Florida PantherNet

In southwest Florida panthers prefer mature upland forests (hardwood hammocks and pinelands) over all other habitat types (Maehr 1990a). Much of this prime panther habitat is north of I-75. Panthers in this area weigh more and successfully raise more kittens than those south of I-75 (Schortemeyer 1994). Deer and hog densities often exceed 1 animal per 20 hectares (49 acres). South of I-75, deer and hog densities rarely exceed 1 per 40 hectares (99 acres). Panthers struggle when only deer are present and their density is below 1 per 40 hectares (99 ac). They thrive when deer and hogs exceed a density of 1 per 40 hectares (99 ac) (Schortemeyer 1994). Hogs are scarce in the Everglades and deer are limited when water levels are high.

People also like higher drier ground. From the panther's point of view, some of the best habitats in south Florida were along the Atlantic coastal ridge and the Gulf coast flatlands (Schortemeyer 1994). In the late 1800's, Charles Barney Cory reported finding fresh tracks of seven panthers in one week within thirty miles of Lake Worth. Major drainages such as the New River in Broward County had extensive hardwood hammocks bordering areas of sparser vegetation maintained by fire.

Much of the protected land in south Florida is wetlands, but panthers depend on uplands for their survival. The uplands in the panther's habitat are the most threatened. To the west a new state university has been built and the suburbs of Naples and Ft. Myers continue to grow. To the north land in cattle ranches is increasingly being converted to citrus.

To review how panthers use the south Florida landscape, compare the map of natural communities within the panther's range to the map of the location of radio-collared panthers. Three times each week (always during the day and usually during the morning) biologists locate radio-collared panthers from an airplane and plot their locations with dots on a map.

The map shown represents several years of location points. The greatest concentration of dots is in the area of dense forest (Maehr 1997) and is represented on the map by a sideways "L". The "L" is bounded on the south by I-75 and on the east by SR 29.

Bear Island Unit, mosaic of marsh, hardwoods, pinelands, and cypress swamp

Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve. Within the preserve is the largest strand of native royal palms as well as the greatest variety of orchids, ferns, and bromeliads in North America (Jewell 1997)

The south-north portion of the "L" runs through the Fakahatchee StrandPreserve State Park (mixed hardwood swamp).

The west-east portion of the "L" borders the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge (cypress and mixed hardwood swamps, hammocks, pinelandsm and wet prairies), upland private ranches, the Bear Island Unit of the Big Cypress Preserve (marsh, hardwood hammocks, pinelands, and cypress swamps), and the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation.