The Return of The Florida Panther

[@BetheUPROAR]

Make sure to watch Heartwarming Animal Stories on this playlist: bit.ly/2RtJKsY

[@SeanLKearns]

It's not the ranchers, it's the enterprise of the of the large corporations building highways that bisect the Panthers habitats. This is an animal that needs 100s of square miles of hunting ground. And it's effectively been confined by the expansion of orlando and tampa

[@suserman7775]

Every population center since ancient times has had an impact on nearby plants and animals. If we're smart, the whole thing can be managed without undue burden on either side. I'm not anti-panther, nor am I anti-human.

[@SlavicUnionGaming]

ok, mr tree hugger

[@yvonneost12]

did'nt that woman say they had 729,000 acres of bush to run around in ?? how much room does a kitty need for a litter box .

[@tylerrsmith443]

Tis true. Regardless of the thousands of protected acres all it takes is one highway 41 to create a genetic gap that inhibits proper breeding and introduces inbreeding issues. Animal crossing funnels can't effectively be built either without millions of funds and can't just dig a ditch in south Florida under the highways either. Flyovers are the only real option and super expensive....

[@osamanazzal4302]

@@SlavicUnionGaming Ok, ignoramus.

[@ferciaalejandrojuanramirez2698]

I grew up in Florida and moved to Wyoming, I definitely have had first hand experiences with all kinds of animals and will say the panther needs to be protected the same as the wolf and bison does !

[@coolnvigilantoutreach9418]

@Danny Salguero I think he's making a comparison with protected species in Wyoming.

[@Redkodiak1994]

@Kyle Wedge yikes

[@GawgaCracka]

Amen friend, even if it means people need to be confined.

[@GawgaCracka]

​@Kyle Wedge 'wolves' were her long before your bloodline got here.

[@AngelEmCuti]

As a proud Floridian I believe we need to protect the panther they are an important part of our eco system.

[@carolbrooks21]

I know right

[@adamtedder1012]

That panther looks good on the boardwalk. My local panther is lean but I think he or she is younger. Not starving just real athletic looking.

[@sedevacante966]

They are too dangerous to be around people. They should be exterminated in the wild. *popcorn ready*

[@JM-nt5ex]

@@sedevacante966 They don't attack people, they developed a fear of humans during the colonial era. As long as you stay away from their cubs, and keep your pets inside, you're fine

[@chrisgerena4630]

You're not a Floridian if you feel like this

[@ethanstewartstevenson7309]

We still have them in the Carolinas. They are making a comeback everywhere.

[@bigboip7657]

With an area that small.... they need to breed with different Panthers, to prevent inbreeding...... but In all reality, I find it crazy that humans move into they're natural environment, and feel mad that they eat they're livestock lmao what'd everyone expect?

[@Tappytw]

D Stenlake agreed it’s stupid to have a farm with predators around

[@stephaniebrowning5250]

Exactly. That’s already been done with panthers from Texas. For some reason that bothers people though because then there isn’t technically a Florida Panther species at all. If you can’t call it it’s own species, people care a lot less about it’s conservation. An endangered population of panthers doesn’t sound as severe I guess?

[@vianjelos]

@@stephaniebrowning5250 it was never its own species, it was a subspecies of cougar. Besides most humans are mixed with some neanderthal genes(all europeans and asians and non subsaharan africans) but we dont consider ourselves any less homo sapien.

[@antwannnelsonn1377]

Their*

[@Drew_Peacock]

@@Tappytw Most of these cats were killed before there was grocery stores. They didn't think of preserving the species they thought of survival.

[@robertbodell6149]

When I was a 8 or 9 in south Florida, I spent far too much time in the swamp. This old female panther would follow me around as long as I was in the swamp. She wouldn't let anything get close to me.

[@ChrisCouse]

I've never seen one, but I've seen their tracks while photographing in Big Cypress. Had a good conversation with the caretaker of Bear Island campground, in the heart of panther country. He lives out there a good portion of the year. He sees panthers regularly.

