It is a very frustrating situation."

The most recent cat corpse, a panther designated as UCFP 155 because it had no radio-tracking collar, turned up Feb. 23 in Collier County in South Florida. Federal officials won't say anything more about it — including exactly where in Collier County it was found or how it was killed — except to say that the death is under investigation.

In October 2009, a panther was found dead near the Ave Maria development in Collier County. Federal officials said they were investigating, but would release no further details.

And in April 2009, someone shot a female panther in Hendry County. The carcass was found on a wetland mitigation bank near the Big Cypress National Preserve. Despite the offer of a $15,000 reward, federal officials have made no arrests in that case, said Ken Warren of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

And those are the ones state and federal officials know about. Payton said she fears there may be other panthers that were killed that no one has found. She calls it the "shoot and shovel" system for dealing with the big cats.

Normally panthers eat deer and hogs, with the occasional raccoon or opossum. But in recent years, as people have crowded into what was once panther habitat even as the panther population grew, biologists have discovered panthers eating domestic cats and goats.

Ranchers long suspected that the state animal was also attacking their cattle, but they had no proof — until last fall when someone wearing night-vision goggles witnessed a panther kill a calf on Priddy's ranch. Biologists captured that panther and moved it, but ranchers said that wouldn't do anything about all the other panthers they were sure were killing calves.

"We know we're having problems because we see the panthers and we know they're here, and we look at the percentage of deaths among our calves," Buzz Stoner, manager of the nearby Immokalee Ranch, said then.

Because each calf is worth between $600 and $800, the losses take a serious financial toll on the ranchers' bottom line. Although there have been talks among state officials about setting up a compensation fund to pay ranchers for any losses to panthers, so far they have not yielded any solid proposals, Priddy said.

For 53 years it's been illegal to kill a panther. But between 1978 and 2008, state records show, seven panthers were shot, five fatally. Also shot and killed: a Texas cougar brought in to refresh the panthers' genetic stock. Of those eight shootings of big cats, only two people were ever prosecuted.

The most famous was James Billie, then chief of the Seminole tribe, who shot and skinned a panther in 1983. He was acquitted by a jury after his attorney raised questions about panther genetics. The second poacher hauled into court was a deer hunter named Elmer Booker who said he shot a panther because he feared it might climb his tree stand and kill him. Although he pleaded guilty, the judge, an avid hunter, refused to put him in jail and instead sentenced him to probation.

Panther Advocates,

This is too bad – a reproductive age female panther was apparently killed by another panther in wild habitat – some of you will remember this photograph of her with two kittens last year.

Elizabeth

From: Onorato, Dave [mailto:Dave.Onorato@MyFWC.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 3:01 PM
Subject: Death of FP170

All:

This report, required by Section 2(d) of the Endangered Species Cooperative Agreement between the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), is to provide you details regarding the death and handling of a Florida panther. 

The remains of an approximately 4.5 year old collared female panther, FP170, were collected on 2 March 2011 in the Picayune Strand State Forest (PSSF) in Collier County. The cause of death appears to be intraspecific aggression, but this will be verified after a necropsy is completed. The carcass is currently at the FWC Naples Field Office and will eventually be transported to the Wildlife Research Lab in Gainesville for a complete necropsy.  The remains will be archived at the FL Museum of Natural History. This is the 8^th panther mortality for 2011.

FP170 was initially collared on 26 February of 2009 in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park by the FWC capture team.  She was photographed on 1 March 2010 in the PSSF during aerial monitoring by FWC with 2 surviving kittens from her litter of 3 born in July of 2009 in the PSSF (see attached photo).  One of the two surviving kittens in that photograph, now 19 months old, was captured in Big Cypress National Preserve (BCNP) by the BCNP capture team in February 2011. 

This information is being provided as required by Section 2(d) of the Endangered Species Cooperative Agreement between the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).  It is not intended as a News Release.  All information should be considered “pending” until all necropsy results and tests are finalized.

