Published: December 24, 2015
SEBRING — Florida set a record
at the end of November: 36 panthers had been killed. Last week, another
milestone was established: the 38th and 39th big cats have met their
end.
The death of a 2½-year-old female and a 6-year-old male continues the record-breaking trend. The male was found on C.R. 835 in Hendry County; Florida Fish and Wildlife officials determined last Tuesday the younger panther was run over by a vehicle near S.R. 82 in Collier County.
All 39 panther deaths – 28 killed by vehicles – were in Southwest Florida, where big cats live in the Everglades, Big Cypress National Preserve and other protected wildlife areas.
None of those big cats died in Highlands County, but Gator Howerton said Friday there are signs that panther territory is expanding.
“We hunt coyotes,” Howerton said. “We may have seen one panther a couple of times.”
A rancher northeast of Sebring has lost several calves, and Howerton was asked to assess why.
“We’ve never able to determine what it was,” Howerton said. “It was something bigger than a coyote. Maybe a bear, maybe a panther. But if it was, there’s nothing we could do about it. They are (federally) protected.”
Howerton thinks panthers are moving north into Highlands County: “I have seen tracks, seen photos. They are tracking all around.”
For ranchers and hunters, that’s bad sign. For environmentalists and conservationists, it’s good, Howerton said. “We want to keep it natural and wild. We don’t want to see an imbalance.”
The nearest panther death to Highlands County appears to a 3-year-old known to researchers as K387, who died on State Road 29 near Pollywog Road in Glades County the day before Thanksgiving.
Last year, 34 panthers were killed in Florida, compared to 20 the year before. In the three years before that, the numbers ranged from 24 to 27, commission statistics show.
“This is an all-time record for the most documented panther kills in one year, and now we’re close to an all-time record for cats killed by cars,” Jennifer Hecker told the Tampa Tribune. She directs natural resource policy at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, an environmental group that seeks to protect Florida wildlife and its habitat.
Although state officials maintain the mortality trend is in direct proportion to the increase in the panther population, Hecker argues more panthers are dying because of the loss of habitat. As more people squeeze into the wilds of Southwest Florida, more roads are being built and more panthers try to get to new habitats, she said.
It’s not a good combination, Lisa Stoner of Forest Animal Rescue agreed. She and her husband, who have rescued 20 wild cats over the years, recently moved their wildlife rescue organization from Wauchula to Silver Springs in 2013.
“A few rogue males travel through Hardee County,” Stoner said. But she contends there are no breeding pairs in Highlands and Hardee. Admittedly without documentation, Howerton disagrees. He believes a few mates may live near the Avon Park Bombing Range.
“They’ve been trying to build underpasses for the highways,” Stoner said. But unchecked development is giving panthers – whose territory ranges for 200 miles – no place to go.
“They are taking habitat from the animals,” Stoner said. “We keep building and expecting animals to go around.”
Animals don’t look for “Panther Crossing” and “Bear Crossing” signs, Stoner said. “If we put underpasses a half a mile down the road, they are not going to walk parallel to the road and cross.”
Instead, Stoner said, builders need to determine where animal trails currently are and put underpasses at those points. Builders are required to include sewers, water lines and other amenities, she said. They should also be required to construct wildlife underpasses where necessary.
source
The death of a 2½-year-old female and a 6-year-old male continues the record-breaking trend. The male was found on C.R. 835 in Hendry County; Florida Fish and Wildlife officials determined last Tuesday the younger panther was run over by a vehicle near S.R. 82 in Collier County.
All 39 panther deaths – 28 killed by vehicles – were in Southwest Florida, where big cats live in the Everglades, Big Cypress National Preserve and other protected wildlife areas.
None of those big cats died in Highlands County, but Gator Howerton said Friday there are signs that panther territory is expanding.
“We hunt coyotes,” Howerton said. “We may have seen one panther a couple of times.”
A rancher northeast of Sebring has lost several calves, and Howerton was asked to assess why.
“We’ve never able to determine what it was,” Howerton said. “It was something bigger than a coyote. Maybe a bear, maybe a panther. But if it was, there’s nothing we could do about it. They are (federally) protected.”
Howerton thinks panthers are moving north into Highlands County: “I have seen tracks, seen photos. They are tracking all around.”
For ranchers and hunters, that’s bad sign. For environmentalists and conservationists, it’s good, Howerton said. “We want to keep it natural and wild. We don’t want to see an imbalance.”
The nearest panther death to Highlands County appears to a 3-year-old known to researchers as K387, who died on State Road 29 near Pollywog Road in Glades County the day before Thanksgiving.
Last year, 34 panthers were killed in Florida, compared to 20 the year before. In the three years before that, the numbers ranged from 24 to 27, commission statistics show.
“This is an all-time record for the most documented panther kills in one year, and now we’re close to an all-time record for cats killed by cars,” Jennifer Hecker told the Tampa Tribune. She directs natural resource policy at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, an environmental group that seeks to protect Florida wildlife and its habitat.
Although state officials maintain the mortality trend is in direct proportion to the increase in the panther population, Hecker argues more panthers are dying because of the loss of habitat. As more people squeeze into the wilds of Southwest Florida, more roads are being built and more panthers try to get to new habitats, she said.
It’s not a good combination, Lisa Stoner of Forest Animal Rescue agreed. She and her husband, who have rescued 20 wild cats over the years, recently moved their wildlife rescue organization from Wauchula to Silver Springs in 2013.
“A few rogue males travel through Hardee County,” Stoner said. But she contends there are no breeding pairs in Highlands and Hardee. Admittedly without documentation, Howerton disagrees. He believes a few mates may live near the Avon Park Bombing Range.
“They’ve been trying to build underpasses for the highways,” Stoner said. But unchecked development is giving panthers – whose territory ranges for 200 miles – no place to go.
“They are taking habitat from the animals,” Stoner said. “We keep building and expecting animals to go around.”
Animals don’t look for “Panther Crossing” and “Bear Crossing” signs, Stoner said. “If we put underpasses a half a mile down the road, they are not going to walk parallel to the road and cross.”
Instead, Stoner said, builders need to determine where animal trails currently are and put underpasses at those points. Builders are required to include sewers, water lines and other amenities, she said. They should also be required to construct wildlife underpasses where necessary.
source
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