[@johnbochenek5526]

Six months ago I went for an early morning bicycle ride in the Everglades at Shark Valley. I was the first one riding the loop that morning and stopped at the observation tower. A deep guttural cat growl came from behind me so I walked away from it towards the tower. Then another one in the trees ahead started! Now I had one in front and one behind me, both growling but both hidden. I turned and went back towards the first one to get on my bike and ride out. As I did the growling stopped and I watched from about 100 yards up the road but never saw either one 🐱🐱

[@kyle18934]

well that's a way to get you fully awake in the morning. its better than coffee lol

[@clemenza24]

I think these cats should be considered a endangered species and it should be against the law to kill them,I look around the world at these cats,tigers ,lions cheetahs,leopards numbers are now so low its a disgrace

[@pawwalker3492]

Even though we don't live in Fla, we belong to Save The Florida Panther. These beautiful cats need _ALL_ the help they can get. We also belong to Robert Redford's Panther Project

[@oldfloridaart1994]

I grew up in northern Florida about 5 minutes from the Georgia line and we seen a panther at least once a year. My family also worked for the suwannee river management district and there's a wma called sandlin bay and I had a lot of experiences with Panthers out there and we even had one stalking us while out on a trail.

[@Doubledutch23]

It seems like Florida panther is easier to spot than our pumas in the northwest. I've spent thousands of hours out in the most concentrated puma areas in washington and only ever see tracks. Never seen the cats responsible for the tracks though.

[@tiaralewis428]

I feel like north Florida is so forgotten about. It's so swampy and woodsy and is a host to many different species. There are Panthers as far north as Gainesville and Ocala. As well as an abundance of large snakes, black bears, and bobcat. Almost every wildlife video I've watch of Florida says "These species are only remaining in south Florida". I've lived in both north and south fl. and I can honestly say I've come in contact with more wildlife in north Florida due to SF being so over populated.

[@daveycash3479]

Same in Central Florida. For example, it’s funny, most non residents would probably think you only see alligators in the Everglades. When instead basically every pond or lake here has gators that come and go.

[@ez2u1]

Yes we are in Sarasota on 2 acres, with and by woods one walked through our woods out into the opening than back into more woods

[@ceedsnuts4965]

Yes ma’am I’ve gone out to Ocala National Forest the past 3 weekends and have found panther tracks each time I’ve gone I have cams set up over several spots I’ve found tracks

[@FloridaHockeyFan]

I live just north of Tampa and I can assure you there's plenty of panthers, bobcats, foxes and coyotes fking everywhere. ( I live literally next to a massive preserve though)

[@LifeFlight101]

Odessa?

[@FloridaHockeyFan]

@@LifeFlight101 Nah close though. I live near Starkey Park

[@LifeFlight101]

@@FloridaHockeyFan heck yeah I'm just off Tarpon Rd so super close. 👌

[@alexmabie4485]

I had spotted one of the first, if not the first panther north of the caloosahatchee in Punta Gorda around 2008. Didn’t know that till just now.

[@logancurl9526]

I live in rural Alma, Georgia and I saw one this morning, May 25th 2021. It was about 7:30-8:00 A.M. and it was strutting along the tree line in the back of an open field, that's directly in front of my house. It was VERY large, and the sun was shining directly on that portion of the field, causing its sleek tan fur to almost glow, for lack of a better word, and it caught my eye as I was walking thru my living room, where I had pulled back the curtains a bit earlier to let some natural light in. I saw it, was shocked for a moment, and then ran to my gun room to grab a spare rifle scope I had lying on my work table in there, and came back. It was about 300-350 yards away, and at first few moments I was surprised and just looking with my naked eye(s) but I was able to view it for about 5-7 with a 3-9X Nikon scope set on 9X, and I'm 110% certain of what I saw. It appeared to be smelling/tracking the trail along the back of the field that I see many white-tail deer using on a daily basis, and it ducked into the woods in approximately the same area that I see the deer typically use to enter/exit the field in the mornings and evenings. I thought that it was a little odd that I didnt see a single deer anywhere just before that, but now I guess I know why. I'm just curious how the deer could know of the danger that was present, because I doubt all, if any, actually visually spotted the panther, plus to my knowledge that's not really the sort of predator that they have to worry about 95% the time in this area, so I'm just curious how they would have known about something like that....??

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

Never saw a cougar in Florida but have in Arizona. Was on a walk and a female came walking toward me. I froze, she walked by and that was that. Her eyes were incredible. She was not at all aggressive (fortunately).

[@southside_serpentqueen3796]

So cute and adorable

[@melodywashington96]

“I love them being here but there’s beginning to be too many of them” GET OVER IT HUMAN, YOU DONT GET TO DECIDE HOW MANY IS TOO MANY

[@rhondaunger1228]

I lived in Florida on the anclote River and walking back from the pool the day after Christmas play walk right past the Florida panther. It was a large male. It has sprayed it scent around the building. It stood there and watched as we took off to hour Villa. I called wildlife division and they said most of the time they don't bother people. I did not let my daughter play outside in the sand like I was doing. I was very nervous and did not take the trash out at night as he was hanging around the dumpster or the raccoons were. It was a beautiful animal. Nothing but strong and smart. We definitely must preserve our animals

[@strider5453]

Newman's invaded their territory not vice versa.