Date	Panther ID	Sex	Age	Location	Cause	Type	Year	NAD83E	NAD83N
1/5/2011	FP141	M	8.5	Private property, Hendry County	Unknown	DEATH	2011	493576	2917771
1/7/2011	K284	M	1.5	SR29 south of Sears Rd., Hendry County	Vehicle	DEATH	2011	456583	2946741
1/13/2011	UCFP152	F	3	MM98 on I75 Eastbound, Collier County	Vehicle	DEATH	2011	436807	2892929
1/21/2011	UCFP153	M	8 months	MM98 on I75 Westbound, Collier County	Vehicle	DEATH	2011	436221	2892997
1/21/2011	UCFP154	M	10-11 months	Orange grove north of Sears Rd, Hendry County	ISA	DEATH	2011	464311	2949370
	UCFP155			Under investigation
2/26/2011	UCFP156	M	3-4	I-75 near MM114, Collier County	Vehicle	DEATH	2011	425712	2910414
3/2/2011	FP170	F	4.5	Picayune Strand State Forest, Collier County	ISA	DEATH	2011	449388	2884684

Dave Onorato, Ph.D.

Associate Research Scientist

Florida Panther Project

Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

FL Panther Info =^^=

FLORIDA PANTHER
Felis concolor coryi
Range:	The remaining Florida panthers are restricted to southwestern Florida near Big Cypress National Preserve. Historical range: The Florida panther's range was once throughout Florida and the Southeast.	Road kills and illegal hunting account for some panther deaths but habitat loss is by far their greatest threat. They need large tracts of land with adequate prey to survive. Development, agriculture, roads and all-terrain vehicles threaten the panther. The small panther population is also negatively affected by inbreeding. The Florida panther has several features which reflect its predator lifestyle such as: a strong, heavy jaw; fur between toes to help muffle walking sounds; tiny, sharp, horny points on the tongue to help tear meat; vision that is well adapted for nighttime sight and motion detection; well developed sense of smell; acute hearing; and ears that can swivel to home in on sounds. Panthers are essentially solitary and nocturnal. The range of a male overlaps those of several females. Adults are rarely found together outside of breeding season. An adult panther may travel more than 19 miles in a single night. The name "panther" originally was the general name for large cats around the world, especially black cats. Early settlers who saw these cats at night may have thought they were black, hence t he name panther. Panther is also derived from the Greek word "leopard" because when panthers are young, they are spotted like true leopards. In 1982, the panther was designated the official mammal of the state of Florida.
Habitat:	Dense forests, swamps and hammocks
Diet:	Includes deer, wild hogs, raccoons, armadillos, rabbits, cotton rats, birds, alligators and carrion.
Status:	Endangered- only 30 to 50 animals remain in the wild.
Approximate Dimensions of Adult:	Weight: A male weighs 106-148 lbs. while a female weights 65-100 lbs. Length: 6 to 7 feet from nose to tail tip Height: 24 to 28 inches at shoulder
Lifespan:	n/a
Reproduction & Offspring:	n/a

Death of UCFP156

Onorato, Dave [mailto:Dave.Onorato@MyFWC.com]
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 12:16 PM
Subject: Death of UCFP156

All:

This report, required by Section 2(d) of the Endangered Species Cooperative Agreement between the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), is to provide you details regarding the death and handling of a Florida panther. 

The remains of an approximately 3-4 year old uncollared male panther, UCFP156, were collected on 26 February 2011 in the median of I75 near MM114 in Collier County. The cause of death was trauma associated with a vehicle collision. The carcass is being transported to the FWC Wildlife Research Lab in Gainesville for a complete necropsy.  The remains will be archived at the FL Museum of Natural History. This is the 7^th panther mortality for 2011 and the 4^th road mortality.

This information is being provided as required by Section 2(d) of the Endangered Species Cooperative Agreement between the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).  It is not intended as a News Release.  All information should be considered “pending” until all necropsy results and tests are finalized.

