Florida PantherNet

Panther Pulse

2010

New Litters

Date Handled	Mother	Father	Age of Litter	# Males	# Females	Kitten IDs	Location
2/25/10	FP145	Unknown	3 weeks	1	2	K291, K292, K293	Big Cypress National Preserve
2/20/10	FP172	Unknown	2 weeks	3	0	K288, K289, K290	Big Cypress National Preserve

FP172's 3 male kittens are tucked away in the back of the den.

Deaths

Date Discovered	Panther ID	Age	Sex	Cause of Death	County	Location
1/29/10	UCFP138	8 years	male	Unknown	Collier	Rookery Bay National Estuarine Reserve
Skeletal remains only. Several months old.
1/19/10	UCFP137	2.5 years	male	Intraspecific Aggression	Lee	CREW Flint Pen Strand

2009

New Litters

Date Handled	Mother	Father	Age of Litter	# Males	# Females	Kitten IDs	Location
7/28/09	FP170	Unknown	22	2	1	285, 286, 287	Picayune Strand State Forest
7/20/09	FP168	Unknown	7	2	0	283, 284	CREW
Kitten fur coloration was very light.
7/08/09	FP153	Unknown	30	2	0	281, 282	Big Cypress National Preserve
5/07/09	FP162	Unknown	25-27	0	1	280	Big Cypress National Preserve
2/25/09	FP161	Unknown	16	2	1	277, 278, 279	Big Cypress National Preserve

	Florida panther kitten eyes, like these from FP170's recent litter in Picayune Strand, start out blue at birth and turn golden after a few months.
	The fur of FP168's kittens is oddly paler than normal.

Deaths

Date Discovered	Panther ID	Age	Sex	Cause of Death	County	Location
12/31/09	UCFP136	3-4 months	female	Vehicle	Collier	County Barn Rd
12/29/09	UCFP135	4 years	female	Vehicle	Collier	SR29 near Jerome
12/23/09	UCFP134	3 years	male	Vehicle	Collier	Corkscrew Rd near Gate 5 of CREW (Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed) Wildlife and Environmental Area
1/01/20	UCFP128	X years	unknown	Under investigation	Information not released	Information not released
Active investigation. No other public information available.
12/17/09	UCFP133	3-4 years	male	Vehicle	Broward	I-75 (near Snake Rd)
11/19/09	UCFP132	Unknown	male	Vehicle	Osceola	Florida turnpike near Yehaw Junction
Head removed. Report anonymous tips to 888-404-3922. See news release for more information http://www.myfwc.com/NEWSROOM/09/northeast/News_09_NE_PantherDecapitated.htm
11/01/09	UCFP131	3-4 months	female	Vehicle	Hendry	CR833
10/21/09	UCFP130	3-4 years	female	Vehicle	Collier	CR846, 2 mi east of Immokalee
10/19/09	UCFP129	3-4 months	male	Vehicle	Collier	CR846, 2 mi east of Immokalee
10/09/09	UCFP127	3-4 years	female	Unknown	Collier	Turner River; 1/2 mile south of US41
10/05/09	FP166	5-6 years	male	Intraspecific Aggression	Hendry	Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation
9/15/09	UCFP126	2 years	male	Unknown	Collier	Private property east of Ave Maria
9/06/09	UCFP125	2 years	female	Vehicle	Collier	I-75 (Alligator Alley, mile marker 96)
7/28/09	FP204	19 years	female	Euthanized	Collier	White Oak Conservation Center
This panther was part of the intended captive breeding population and does not represent a free-ranging mortality. She was euthanized due to her failing health.
8/05/09	UCFP124	1.5 years	male	Vehicle	Collier	I-75 (near mile marker 90)
6/12/09	FP140	7 years	female	Intraspecific Aggression	Collier	Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge
5/25/09	UCFP122	1.5 years	male	Vehicle	Collier	Immokalee Rd (near Camp Keais Rd)
5/14/09	UCFP121	2 years	male	Vehicle	Collier	SR29 (4 miles south of I-75)
4/21/09	UCFP120	2 years	female	Gun Shot	Hendry	Big Cypress Mitigation Bank
4/09/09	UCFP119	2-3 years	female	Vehicle	Collier	US41 near Turner River
3/25/09	UCFP118	1.5 years	male	Vehicle	Lee	Treeline Ave.
2/02/09	UCFP117	3 years	male	Intraspecific Aggression	Hendry	Seminole Indian Reservation
1/20/09	UCFP116	4-5 years	female	Vehicle	Collier	SR29, 3 miles south of Immokalee
1/17/09	K253	1.5 years	male	Vehicle	Collier	I-75 (on sothbound exit ramp to SR29)
1/11/09	UCFP115	4 years	male	Vehicle	Hendry	CR832