[@a3kid]

The man said 'i love them being here but now there's too many' that's the whole problem. Like it's your land and they're bothering you 🤣 we invaded thier land yo wake up

[@JK-cn5fy]

It’s their... not thier

[@pawwalker3492]

@@JK-cn5fy - who the f'k cares. It's probably a typo. Something you never did, I'm sure, since you're so perfect. (just edited for a typo 😁 )

[@pawwalker3492]

This human doesn't realize that before humans showed up there were a whole lot more of "them". If I were FL I'd put a big fence around the state so no more idiots can more there. FL is a _unique and precious_ ecosystem that does not need anymore human encroachment. If there's too much of anything - it's people. And shopping centers. And housing developments.

[@lo3572]

Animals don’t have borders. Whoever is strongest - that’s whose land it is.

[@a3kid]

@@lo3572 so should we kill all animals since we're stronger?

[@burnindownthehouse]

They're in other places in Florida, too. It just goes unreported. I have lived in Florida for most of my life and I have seen a panther here on the southeast coast of Florida- twice. It might have been the same panther, I am not sure. It was two years in between the sightings. There was a bunch of undeveloped land when I moved here a few decades ago and I had a house built near a bunch of undeveloped land and in back of me was a long path for the electric company trucks (there were big electrical towers back there all along the path) and there was thick brush on both sides of the path and one day I was out on my screened in pool deck and I saw a cat much larger than a bobcat with a somewhat long tail that slowly moved from side to side. I think it was hunting rodents because it was moving in a stalking manner. I stood there and it didn't see me and then it went away into the brush. The exact same thing happened two years later. The big cat came strolling along at a controlled pace and the tail was again moving slowly side to side. I got binoculars this time. Only got to look at it for about a minute before it disappeared into the brush.

[@francismarion6400]

Those aren't Florida panthers. They are Texas mountain lions.

[@erosion2205]

The thing that pisses me off is that these farmers are upset that their livestock are being eaten, after buying ranches and private land out in panther country

[@francismarion6400]

It shouldn't piss you off. You must be extremely confused.

[@erosion2205]

@@francismarion6400 you must be extremely confused ascertaining what one should feel

[@norwegianblue2017]

Ranchers need to mitigate their livestock losses with better fencing and better guard dogs. They are the ones who brought the livestock to panther territory.

[@w.d.2154]

Exactly

[@patrickgrippo]

Exactually.

[@blackpanther586]

Florida panther love ❤beautiful

[@Mister-Wabbit]

I love how they filmed a crocodile in the swamp

[@ethang3997]

Florida has american crocodiles

[@flip6125]

I live near a swamp, I’ve seen a ton alligators

[@Grandpa_popi]

I seen a panther once around 1996 when I lived near the Suwannee river in Fl.

[@CoreyT127]

Yeah i lived on the panhandle around that time not to far from the Suwannee river . Close to St Mark's reserve and there were always reports of Panthers although I personally never saw one. So the claim they are only in the far south is bunk.

[@adamtedder1012]

@@CoreyT127 yeah we have them where I work at cape canaveral. And a friend of mine while hog hunting in the orange groves outside orlando had an encounter. More than they say but don't care let them spread. Stop building subdivisions. People want to keep coming here build up not out. We got no more houses folks you'll have to live in a condo.

[@magnoliav12]

Those ranchers can buy donkeys to protect their chickens and goats.

[@deniseamatangelo3433]

excellent piece..hope the higher ups see this and learn something from it & change their views on ''progress''..

[@francismarion6400]

How is it progress if you bring in the larger Texas lion species to replace the smaller panthers?

[@bryanfrombuffalo7685]

Over protection....go back to watching the view

[@1998gst4611]

yeah go back to Alaska!

[@adammgrove]

we must protect them.

[@raymazzuca5263]

When the ranchers move to southern Florida, they knew there were panthers present. If people want to just live there with out fam animals thats fine. But to raise farm animals where the panther is present is just stupid.

[@strider5453]

the ranchers need to think the loss of an animal to predation as paying tax to Mother Nature.

