"Diseases, parasites, highways, hurricanes, inbreeding, and heavy metals have all been cited as immediate threats to the panther's existence. Yet none of these problems has impaired the panther's ability to live and reproduce where there is suitable habitat." David Maehr 1997:xi, wildlife biologist and former Panther Project Leader

   
    Important panther habitat is being lost daily. To survive, the panther requires large blocks of forested lands. Between 1936 and 1987, one-third of the forested land in south Florida was cleared for agricultural and residential development (Kautz 1994). Pine forests have declined in part of the panthers' range by 88 percent since 1900 (Mazzotti et al., 1993). Destruction of forested land has also had a negative impact on the black bear, the bald eagle, the red-cockaded woodpecker, the southeastern American kestrel, the Big Cypress fox squirrel, and the eastern indigo snake.

Panther habitat has been lost to residential and agricultural development. Pictured: East coast residential and agricultural development and west coast residential development. Thought Question What do you think is happening to the land formerly in farms and pastures? How is this related to the habitat available to the Florida panther? What do you think will happen to the Florida panther if these trends continue?

     The population of south Florida grew by 4.7 million between 1935 and 1990 - that's an average of 2000 people each week every week during this period. By 1990 five of the fastest growing cities in the entire United States were in south Florida: Naples, Ft. Myers, and Punta Gorda on the west coast and Ft. Pierce and West Palm Beach on the east coast.

     The land in public ownership is not enough to secure the panther's survival. The panther relies on private lands for 52 percent of its current range. Even more significantly 67 percent of the forested lands within its range are in private ownership (Kautz 1994). Preservation of much of this private land in its current uses is critical to sustaining the Florida panther in south Florida. Low-intensity agriculture such as cattle grazing on native range and sustained yield forestry retains native habitat and, if human intrusion is low, is compatible with panther use (Logan et al. , 1993b).

    Large-scale intensive agriculture such as citrus groves, vegetable farms, and improved pasture fragments or eliminates native habitat (Logan et al., 1993). The amount of land used for vegetable farming in southwest Florida is not expected to increase for two reasons: the most fertile lands are already in production (Logan et al., 1993), and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico has made vegetable farming far less profitable than in the past (Winsberg 1996).

    Examine the data below to see what's happening in three of the counties (Collier, Lee, and Hendry) within the panther's range.

Population

Sources: U.S. Bureau of the Census; Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University of Florida

Agriculture

Sources: U.S. Census of Agriculture; Florida Department of Agriculture

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