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Handbook
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Handbook
Overview
Did you know?
The greatest threat to the panther is loss, fragmentation, and degradation of habitat.
The greatest threat to the panther's survival is loss, fragmentation, and degradation of habitat. Most other threats, including inbreeding, insufficient numbers of large prey, disease, and mercury and other environmental contaminants, are habitat related. Institutional constraints and negative public perceptions also threaten the future survival of the Florida panther. You will discover that different experts have expressed different concerns and do not always agree, but they do all agree something must be done to ensure the survival of the panther into the next century. The Conservation section of this handbook details how some of these threats are being addressed.
Thought Question
What needs to be managed to save the Florida panther and other endangered species?
We often talk about the need for wildlife management, land management, natural resources management, ecosystem management, and even planetary management. David Orr, professor of environmental studies at Oberlin College, has a different point of view:
"I do not doubt that something needs to be managed. I would like to raise questions about what and how we manage. For would-be planet managers, it is a matter of no small consequence that God, Gaia, or evolution was doing the job nicely until human population, technology, and economics got out of control. This leads me to think that it is humans that need managing, not the planet." (1990 :8)
What do you think? What can we do to manage ourselves for the benefit of the panther and other species?