[@dannyornelas9914]

Can you say the same thing for a small child? Ranchers reserve the right to protect their livestock, which they own and has monetary value.

[@BGCanadianBacon]

@@dannyornelas9914 if your child dies to a panther then it's your own fault

[@dannyornelas9914]

@@BGCanadianBacon Nah, it's the panthers fault. Shoot it

[@BGCanadianBacon]

@@dannyornelas9914 that's a way to deflect blame from the bad parents who 1. Had a child in a place where panthers exist 2. Didn't take the precautions required in a place where panthers exist

[@kennethgraham1807]

Ranchers moved Into a area known to have panthers, their goats and chickens shouldn't get any priority. There are millions of goats and chickens in the world.

[@joanmelnick1704]

This had me crying. Our Panthers and gators are so adorable and humanitarian. Humans are way worse sometimes. As in: murderers.

[@ez2u1]

No get your head out of Disney world.

[@osamanazzal4302]

@@ez2u1Well, he is speaking the truth. Humans are way worse than Florida panthers or gators. The animal that kills the most humans is the human.

[@timfrey2358]

my dad and I were hanging out after dark in the back area of our hotel room on family vacation at a picnic table facing opposite ways and he said "woah what was that? That was a big cat or something!" and I turned around, looked all over but never saw it, walked up to the trees where he saw it and he was nervous about me going over (he's 6ft6 and an ex biker so it's weird for him to be nervous, we've seen bears in person before and that never bothered him so wtf) but I never saw whatever it was. He said it just looked like a normal cat but "way too big", this was on St. Pete's Beach though, separated from the mainland by a long bridge highway, at a hotel between the bay, the beach, a big skyscraper hotel and a village Inn. Very weird.. Like where is it hiding in the day time in this crowded little beach?

[@BetheUPROAR]

Hi Tim, thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[@Nancy-fm1ie]

Interesting account. But i'd leave off the wtf to make it more credible.

[@brettbarreras48]

Can’t even imagine how fun it would be to go explore the Everglades

[@PunkIAm]

Better have a gun.

[@thejuiceup1138]

Just had a big one today walk down my driveway in Golden Gate Estates, Naples. It went to the side of my house and out the back side. It was a little unnerving, since this was my first sighting, and I was just out for a walk on my street..

[@johnl5316]

in HOLLYWOODLAND (the Hollywood Hills) I saw a cougar on my street one morning about 6 years ago

[@cesarperez4736]

I was in a juvenile program called E-Tu-Makee clewiston flwe lived in the wilderness and it was a experience I won’t ever forget especially being a city boy . We seen them all the time we would walk 2 or 5 feet from them and they never bother us and we won’t ever bother them they mind they own business I can’t imagine people shooting this beautiful animals

[@all-timealien4483]

Me personally, I’m a hunter so I know how introducing or re introducing a predator to an environment can effect the eco system. However, I don’t see a problem in allowing these Florida panthers to thrive. At the current moment, Florida Everglades have seen a devastating impact on invasive species that will absolutely ravage the ecosystem long term. Yes, the farmers and those who life off the land in the area that they inhabit will lose some live stock but I strongly believe that’s a sacrifice that should be intentional. The big cars shouldn’t stretch too far beyond necessary but they should continue to spread.

[@pawwalker3492]

Yeah - people are worried about panthers, because they're so big and scary. But they're really very shy. Let's talk about the people that allowed the pythons to escape, that IS killing the Glades. And the tilapia. And the liionfish. And the plant species taking over native ones. Remember Babcock Ranch? _THAT_ was devastating to the panthers.

[@adamtedder1012]

Freaking assholes with the pythons could've got a florida rat snake. My wife wanted a python and I said no but you can have a florida rat snake that is native and if it escapes belongs here. Incidentally he escaped. Lol. He was a Houdini. Cool, chill snake. Didn't buy him just picked him up outside my house never ever tried to strike.

