·November 30, 2024
Jason Francis
The Florida panther population continues to dwindle, and there’s one predator that’s mostly to blame.
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Florida’s famous big cat is categorized in the “critically endangered” level, meaning that the species’ population decline is greater than 80 to 90 percent. With their total numbers dwindling, Florida panthers are being seen less and less out in the wild.
They mainly live along the Gulf Coast of Florida now, and when occasional videos of the rare, elusive creatures are captured, they’re a big deal. They typically surface online, like this panther that was captured roaming around Naples, Florida back in July:
It’s sad to think that we could soon live in a world where these videos will only exist in the past.
The National Wildlife Federation explained why there’s so much concern about Florida panthers going extinct in the wild in the conservation portion of their Florida panther information page:
“The Florida panther is the only subspecies of mountain lion that remains in the eastern United States. Hunting decimated the population badly, and it was one of the first species added to the U.S. endangered species list in 1973. The Florida panther’s current status is listed as endangered.
During the 1970s, only about 20-30 Florida panthers remained in the wild. Today, there are just over 200 left in the wild. They are found in southern Florida in swamplands such as Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. The subspecies is so critically endangered that it is vulnerable to just about every major threat.”
The only positive is that the Florida panther population is comparatively higher than it was over 50 years ago. And speaking of major threats… you are probably asking yourself, “When is this guy going to reveal the most concerning predator that Florida panthers face?”
Well here we go… it’s us! Though humans aren’t intentionally hunting the Florida panthers anymore, we’re still responsible for decreasing the endangered population – through vehicular incidents. Five Florida panthers have died in the past month with injuries sustained from being struck by cars, and a total of 30 have passed away in 2024.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, it’s the highest death toll for the critically endangered species since 2018.
The concerning thing about the vehicular collisions is that it’s not an anomaly – it’s a pattern. It’s estimated that 239 panthers have reportedly been killed by cars in the past decade, and if there was ever a time to ring the alarm about automobile-related Florida panther deaths, it would be now.
But how can those numbers be cut down? Florida residents have already been warned to slow down in areas that panthers might reside in, and what else can you really do? And unfortunately, habitats that Florida panthers live in continue to be decimated, which only draws Florida’s big cat population into areas with more roadways, thus causing more vehicular collisions.
With the remaining number of panthers in the wild believed to be between 130 and 230 big cats, the state of Florida and the NWF will ironically need to figure out some sort of plan of attack to defend the endangered big cat species that calls the “Sunshine State” home.
Exposing the Big Game 
You could have cops there to hand out tickets…people who speed need to be held accountable.
Most of the killing people do is accidental. But when we become aware our behavior could cause a death, we rarely stop. We weren’t taught to respect life. Had we been it would take a terabyte just to define and outline all the consequences for human civilization.
Absolutely true. A case in point – Grizzly 399. They ‘did nothing wrong’ except not reducing speed at night or caring about wildlife.
Have they built any overpasses in Florida panther habitat? I thought I read that they had.