The Florida panther, also know by its scientific name of “puma concolor coryi”, is always tan colored. The panther’s eyes are amber colored. The adult panther’s tail is long and tipped black at the end. The average length (tip of nose to tip of tail) of a male panther is 7 feet, and the average length for a female is 6 feet. The average male weighs about 120 pounds, while a female weighs about 75 pounds. The panther is usually 2 feet tall. The panther is a darker tan on the back and a lighter tan on the belly.

The Florida panther is a carnivore. Its eats animals such as deer, will pig, raccoons, squirrels, and other wildlife. The panther gets it food by hunting. The panther is an ambush predator. The panther slowly creeps on its prey, hiding through bushes and vegetation. When the panther gets close to its prey, it pounces on the prey. The panther kills its prey by a bite to the back of the neck, or kills its prey by suffocating it. The panther suffocates its prey by biting its neck and continuing to bite until its prey dies.

The Florida panther as you can imagine, lives in Florida. But more specifically, lives in southwestern Florida. A male panther’s habitat is about 200 square miles. A female panther’s habitat is about 75 square miles.

A panther in the wild usually lives from 8 years to 15 years. A panther in captivity usually lives about 10-20 years. A panther, in captivity, usually lives longer because s panther in captivity is not affected by most causes of death. A panther in captivity is not going to starve, not going to get hit by a car, and wont be killed by a fight with another panther. So many panthers die in the wild, because of getting hit by cars, being unable to find food, disease, and being killed by other panthers.

The panthers are fighting one another, because land space is becoming limited. Human population is taking up all the space in southwest Florida. This problem is leaving little room for Florida panthers. A male panther in the wild needs 200 square miles of territorial space. If a panther comes across another panther in his territory, then the two panthers will fight. The panthers will continue to fight until on of the panthers are dead.

Panthers are well watched over by the government. There are panther crossing signs all over in southwest Florida. About one third of panthers in the wild have GPS tracking collars on them. These collars make these panthers to be able to be watched over at all times. The exact number of Florida panthers is unknown. But the estimate ranges for 80-100.

Humans would look at the Florida panther’s way of communicating to be strange. The panther leaves sweat and urine on tree and plants to communicate with other panthers. The sweat and urine can tell other panthers how old it is, if it’s a male or female, and other interesting facts about the panther.

Florida panthers hunt at night, they can see just as good at night as a human can see in the day time. The reason for this is that the panther has a tapetum lucidum. A tapetum lucidum is a membrane in the back of the panther’s eye that makes night vision either by reflecting light. The tapetum lucidum is the reason that a panthers eye shines in a cars headlight.

A kitten Florida panther are of course small. They have spotted coats. The kitten’s eyes are bright blue at birth. At birth the kitten weights about 1 pound. The spotted coat and bright blue eyes fade at about 6 months old. Usually 2 to 3 kittens are born in a litter.

The Florida panther lives in a couple of different habitats. From hardwood hammocks to marsh, they live in different habitats all over. Panthers prefer dry wooded area, but will walk through water if it needs to. Dense saw palmetto is used by the Florida panther to make dens for kittens and to hide through while stalking prey.

Panthers do most of there activity at dawn and dusk. And usually rest in the day. The panther will hunt at night.

No human has ever been attacked by a Florida panther. A human is not typical prey for a panther. So the panther will just run away from a human if approached. Florida panthers are said to have fear of humans.

A Florida panther is unable to roar. The panther can purr though. They Florida panther can also make other noises, such as chirping, whistling, mewing, growling, hissing, and caterwaul. A caterwaul is a distinct scream.

Florida panthers are isolated from other panthers for the most part. The only time when they come together is when panthers are mating, and when a mother is raising her kittens. Other than that, the panthers will be isolated.

Male and female panthers reach maturity at different ages. A male panther will reach sexual maturity around 3 years of age. While a female panther will become sexual mature at 18 months of age.

Most breeding behavior occurs from December to March. And litters are usually produced from March to June. But there is no specific breeding time; those time periods are when breeding is at its highest. Litters have been recorded to happen all year around.

Only 40%-60% of panthers make it to young adulthood. The main reasons for panther death revolve around humans. From death to being hit by cars, to death by panthers killing each other, to death of starvation, they all revolve around human beings.

The Florida Panther has been on the Federal endangered list since 1967. The Florida Panther was not added to the state of Florida’s endangered species list until 1973.

The main threats to panthers are disease, human interaction, lack of prey, and cars hitting the panthers. Human beings are responsible for lack of prey, human interaction, and cars hitting the panthers. Human beings have not done this on purpose. Just moving into an area can cause these problems. The more humans that move into southwestern Florida, the less space the Florida panther has to live. Which means panthers will start living in the same area. When panthers live in the same area, they fight to the death. Which ever panther wins, takes over that area.

Hunting for panthers used to be huge. Native Americans would kill the panthers for there claws, teeth, skin, and other valuable parts of the panther. Pioneers back in the 1800’s would kill the panthers, because the panthers were killing and eating the pioneers livestock, so the pioneers killed the panthers, so that they would be able to keep there livestock alive. Pioneers would also get cash for panther pelts from the state of Florida from the 1800’s to the 1950’s.

In 1995, 8 Texas cougars were released into the wild with the Florida panthers so they could mate. The Texas cougar was the closest relative to the Florida Panther. That would make the Texas cougar the best choice to mate with the Florida panthers.

Car crashes are a huge death rate for the Florida panther. The panther species has lost 44 panthers since 1972 to car crashes involving the Florida panther.

There are tons of foundations focusing on conserving the panther. These foundations or organizations are buying land for panthers, and keeping track of the panthers through cameras and GPS collars.

The Florida Panther is a fascinating creature. It is endangered mostly due to human interaction. So now it’s our job as human beings to make sure these creatures don’t become extinct. We need to do everything in our power to make sure these creatures stay alive, and do not die out.