[@logancurl9526]

I live in rural Alma, Georgia and I saw one this morning, May 25th 2021. It was about 7:30-8:00 A.M. and it was strutting along the tree line in the back of an open field, that's directly in front of my house. It was VERY large, and the sun was shining directly on that portion of the field, causing its sleek tan fur to almost glow, for lack of a better word, and it caught my eye as I was walking thru my living room, where I had pulled back the curtains a bit earlier to let some natural light in. I saw it, was shocked for a moment, and then ran to my gun room to grab a spare rifle scope I had lying on my work table in there, and came back. It was about 300-350 yards away, and at first few moments I was surprised and just looking with my naked eye(s) but I was able to view it for about 5-7 with a 3-9X Nikon scope set on 9X, and I'm 110% certain of what I saw. It appeared to be smelling/tracking the trail along the back of the field that I see many white-tail deer using on a daily basis, and it ducked into the woods in approximately the same area that I see the deer typically use to enter/exit the field in the mornings and evenings. I thought that it was a little odd that I didnt see a single deer anywhere just before that, but now I guess I know why. I'm just curious how the deer could know of the danger that was present, because I doubt all, if any, actually visually spotted the panther, plus to my knowledge that's not really the sort of predator that they have to worry about 95% the time in this area, so I'm just curious how they would have known about something like that....??

[@elainer946]

Back around 2005, a panther was seen loping across a side street in Citrus county.

[@rungards]

The Panther is a nickname not a species, it’s a version of a mountain lion/ puma

[@manicmusician7672]

It’s adapted slightly because of the jungle type habitat that’s why it has a distinctive name

[@ballahspark3556]

Actually a subspecies.

[@JM-nt5ex]

@@ballahspark3556 Nah, just a local name for the same species. They used to be all over the US

[@blaw11b]

At 1:05 is a beautiful shot of the rare American Crocodile!

[@jonathanmora7699]

That's an alligator not a crocodile Florida doesn't have crocodiles

[@theofficialadhdteacher]

@@jonathanmora7699 South Florida does have crocodiles. South Florida is the only place in the world where both species live.

[@tto2t177]

I live in Sarasota and I saw a mother and 3 cubs and there father in my back yard

[@albertrossodivita6635]

I’m surprised you didn’t visit Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter FL who have had a Florida Panther exhibit for as long as I can remember. I remember my dad taking me there as a kid and hearing the narrator at the exhibit speaking of the conservation and the scarcity of this amazing cat in the wild.

[@johnl5316]

Some Florida ranches have been in the same family for 200 years. Florida has horses and cattle dating back to the early 1500's (from the Spanish). Farms in southeastern Finland have been in my family for n500 years

[@tyrannicaltypomichaeltester]

There are mountain Lions in the East other then Florida

[@nelsonperez9546]

No their use to be all over the south and we had red wolfs but we killed most of them a century or so ago

[@tyrannicaltypomichaeltester]

@@nelsonperez9546 They were nearly extinct in the East but no longer Tennessee and NC have some now in the Bluetooth Ridge and the smokies

[@GehrmansWheelchair]

The “panthers” they speak of are a good bit different than the mountain lions you’re talking about. They have longer legs, behave quite differently, and have faint spots that developed to camouflage in those jungle like environments. They’re still cougars, just took a slightly different evolutionary path.

[@robertminter7050]

The west mountain lions are slightly different then the Florida panthers we have in Florida. They've evolved slightly differently and are adapted to Florida environment. But thankfully there's more around now, hell there's one living near my family's property that we can hear and even if we're lucky we might be able to get a glimpse of it.

[@tylerbrown2567]

@Blue2 Sierra mountain lions in Jacksonville, NC? Do tell, my family lives there.

[@boatrestore2816]

I live in Naples and have for about 20 years. Believe it or not as someone who lives here, a lot of people that live here have seen panthers over the last few years. It is not a cat you can mistake for another cat because of its size. Big wild cats freak me out but i wouldn't mind seeing more of them.

[@francismarion6400]

These things aren't Florida panthers.

[@OhMaccc]

I live in Pensacola and they just caught one in a neighborhood yesterday. I wonder how many are up here and how they expanded this far.

[@mikebobson2768]

Save and protect greetings from Everglades city.

[@randquadrozzi5850]

When that guy says their are to many of them I can't imagine what he's thinking.unless he's a rancher.it's an endangered animal.

[@mac2464]

1:05 thats a crocodile not an aligator

[@tto2t177]

If your a Floridian (like me) this is personal

[@justdoit8779]

I love all documentaries very much . I'm not a biologist . But I have spent most of my 60 years in Florida's woodlands . This species thrives as.far as hernando county Florida . Don't be disillusioned .

[@Jay-gt8hb]

Me and my friend live in Florida backwoods area and we have an airboat so one night we were boating through and we stop to take a pee and we shine a light out and there is a huge panther staring at us we almost shit ourselves

[@dbrown3217]

I’m from southern WV we got em here, not a lot but you always see trail cam pics on them every year.

