Last night, just before dusk. We back up to a smallish wetland/conservation area and it just strolled through our backyard right at the edge. Sorry, there just wasn’t time to grab a camera, but I watched it for a good 15 seconds from no more than 30 feet away. A stunningly beautiful animal.
For those that don’t know, the FL Panther is extremely rare and endangered. Less than 100 are thought to remain…and most are much further south than we are. Many of those that remain have been tagged and even have tracking collars. This one didn’t have any collar or tag that I could see. I notified the state wildlife office. They seemed pretty excited and are sending a biologist out today.
I think we’ll keep our little schnauzer on a leash for awhile rather than let her run around the backyard in the evening…
the Florida Panther is one of the most endangered mamals on earth with only 80-100 left, as you said. meanwhile, the terrible drivers in FL keep running them over every year.
road developments have endangered the population…it’s sad indeed. i read that 15 were killed in 2007, from being hit by cars or trucks.
That is pretty cool. Is a Florida Panther basically the same animal as a Mountain Lion or Cougar? Mountain Lions are making a comeback here in the Midwest, a couple showed up in suburban Omaha a few years back.
Just wondering whether you still stand by your previous statement:
None of which is going to change if one endangered plant species…that has no known significant value to mankind…becomes extinct. So no…“harming the natural environment” does not necessarily harm anyone. It’s all a matter of scope and degree. Sorry.
Note that I didn’t say that the environment isn’t important…I enjoy the great outdoors and clean air and water as much as anyone, but some people are more concerned that the purple-leafed toad plant might become extinct than they are with ensuring that the country has the infrastructure necessary to support our needs.
if instead of “purple-leafed toad plant” you wrote “Florida panther”. Or is it up to you, personally, to determine that “scope and degree.”
My brother is pretty sure he saw one a couple of years ago here in the panhandle. We were in a hunting lease that is part of 50,000 plus acres and he saw it cross the road. When he got to where it had been, he saw some pretty big tracks. Because they’re so scarce, he was pretty excited about it.
It’s a shame that it crossed the road before he could get out his gun and shoot - he wanted to have it mounted. You know that all us hunters want to do is kill things.
Stunning animal. Some of my most fond memories are seeing wild animals in Northern Ontario. Running with an Elk and seeing a pack of wolves just sitting on the road are two of my best.
Animals are awesome
Just wondering whether you still stand by your previous statement:
None of which is going to change if one endangered plant species…that has no known significant value to mankind…becomes extinct. So no…“harming the natural environment” does not necessarily harm anyone. It’s all a matter of scope and degree. Sorry.
Note that I didn’t say that the environment isn’t important…I enjoy the great outdoors and clean air and water as much as anyone, but some people are more concerned that the purple-leafed toad plant might become extinct than they are with ensuring that the country has the infrastructure necessary to support our needs.
***if instead of “purple-leafed toad plant” you wrote “Florida panther”. Or is it up to you, personally, to determine that “scope and degree.” ** ***
Of course I still stand by that statement. Why wouldn’t I?
Just wondering whether you still stand by your previous statement:
None of which is going to change if one endangered plant species…that has no known significant value to mankind…becomes extinct. So no…“harming the natural environment” does not necessarily harm anyone. It’s all a matter of scope and degree. Sorry.
Note that I didn’t say that the environment isn’t important…I enjoy the great outdoors and clean air and water as much as anyone, but some people are more concerned that the purple-leafed toad plant might become extinct than they are with ensuring that the country has the infrastructure necessary to support our needs.
***if instead of “purple-leafed toad plant” you wrote “Florida panther”. Or is it up to you, personally, to determine that “scope and degree.” ** ***
Of course I still stand by that statement. Why wouldn’t I?
Clearly there is no reason for you to change your opinion about causing species to become extinct.
Sir, forget what you’ve seen, you must be crazy. There are no panthers, cougars, or mountain lion in Florida or Michigan. Regardless of what overwhelming evidence you may have, that was just a large dog with tubular tail.
David, thank you very much for posting this. That is very exciting. I always get very excited about seeing deer and the one or two foxes we have aroound here.
I googled a photo of the same species cat you saw so we could all have a frame of reference. Did it look like this?
David, thank you very much for posting this. That is very exciting. I always get very excited about seeing deer and the one or two foxes we have aroound here.
I googled a photo of the same species cat you saw so we could all have a frame of reference. Did it look like this?
I’m right there with you Tom. We’re really lucky, we see deer, black bear, turkey, etc… all the time, but I never expected something like this. I’m so excited that I can hardly stand it.
The one I saw wasn’t nearly as big as your pic. They say that males can get as big as 6’+ and 150 lbs. I’d estimate 3-4 feet (nose to rump) and maybe 60 lbs or so. What struck me was the size of it’s paws…almost as big as my hand. That leads me to think that it might be a juvenile with some growing to do yet. It’ll be interesting to see what the state biologist has to say.
You might have a gold mine on your hands there. Did you get a good look at it? Could you tell if it was a sex panther? You know, they make a nice cologne from those things. It’s quite pungent,…a formidable scent. Stings the nose,…in a good way.
Is a Florida Panther basically the same animal as a Mountain Lion or Cougar?
The TV show “Animal Atlas” stated that all of these cats are considered panthers. This includes the Mountain Lion, Cougar, Jaguar, and Puma.
Wikipedia says it a little differently:
“The cougar has numerous names in English, of which puma and mountain lion are popular. Other names include catamount, panther, and mountain screamer.” and “The cougar holds the Guinness record for the animal with the highest number of names.”
*That is pretty cool. Is a Florida Panther basically the same animal as a Mountain Lion or Cougar? *
Pretty much the same thing as I understand…though classified as a sub-species of their own. Hence the highly endangered status.
Thr biologists have actually brought in a handful of panthers from other parts of the country to the state because of serious concern that the remaining Florida panthers were getting too inbred. The crossbreed is said to have resulted in a significantly healthier panther population and is seen as one of the reasons why they’re seen population gains in recent years.
I’m jealous of the sighting. All we seem to have in the area is black bears that like to dumpster dive where I work.
You know that all us hunters want to do is kill things. 