Date	Panther ID	Sex	Age	Location	Cause	Type	Year	NAD83E	NAD83N
1/5/2011	FP141	M	8.5	Private property, Hendry County	Unknown	DEATH	2011	493576	2917771
1/7/2011	K284	M	1.5	SR29 south of Sears Rd., Hendry County	Vehicle	DEATH	2011	456583	2946741
1/13/2011	UCFP152	F	3	MM98 on I75 Eastbound, Collier County	Vehicle	DEATH	2011	436807	2892929
1/21/2011	UCFP153	M	8 months	MM98 on I75 Westbound, Collier County	Vehicle	DEATH	2011	436221	2892997
1/21/2011	UCFP154	M	10-11 months	Orange grove north of Sears Rd, Hendry County	ISA	DEATH	2011	464311	2949370
	UCFP155			Under investigation
2/26/2011	UCFP156	M	3-4	I-75 near MM114, Collier County	Vehicle	DEATH	2011	425712	2910414

Dave Onorato- Associate Research Scientist

Florida Panther Project

Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Florida Panther Petition: Please sign :)

http://animals.change.org/actions/view/stop_the_killing_of_the_florida_panther

IF it takes you to the main page just put in "STOP THE KILLING OF THE FLORIDA PANTHER!" in the search box and it will show a pic link, click on it and you'll be at the petition! Pls. we need sigs, 3 have died in 2 weeks!

Reintroduction of Endangered Florida Panthers to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge Needed for Recovery

From: Center for Biological Diversity
Published February 11, 2011

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga.— Conservation groups filed a scientific petition Thursday seeking the reintroduction of the critically endangered Florida panther into southern Georgia and northern Florida as a crucial step in the species’ recovery. The petition requests that the Interior Department issue a rule authorizing the release of panthers in and around the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, an area unoccupied by Florida panthers but part of their historic range. Reintroduction of Florida panthers into suitable habitat within the species’ historic range is called for in the Interior Department’s 2008 Florida panther recovery plan.


“For the Florida panther to have any chance at long-term survival it needs more than one population in South Florida,” said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, the primary author of the petition. “Reintroduction of Florida panthers will aid their recovery and help restore the natural balance in some of the ecosystems in which panthers lived for thousands of years.”


Florida panthers used to live throughout the Southeast, but currently the only breeding population consists of 100 to 120 animals in South Florida that are distributed across less than 5 percent of the species’ historic range. The recovery plan calls for protecting remaining occupied habitat and establishing two new populations of at least 240 animals each through reintroduction.


Scientists have identified the Greater Okefenokee Ecosystem in South Georgia and North Florida as the best habitat for a reintroduction of Florida panthers, with an abundance of deer and feral hogs for prey, and a top prospect for reintroduction. Panthers would aid regeneration of the region’s much-diminished longleaf pine forests through preying on feral hogs that eat the longleaf pine saplings and seed cones.


“The panther was once shepherd to the vast reaches of the vanishing longleaf pine ecosystem,” said Christopher Spatz, president of the Cougar Rewilding Foundation. “May this day mark the beginning of the recovery of the forest by restoring its ancient guardian."


“Science, both biological and social, clearly indicates that recovery can be achieved,” said Stephen Williams, president of The Florida Panther Society, Inc. “The long-sought resolution to the future of the Florida panther is in its reintroduction and the recovery that will follow. We applaud all efforts by interested parties who care about the panther and the southeastern U.S. The American people have been unwavering in support of recovery of Puma concolor coryi for over 43 years. We ask the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and all state and federal authorities to move resolutely forward to fulfill their obligation.”


One More Generation of Fayetteville, Georgia, was founded by two elementary-age students, Carter Ries (now nine) and his sister Olivia (age eight). “Our network of children wishes to ensure that all endangered species survive at least one more generation and beyond,” said Jim Ries, father of Carter and Olivia. “To grant them that simple, unstinting wish, we believe Georgians can learn to safely share the wildest corners of our state with Florida panthers.”





Contact Info: Michael Robinson, Center for Biological Diversity, (575) 534-0360
Christopher Spatz, Cougar Rewilding Foundation, (845) 658-9889
Stephen L. Williams, The Florida Panther Society, Inc., (386) 397-2945