Panther spotted on the Florida Trail

[Cookerhiker]

Stumpknocker is out hiking again,this time on the Florida Trail again. In the Big Cypress Preserve, he spotted a Florida panther and even got a photo. Read about it here: http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=397454

[hikerboy57]

way way cool

[atmilkman]

That's really cool. Sandra Friend talked about seeing one there too back in November 2012 around Thanksgiving. It's a big area and I don't know where exactly she was talking about but with any luck it was two different panthers.

[HikerMom58]

That's exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!

[map man]

Here's the thread that's already been started on this:

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...pics&p=1396171

[Rocket Jones]

Very cool.

[Dogwood]

Since it's estimated there are only about 100 Florida Panthers left he should feel privledged to have seen one in the wild. He also got a pic of it. It's an extremely RARE thing to spot a Florida Panther in the wild.

I've seen MANY animals on my hiking/outdoor treks, virtually all the mega fauna in the U.S., but panthers had eluded me until recently. I only got see my first two panthers in Cali in the last two yrs and panthers there are more numerous. The panthers in FL, according to some scientists, are a sub species making them VERY VERY RARE indeed. Since the FL panthers are a subspecies and the population is so small scientist are very concerned with inbreeding so they will most likely have to introduce panthers from outside of FL to address this issue or they(the subspecies) will likely become extinct shortly.

[nitewalker]

thats a very large cat...hopefully it never attacks a human because it will tear a human up real quick..very nice picture..

[surfnturk]

Thats unbelievable! What a lucky guy. I've dreamed of seeing a florida panther in the wild. My dad saw one at Ft. Clinch in Fernindina at night when he was a scout and would tell me about it. Thats was probably in the early 30's.

[nitewalker]

friends of mine in fla have this in captivity. 140 to 160lb fla panther.....

[surfnturk]

They cross bred some florida panthers with another panther species a years back to increase the population. seems to be working

[moytoy]

The Florida panther has already made a tremendous comeback. The crossbreeding program was started in 1995. Estimates now put the number of Panthers in Fl at over 160 and some think it's higher than that. Seeing one while hiking is indeed a privilege and rare because they are night stalkers they lay low in the daylight. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...rida-panthers/

[Nasty Dog Virus]

Wow! I'm so jealous!!! Great pics! I was excited when I found panther scat while sectioning the FT in Osceola NF. That was Dec 2011. I can't imagine the rush you must have felt when that beautiful creature was standing in front of you in the wild!!! Thanks for sharing!

[Dogwood]

From Stumpknocker's pic I thought the same thing Nite Walker. Seems like a large panther or a panther with a full stomach, possibly pregnant. Certainly larger than the two I saw in Cali between Quincy and Chester just off the PCT.

[Zmaidment]

Kick ass! So jealous

[Dogwood]

Thanks for that update Moytoy. Good link. Look at the blue eyes and spots of the kittens. Gorgeous animal.

[Dogwood]

If panthers, and a GREAT MANY other animals, are going to exist it HEAVILY DEPENDS on man's willingness to coexist with them just as one of the researchers state in your link Moytoy. Every once in a while I hear about periods of mass extinction as if those periods were in the past or will occur in the future. Yes, species have been going extinct since before recorded history but we are currently living in a period of mass extinctions with about 74 species becoming extinct EACH DAY! Human activity, including the expanding human population, has a lot to do with it. I always try to remember that my own behavior and desires play into this scenario. I ask myself, "what am I I I willing to do to coexist with others?" If the answer is, "nothing" that's where we are all headed.

[Tipi Walter]

If panthers, and a GREAT MANY other animals, are going to exist it HEAVILY DEPENDS on man's willingness to coexist with them just as one of the researchers state in your link Moytoy. Every once in a while I hear about periods of mass extinction as if those periods were in the past or will occur in the future. Yes, species have been going extinct since before recorded history but we are currently living in a period of mass extinctions with about 74 species becoming extinct EACH DAY! Human activity, including the expanding human population, has a lot to do with it. I always try to remember that my own behavior and desires play into this scenario. I ask myself, "what am I I I willing to do to coexist with others?" If the answer is, "nothing" that's where we are all headed.

This reminds me of a screed I wrote on my last trip about the death squads in Florida out to kill the pythons---

NEWS
Florida's python slaughter---the state is cutting lose its citizen-death squads to hunt down and "harvest" the pythons. The idiot who gets the most gets $1,500. Here's a better idea---Get rid of Floridians and leave the snakes. Have the snakes fouled the air with car exhaust and jet pollution? Have the snakes drained the wetlands and caused unbridled sprawl? Have the snakes bulldozed forests and built highways and Interstates? Have the snakes ruined the coast line with cities, beach houses, no trespassing and development? And who brought the snakes into Florida to begin with? You got it---bonobo motarded anuses we call humans.

[surfnturk]

This reminds me of a screed I wrote on my last trip about the death squads in Florida out to kill the pythons---



NEWS
Florida's python slaughter---the state is cutting lose its citizen-death squads to hunt down and "harvest" the pythons. The idiot who gets the most gets $1,500. Here's a better idea---Get rid of Floridians and leave the snakes. Have the snakes fouled the air with car exhaust and jet pollution? Have the snakes drained the wetlands and caused unbridled sprawl? Have the snakes bulldozed forests and built highways and Interstates? Have the snakes ruined the coast line with cities, beach houses, no trespassing and development? And who brought the snakes into Florida to begin with? You got it---bonobo motarded anuses we call humans.

those snakes are not natived to florida and are reaking havoc on noative florida animals. I typically agree with what you typically write but your way way off base on this one.

[surfnturk]

Fact is there there and they dont need to be. How many native birds, mammals etc do thses snakes kill. you've got Oceaola turkeys, key deer (in the keys) bear cubs, etc.