Editorial: FGCU Panther Posse program
Naples Daily News Tuesday, January 18, 2011
This scene was captured in Estero on Jan. 7.
It’s a Florida panther.
Enjoy the view, because we seldom get to see one up close and personal like this.
This is one of a sequence of five broad-daylight photos made of this panther by a motion-activated camera in an underpass — yes, one of those panther crossings we hear about from time to time — under Corkscrew Road in Estero. The underpass is located just east of the intersection with Alico Road and connects CREW conservation lands on the south with airport conservation lands to the north.
The photo is forwarded to the Daily News by Nancy Payton of the Florida Wildlife Federation and Ricky Pires, who runs a Florida Gulf Coast University nature outreach education program for youngsters.
Rather than joining the statistics of panthers killed on our highways, this panther — thanks to the crossing — is a success story.
Other animals have been photographed using the underpass — deer, coyotes, black bears and bobcats to name a few.
There is a photo gallery online at http://www.fgcu.edu/CAS/WingsofHope/gallery.html with hundreds of candid shots of wildlife using this and the underpasses on State Road 29 near the Panther Refuge.
We ought to try to remember this photo the next time we hear about a panther underpass and perhaps dismiss it as a waste of effort and money.
Some of us wouldn’t trade scenes like this for the world.
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