2008

New Litters

Date Handled	Mother	Father	Age of Litter	# Males	# Females	Kitten IDs	Location
7/20/08	153	unknown	14 days	2	1	274, 275, 276	Big Cypress National Preserve
6/06/08	158	146	14-17 days	3	1	270, 271, 272, 273	Collier Seminole State Park
5/23/08	162	138	14 days	1	1	268, 269	Big Cypress National Preserve
268 and 269 were found dead, partially consumed, in their den.
5/02/08	140	154	7 days	2	0	266, 267	Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge
3/04/08	151	unknown	21 days	1	1	264, 265	Big Cypress National Preserve

	The litter of radio-collared panther FP158.
	These kittens are the litter of radio-collared mother FP140.

Deaths

Date Discovered	Panther ID	Age	Sex	Cause of Death	County	Location
11/16/08	UCFP123	3-4 years	male	Gun Shot	Troup (GA)	Troup County, Georgia
Geneticly confirmed to be Florida panther. Father is FP137.
7/28/08	UCFP108	2-3 years	female	road kill	Collier	CR846; 1.7 mi E of CR858
5/23/08	K269	2 weeks	male	unknown	Collier	Big Cypress National Preserve
discovered in den, partially consumed
5/23/08	K268	2 weeks	female	unknown	Collier	Big Cypress National Preserve
discovered in den, partially consumed
5/22/08	UCFP107	2-3 years	female	road kill	Collier	CR951; south of US41

The updates for 2008 are also available as printable PDFs.

• August 2008 Update

2007

Deaths

Date Discovered	Panther ID	Age	Sex	Cause of Death	County	Location
7/01/07	FP164	2.5 years	male	unknown	Collier	Big Cypress National Preserve
only skeletal remains were discovered

The updates for 2007 are also available as printable PDFs.

• September 2007 Update

About Panther Pulse

Radio-collared Florida panthers are monitored year-round three times per week from a Cessna 172 fixed-wing aircraft. National Park Service (NPS) biologists at Big Cypress National Preserve (BCNP) and Everglades National Park (ENP) assist the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in collecting telemetry flight data within each park's respective boundaries while the FWC collects data throughout the rest of the panther's range. The number being tracked fluctuates as new panthers are added to the radio-collared population each capture season and mortalities occur throughout the year.

Radio collars are maintained on a sample of Florida panthers as part of a long-term study to monitor the genetic vitality of the population to determine if additional genetic mixing with the Texas panther is required, to monitor and guard against new diseases, aid in recovery of dead panthers to investigate mortality causes, document reproductive success and to monitor many other demographic aspects.

Reporting Births

Researchers examine Florida panther kittens at the den site when they are about two weeks old. Biological samples such as blood and skin biopsies are collected to gauge the overall health and genetic makeup of the individuals. Each kitten is then weighed and dewormed. Most importantly, a transponder chip is inserted just below the skin near the shoulder area of each kitten. These microchips are very similar to those used to identify pets and allow us to permanently mark each individual.

Reporting Deaths

Mortality (death), induced by both nature and humans, is a given with all wildlife populations. Endangered species, such as the Florida panther, must strike a fine balance between births and deaths in order to continue their existence. The population has undoubtedly increased since the mid 1980s and we may be witnessing the result of this increase in the form of more documented deaths. However, we are still finding plenty of evidence that panthers continue to persist in the expected areas.

In order to establish a cause of death the FWC panther veterinarian, sometimes assisted by other specialists, performs a full necropsy on every panther carcass recovered. Rapid decomposition in the south Florida heat and scavenging by vultures often make determinations of natural causes difficult. Hides and skeletal remains are then archived at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.

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