[@patrickgrippo]

In northern west Virginia at Loganport,s ok with of Manninron Thre may still be a trail camera picture of a mtn lion seen by many people .

[@Rabidfox-gc5fw]

I remember seeing one in NC back in 2014. It locked eyes with me while I was outside of my at the time gf's house and we stared at each other for about 15 minutes before it went on

[@ez2u1]

Today in Sarasota a panther walked through our yard. We have 2 a read in a wooded area

[@tburr7502]

pov: you wanted to see what Nickmercs was talking about when he said he got an alert for a panther in his community

[@eberkovich]

Those ranchers do not belong there. That's not a normal ranch land. 100 years ago this was a swamp. They should go elsewhere where they belong.

[@catlover34fl]

Totally agree with you.

[@CaveDDECanem]

Happy to be the 1k like. :)

[@peterrose8862]

i saw one 3 years ago in stuart county

[@BetheUPROAR]

That's amazing!!

[@robertminter7050]

@@BetheUPROAR for some more good news, i have seen 1 Florida panther about 2 years ago on my familys land really far north in Florida and we used to hear it alot at night

[@adamtedder1012]

@@robertminter7050 a buddy of mine outside of gainesville about ten yrs ago heard his dogs going crazy one night and went out with a flashlight and saw one on his property. Maybe it was considering having a dog bone. It didn't though it hoped the fence and took off.

[@logancurl9526]

@@robertminter7050 I live in rural Alma, Georgia and I saw one this morning, May 25th 2021. It was about 7:30-8:00 A.M. and it was strutting along the tree line in the back of an open field, that's directly in front of my house. It was VERY large, and the sun was shining directly on that portion of the field, causing its sleek tan fur to almost glow, for lack of a better word, and it caught my eye as I was walking thru my living room, where I had pulled back the curtains a bit earlier to let some natural light in. I saw it, was shocked for a moment, and then ran to my gun room to grab a spare rifle scope I had lying on my work table in there, and came back. It was about 300-350 yards away, and at first few moments I was surprised and just looking with my naked eye(s) but I was able to view it for about 5-7 with a 3-9X Nikon scope set on 9X, and I'm 110% certain of what I saw. It appeared to be smelling/tracking the trail along the back of the field that I see many white-tail deer using on a daily basis, and it ducked into the woods in approximately the same area that I see the deer typically use to enter/exit the field in the mornings and evenings. I thought that it was a little odd that I didnt see a single deer anywhere just before that, but now I guess I know why. I'm just curious how the deer could know of the danger that was present, because I doubt all, if any, actually visually spotted the panther, plus to my knowledge that's not really the sort of predator that they have to worry about 95% the time in this area, so I'm just curious how they would have known about something like that....??

[@kerstinlampert7337]

The AP has reported that 17 Florida Panthers have been killed so far in 2020 by cars....

[@adamtedder1012]

That's usually the case. Most deaths the past 30years have been from cars.

[@FloridaGators10203]

Not sure why we can't build highway arches like Canada. This allows the wildlife to cross over the highways on a grassy arch with their young. I-75 (alligator alley) is too dangerous for nighttime crossings. Driving through Everglades and seeing alligators run over by semis is brutal.

[@mikeFolco]

I thought the hockey team made no sense until this video.

[@theinfinity2988]

0:54 Hockey

[@0scartheCat]

The Pythons are eating them too . . .catch more pythons, they should not be there . .

[@markhess6061]

I have heard from several local hunting guides and fishing guides in Florida that the game commission has been bringing in mountain lions from Arizona Texas area to help try and recharge the population. Has anybody else heard that

[@henryjw15]

Mark Hess yep, the panther population was bottle necking so the introduce mountain lions from other states into Florida

[@chiffchaff3355]

Then you no longer have a unique subspecies...

[@joshuaortiz2031]

They did bring in mountain lions from out west they had no choice the Florida panther population was too low and inbreeding would have been inevitable. It does change the subspecies but it was either that or extinction.

