I grew up in Florida, and we heard a lot about the severely endangered Florida Panther back then. The number of cats left in the wild during the 1970s may have been as low as twenty, but thanks to concerted conservation efforts, the population has rebounded slightly—to about two hundred individuals. However, they are still at extremely low numbers and their survival is not guaranteed.
One place you can still find a population of wild Florida Panthers is in the Big Cypress Basin east of Naples, Florida. One area has been designated the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, and it is here there you can sometimes catch a glimpse of this rare and elusive animal, such as in this video of a Florida Panther and her two cubs crossing a flooded stream.
In the video, a Florida Panther named Broketail is navigating the flooded waterways of her swampy home with her latest litter of cubs. Broketail was born in 2012 and is named that for her notably crooked tail. She has successfully raised many litters in the refuge and is often seen on wildlife cameras successfully navigating the wilderness underpasses and overpasses that have been installed to help these creatures avoid the perils of Florida roads and highways. Vehicle collision is one of the major dangers for the few Florida panthers left in the wild, and refuges and safe passage systems have been instrumental in stopping their utter annihilation.
Related: National Geographic Reveals Sad News About the State of Wild Panthers in Florida
A Family Journey for Florida Panthers
In the clip, Broketail is seen approaching a deep stream, then making a huge leap across it, while her two cubs wander around, looking for an alternative route. Eventually, their mother calls to them, with allow, rumbling growl. (Make sure to turn your sound up to catch it!)
Life in the Big Cypress Swamp is filled with these kinds of explorations, as the water level, and thus the best ways through the swamp, change significantly throughout the season. Like Broketail, her cubs will need to learn the best ways to navigate not only the basin and the changing river courses in their refuge home, but also how to choose the wilderness crossing that help them avoid dangerous traffic.
The Future of the Florida Panther
The subspecies of the Florida Panther remains every bit as endangered as it ever was, but the classification system around North American Cougars has changed significantly since I was younger. What were once considered regional subspecies of cougar all over the country, from the Florida Panther in Florida to the now extinct mountain lions of Pennsylvania, now all North American Cougar species are considered variations on the same animal, like regional variations on a brown bear (Grizzly, Kodiak, etc.)
The Florida Panther has survived where so many of its sister cougars have not given a massive conservation effort. We should keep up the good work.
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