Panther 8 8

[Milton Beaty]

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In return, some schools participate in our voluntary "Pennies for Panthers" fundraiser. Funds collected help purchase and maintain the program's wildlife cameras. Images are shared with environmental organizations, wildlife biologists, and all participating schools for research and awareness.

FGCU students train and present information on four Florida wildlife challenges: Florida Panther Natural History, Research and Coexistence with Wildlife, Panther Kittens, and Wildlife Classifications and Tracks. All activities and materials implement academic standards and STEM learning.

Both elementary and college students educate others about what they learned. This educates an additional 10,000 people every year about Florida panthers, how to co-exist with wildlife, and to respect the natural world.

Panthers are an umbrella species: protecting them and the vast, unspoiled, wild territory each one needs to survive - an average of 200 square miles for a single male - protects many other plants and animals that live there. At the top of the food chain, these cats help keep feral hog numbers in check and deer, raccoon and other prey populations balanced and healthy.

Through partnerships, education, research support, public outreach, and advocacy, Defenders is working to foster understanding of Florida panthers and to help people share the landscape with these endangered predators.

In rural neighborhoods, we help fund and construct sturdy enclosures to protect pets and small livestock from panthers and other predators to avoid conflict. Since 2010, there has been an uptick in panthers preying upon calves in commercial ranching operations. The predator-resistant enclosures that we use in rural neighborhoods are not applicable to these larger landscapes, so we are working with ranchers and other members of the Panther Recovery Team to improve incentive programs to help offset monetary losses when panthers kill commercial livestock.

The small size and high degree of isolation of the panther population makes it vulnerable to genetic problems and catastrophic events such as disease, parasite outbreaks and exposure to toxins. A fatal neuromuscular disorder first observed affecting panthers and bobcats in 2018 is of particular concern as it is poorly understood and more widespread than previously thought.

There are an estimated 120-230 adults and subadults primarily in southwest Florida, the only breeding population. Continued northward range expansion and restoration of additional populations are recognized as essential for panther recovery.

Rarely do all kittens survive. Kittens are born with dark spots that soon fade away as they become adults, which are tawny brown (the color of deer ) . They stay with their mother for up to two years.

Mating Season: Throughout the year, with a peak in winter/spring

Gestation: About 90 days

Litter Size: 1-4 kittens

The purpose of the Panther Pantry is to serve students that are impacted by food insecurity. The pantry offers free food and basic necessity items to students that are enrolled at the university. Food insecurity refers to the USDA's measure of lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active healthy life.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to use the Panther Pantry. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to access the pantry, please contact the Panther Pantry team at panthe...@uni.edu.

All orders must be picked up within 7 days of receiving your confirmation email that your order has been filled or they will be returned to the pantry. If you need an extension for picking up your order please contact panthe...@adelphi.edu

Help us make sure that everyone in our community knows about the pantry. Tell your friends and encourage those you know who may need assistance. Pantry use is confidential because our goal is to reach as many people as possible who are in need by respecting and supporting them.

In 50 years, the endangered Florida panther has made a long journey back from the brink of extinction. The population has rebounded from an estimated low of 10 animals to over 200 animals since it was put on the first Endangered species list in 1967.

Panthers, historically, roamed the entire southeastern United States. Development badly fractured their habitat. Hunting nearly eliminated them; genetic defects affected their health and survival. Eight female panthers were brought in from Texas in the 1990s and released in Florida to breed. It worked.

Panthers need a lot of space. Males claim 200-square-mile territories and will sometimes fight other males to death if their territories overlap. As their numbers rise, urban sprawl hems them in. Development, associated with an estimated 1,000 people moving to Florida every day, consumes and fragments panther habitat in southwestern Florida. It narrows escape routes from sea-level rise. With too little space, panthers may again succumb to genetic disorders and diseases.

Yet new subdivisions generate more roads and highways. Vehicles kill more panthers than anything else. Last year, 21 died by automobile. The year before: 22. This year, already, eight panthers have been killed by cars.

Currently, Florida Department of Transportation is building the Western Green Swamp crossing east of I-4 and SR 557, to be finished next year. Projects in the design phase awaiting construction funds are the I-4 wildlife overpass and SR 33 at Saddle Creek, US 27 near Lake Livingston, and the US 27 Venus Wildlife crossing. Construction of these crossings is tentatively scheduled within five years. Crossings the department has identified for design include one at SR 29 north of SR 78 and SR 66 south of Highlands Hammock.

If panthers can avoid Tampa and St. Petersburg, swim the Caloosahatchee River, cross state roads 27, 80, 70, 60 and Interstate 4, and stay away from Orlando, they will have a fighting chance. Federal, state and conservation lands will protect them as the habitat is managed for wildlife. Ranches comprise much of this rural land, where conservation easements protect excellent panther habitat. Military installations at Avon Park and Camp Blanding provide safe spaces too.

Fleming has worked with the Service and the Panther Recovery Implementation Team for almost a decade. Her nonprofit has been involved in Florida panther advocacy protection before it was even listed as endangered. She is hopeful.

For the last eight years, Lightsey has watched a female panther and her twins in his citrus grove on Tiger Lake Ranch. She returns every year and has twins. When the kittens lose their spots, they leave.

State land acquisition programs such as Florida Forever and the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program preserve panther habitat through conservation easements. Federal programs help acquire conservation easements and preserve agricultural lands with wildlife values. These programs provide matching funding for landscape-scale conservation projects with other governmental and non-profit organizations.

The Florida Wildlife Corridor Act that passed last year specifies a network of green spaces for wildlife and the panther that encompasses 18 million acres, with 10 million protected federal, state, local and conservation lands. The legislation provides some funding to purchase conservation easements or to acquire land.

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