[@mikebobson2768]

This was years back I think

[@johnanr]

I've spotted panthers in frostproof a couple of times, looks like they're making there way north

[@logancurl9526]

I live in rural Alma, Georgia and I saw one this morning, May 25th 2021. It was about 7:30-8:00 A.M. and it was strutting along the tree line in the back of an open field, that's directly in front of my house. It was VERY large, and the sun was shining directly on that portion of the field, causing its sleek tan fur to almost glow, for lack of a better word, and it caught my eye as I was walking thru my living room, where I had pulled back the curtains a bit earlier to let some natural light in. I saw it, was shocked for a moment, and then ran to my gun room to grab a spare rifle scope I had lying on my work table in there, and came back. It was about 300-350 yards away, and at first few moments I was surprised and just looking with my naked eye(s) but I was able to view it for about 5-7 with a 3-9X Nikon scope set on 9X, and I'm 110% certain of what I saw. It appeared to be smelling/tracking the trail along the back of the field that I see many white-tail deer using on a daily basis, and it ducked into the woods in approximately the same area that I see the deer typically use to enter/exit the field in the mornings and evenings. I thought that it was a little odd that I didnt see a single deer anywhere just before that, but now I guess I know why. I'm just curious how the deer could know of the danger that was present, because I doubt all, if any, actually visually spotted the panther, plus to my knowledge that's not really the sort of predator that they have to worry about 95% the time in this area, so I'm just curious how they would have known about something like that....??

[@mikes7446]

Depression how their range has decreased so damn much.

[@aidanddd22]

1:05 since when is Florida the crocodile state I thought it was alligator state

[@theofficialadhdteacher]

We have both 😂

[@dispimp698]

Thought this was gonna be hockey

[@bobbys7877]

I saw one just outside Crestview,Fl in the sticks about a month ago

[@alexandermutter929]

How are these panthers different than mountain lions/cougars

[@Dirty_one_67]

They’re definitely not endangered. Go ask the ppl who live anywhere from Miami to Jacksonville. There was one in the tree in my friends front yard in Miramar Florida. They’ve been seen all the way down to Florida city and the Redlands. You see them daily in southwest Florida and when you lose a pet to one then you’ll feel differently.

[@JJ-iq5cv]

Of course the Native Americans have the best perspective on the panther

[@ballahspark3556]

Id rather have more panthers than ranchers

[@catlover34fl]

Me too!!

[@Jennyct]

I have a question maybe someone can help me? I live in NE Florida and I am almost positive I saw one from a very far distance in the woods on a path . I have found poop full of blonde hair in the middle of the path. It looked like a dog almost but with a very small head in comparison to its body. Someone did catch one on their trailcam around 11 miles away. But does anyone else know of these in NE florida?

[@anthonyryanangie311]

What the hell do panthers gators and pythons have to eat out there besides pigs

[@joewhite2686]

Tourists

[@shotgun_willie9549]

Deer and varmit

[@MW.US.]

Deer, turkeys, raccoons, opossums, otters, armadillos, other small mammals/rodents, variety of wetland birds, snakes, frogs, fish, turtles

[@timfrey2358]

sometimes each other, but there are a ton of animals out there, and livestock, pets, children...

[@SantiagoMAXIMOleon]

Tim Frey 😋 yum

[@DeadDukeVids]

I live in north Florida 3 miles from the Georgia line a lot of woods around here, had one scare the shit out of me tonight it came flying out of the woods must have been hunting deer.

[@JM-nt5ex]

I remember one night a few years ago my whole house was woken up by the south of some panthers saving the species I'd imagine in the creek, in Hendry/Glades county

[@kimberlytorrez1395]

Saw one in Nobleton Fl....ran across the road in front of my car

[@somos.tesoros_]

I live in northern Florida on the border of Georgia Callahan Florida I have a Florida panther photo on my game camera in my front yard so they’re well far north trust me

[@yolocrayolod6668]

Florida panthers are cougars Sub species or something right?

[@riskyroman7899]

Hey kitty kitty

[@cricutcrazy2010]

Steve French what are you doing in Florida

[@abelmantor7557]

Shot in the eye?! Damn😣

[@mikeFolco]

Different species than mountain lions?

[@lisaking9056]

They’re are a lot more than you think I’m a property owner in north central we always have panthers on our land if you just look at some of the trail cams in Florida and you will see plenty

[@adamtedder1012]

Yeah I just left a similar comment I'm in north central Florida as well. I have seen the panthers in my area a couple times over the past decade. The last time was within the last year.

[@JM-nt5ex]

Happy to see em returning. They’re coming back in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia as well. Slowly but surely.

[@wespatterson2830]

Yea I live in Panama City and we have them

[@elsadejesus8040]

Ive came across a florida panther in Ocala national forest !!

[@adamtedder1012]

I believe it. We have them over here in the merritt island national refuge on the space coast. I've seen them multiple times with my own eyes. Til I moved here from south florida I never saw one in the wild.

