Florida Panther

Description:

Florida Panther, an endangered subspecies of cougar (Puma concolor), at animal rehabilitation center in Miami, Florida.

Habitat:

The Florida panther is an endangered subspecies of cougar (Puma concolor) that lives in forests and swamps of southern Florida in the United States. Its current taxonomic status (Puma concolor coryi or Puma concolor couguar) is unresolved, but recent genetic research alone does not alter the legal conservation status. This species is also known as the cougar, mountain lion, puma, and catamount; but in the Southeast, and particularly Florida, it is exclusively known as the panther. Males can weigh up to 160 pounds (73 kg) and live within a range that includes the Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, and the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. This population, the only unequivocal cougar representative in the eastern United States, currently occupies only 5% of its historic range. In the 1970s, there were an estimated 20 Florida panthers in the wild, and their numbers have increased to over 160 as of 2011. In 1982, the Florida panther was chosen as the Florida state animal. Florida Panthers are spotted at birth and typically have blue eyes. As the panther grows the spots fade and the coat becomes completely tan while the eyes typically become more of a yellow. The panther's underbelly is a creamy white, with black tips on the tail and ears. Florida panthers lack the ability to roar, and instead make many distinct sounds that include whistles, chirps, growls, hisses, and purrs. The Florida panther has long been considered a unique subspecies of cougar, under the trinomial Puma concolor coryii (Felis concolor coryii in older listings), one of thirty-two subspecies once recognized. The Florida panther has been protected from legal hunting since 1958, and in 1967 it was listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; it was added to the state's endangered species list in 1973. It continues to be one of the most intensively and expensively protected felines, mostly because there are only so few left. A genetic study of cougar mitochondrial DNA finds that many of the supposed subspecies are too similar to be recognized as distinct, suggesting a reclassification of the Florida panther and numerous other subspecies into a single North American cougar (Puma concolor couguar). Following the research, the canonical Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition) ceased to recognize the Florida panther as a unique subspecies, collapsing it and others into the North American cougar. Despite these findings it is still listed as subspecies Puma concolor coryii in research works, including those directly concerned with its conservation. Responding to the research that suggested removing its subspecies status, the Florida Panther Recovery Team notes "the degree to which the scientific community has accepted the results of Culver et al. and the proposed change in taxonomy is not resolved at this time." (credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_pan...)