Florida panther. Photo: US GOV
In Troup County, Georgia, in 2008, a hunter was waiting in his tree stand for deer when he spotted and shot an animal he'd never seen in that area before: a cougar.
He reported his kill to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, after which the body of the big cat was brought to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens, Georgia, for necropsy.
High-tech CSI-type genetic testing by the National Cancer Institute, Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, revealed that the young, healthy mature male was a resident member of the south Florida remnant population of critically endangered Florida panthers, although it isn't clear if he was an escaped zoo animal or pet, or travelled to Georgia on his own.
According to a news release today from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources , because Florida panthers had not been documented in Georgia in years, it was initially thought that this animal might have escaped or have been intentionally released from captivity. With the genetic confirmation that the animal is indeed a Florida panther, it's possible this animal could have traveled all the way from south Florida to Georgia.
"We have had evidence (road kill) of Florida panthers as far north as the Florida panhandle," said Tim Breault, Director of Division of Habitat and Species Conservation, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Young males, in an attempt to develop their own territory, will often wander far from their home range. We think this may have been the case in this situation."
The healthy male shot by the hunter in 2008 was evidently roaming northward in search of his own territory, which raises questions about other Florida panthers that might be leaving their usual range to find better habitat by moving north.
"Finding a Florida panther that far from southwest Florida is out of the ordinary, but male panthers, particularly younger ones, can travel great distances," said Paul Souza, Field Supervisor of the South Florida Ecological Services Office. "While it's unusual for panthers to be seen that far north, it is not impossible for a young male to travel so far."
The critically endangered Florida panther is the last subspecies of mountain lion still surviving in the SE United States. With only about 100 left, it means every loss is a step closer to extinction. Just this morning (August 5, 2009) a semi accidentally hit one on a highway in Collier County Florida.
The Florida panther is a magnificent animal. A mature male can reach 6 feet in length and weigh 130 pounds, preying on white-tailed deer, wild (feral) hogs, armadillos, birds and small mammals like raccoons. While they may occasionally take an outdoor pet, this shy cat generally avoids humans.
If ever an animal was blessed with a plethora of names, it is Puma concolor. Also known as mountain lion, puma, cougar, panther, catamount and painter, this big cat used to range all across the US. It's also supposedly the only ‘big cat' that purrs (tigers for instance ‘chuff' rather than purr.).
The Official State Animal of the Sunshine State, Florida panthers need our help. They have suffered a tremendous reduction in numbers as the human population in American, and particularly south Florida has mushroomed. They are now reduced to less than 5% of their historic range.
Because of their small population, the Florida panther is struggling to overcome the effects of inbreeding. Beyond that, other threats are habitat destruction and fragmentation, collisions with vehicles, mercury poisoning, and parasites/diseases from domestic cats and dogs.
The loss of even one Florida panther to a careless hunter is disturbing. So far the shooter hasn't been charged, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Office of Law Enforcement is investigating this incident since the Florida panther is a federally protected endangered species.
Click here for more information on the Florida panther.
Thank you to Melissa Cummings of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for this breaking news report.
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Comments
And this idiot shot it... shoot first, ask questions later I guess. Animal trackers are abound and he should have marked when and where it was seen, then went to fish and game. They could have tracked it if they wanted. My pappy would say, "Don't kill if if you don't intend to eat it or it isn't intending to eat you".
Gotta love it! He didn't know what it was so he shot it! That type of caveman mentality is the reason half the hunters shouldn't have guns.
Wow! This is great news! No, not the part about a Florida Panther being shot, that is tragic. The exciting part is that here, finally, is clear evidence that these animals are dispersing and capable of moving over 600 miles away from their known home range. The top predator has been missing from the eastern deciduous forest biome for a hundred years. Deer have been overpopulating our forest for a while now, after we began managing their habitat for hunters and hunting pressure has been declining. During the great depression deer, rabbits, and even squirrels were seriously overhunted. Now, wild populations are rebounding and food resources are widely available for our native top carnivore. I've been hearing about panther sightings in Georgia for 50 years. This one is indisputable and very interesting. Could they really come back? Without an expensive program to pay for it? Stay tuned folks. If we can just keep these crazy deer hunters from killing them!
I am both a gun owner and an EX-hunter. This guy should be charged and have his hunting privileges revoked for life. Don't blame the gun, don't blame the "sport", blame the idiot that pulled the trigger.
they dont have a clue were it came from.
DNR needs to quit telling people there not here..and that they could be...could have saved this one.
There are black panthers on Edisto Island in SC. It used to be almost a myth, but my godmother has a family living on her property, and we've seen and taken pictures of them many times. I saw a juvenile black panther walking across the road that leads to my grandmother's house, in a heavily wooded area there. No one knows how they got there, but they've been legend there for over 100 years.
Deborah, thanks for stopping by! I'm fascinated by the idea of black panthers (melanistic mountain lions?) in Florida. I'd love to see them. Do you really have photos of them?
Hey Robert i'm a hunter, and your an idiot you know nothing about hunting so dont talk about hunters.
That guy is an idiot. He doesn't need to be in the woods with a gun. I've been hunting since I was a child and I agree he needs to have his license permanently revoked. He also needs to be thrown in jail and fined heavily.
Hey all, Deborah, I think you talking about a Jaguar, they used to live in Ga many years ago. I just had an encounter with a panther about a month ago, this was oct 2010. It just leaped over a 6 ft privacy fence in my back yard. I live in a small southern ga town. I'm right on the ga/fla border, close to the panhandle. Researchers say that the black jaguar is making a comeback. I feel sorry for the animal that was shot in this news story. Let's hope it doesnt happen again. I think the hunter was trying to get a deer, and did it to discourage it from getting its own food. They will also shoot a dog if it gets in the the way of their deer. Real shame.. I think it will be a better sport to just run up to a deer and slap it in the nose and run off. Now that would be a sport.
Robert was wrong ,most hunters are idiots ----
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