[@DumbTiger]

Personally I think of the hockey

[@dannythomas417]

Me too. Those one-hit wonders. God, they were never the same after losing Stu Barnes.

[@michaelgodfrey2006]

I think I saw one in my yard a couple days ago

[@jonmacdonald5345]

Don't let Bert anywhere near a Florida panther!

[@robinnool9983]

And Ernie?

[@rosariofishing]

Florida life!!

[@Lola-lh5kl]

It's so sad.

[@LoneBrowncoat]

"Panther" is a misnomer, from the WiKi: Taxonomy Felis concolor was the scientific name proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1771 for a cat with a long tail from Brasilia.[17] The second half of the name, "concolor" is Latin for "of uniform color". It was placed in the genus Puma by William Jardine in 1834.[18] This genus is part of the Felinae.[2] The cougar is most closely related to the jaguarundi, as well as the modern cheetah of Africa and western Asia.[19][20] Subspecies Following Linnaeus' first scientific description of the cougar, 32 cougar zoological specimens were described and proposed as subspecies until the late 1980s. Genetic analysis of cougar mitochondrial DNA indicate that many of these are too similar to be recognized as distinct at a molecular level, but that only six phylogeographic groups exist. The Florida panther samples showed a low microsatellite variation, possibly due to inbreeding.[20] Following this research, the authors of Mammal Species of the World recognized the following six subspecies in 2005:[2] P. c. concolor (Linnaeus, 1771) includes the synonyms bangsi, incarum, osgoodi, soasoaranna, sussuarana, soderstromii, suçuaçuara, and wavula P. c. puma (Molina, 1782) includes the synonyms araucanus, concolor, patagonica, pearsoni, and puma (Trouessart, 1904) P. c. couguar (Kerr, 1792) includes arundivaga, aztecus, browni, californica, floridana, hippolestes, improcera, kaibabensis, mayensis, missoulensis, olympus, oregonensis, schorgeri, stanleyana, vancouverensis, and youngi P. c. costaricensis (Merriam, 1901) P. c. anthonyi (Nelson and Goldman, 1931) includes acrocodia, borbensis, capricornensis, concolor, greeni, and nigra P. c. cabrerae Pocock, 1940 includes hudsonii and puma proposed by Marcelli in 1922 In 2006, the Florida panther was still referred to as a distinct subspecies P. c. coryi in research works.[21] As of 2017, the Cat Classification Taskforce of the Cat Specialist Group recognizes only two subspecies as valid:[22] P. c. concolor in South America, possibly excluding the region northwest of the Andes P. c. couguar in North and Central America and possibly northwestern South America

[@harrisonwilkinson9350]

We have those in Georgia everywhere I here them screaming while I’m in the deer stand. Why are they acting like there range is so small?

[@anthonyryanangie311]

Harrison Wilkinson do you got pythons too

[@bankeialabi4712]

Harrison Wilkinson u ta 5

[@kimk.2993]

Because they're literally different animals. What you have in Georgia is the Texas Cougar, Puma Concolor. Their range is up to 200 square miles. A Florida Panther will never hunt in Georgia because it's too far away. The Panther, Puma Concolor Coryi, is a different animal, complete with different facial bone structure, different fur color, a kink in the tail, and other differences. People's ignorance, like yours, and like the rich blond in the video who thinks oh we shouldn't kill ALL panthers, is why they're going to be among the next extinct species.

[@matthewmcclanahan8921]

@@kimk.2993 There have actually been Florida Panther sightings in Georgia. They aren't known to breed up there, but have been recorded wondering into Georgia. I don't understand why you feel the need to insult people, when it would do more good to be nice to them and simply explain to them they may be wrong, that is assuming you want more people to care about the Florida Panther. People need to be taught, not told they're dumb. Harrison may have answered his own question however, since Pumas are territorial cats who need their own range, a reason for venturing northward into to Georgia would be to find a territory to call its own.

[@keonawalker2195]

We have them here in South Carolina,I got 2 and 3 cubs roaming the area i live in,also a black one around.

[@deadlyta]

As a Georgian there has been rumors and urban legends about Panthers here Id like to believe it Red dead 2 has made these one of my favorite animals and my favorite big cat But i doubt their are more then just rumors Maybe one day they wont be I do remeber years ago there was a rumor going around that one was around here But i dont know what came of it

[@aaronwales4282]

Breed and release program would most likely benefite the population largely

[@yvonneost12]

729,000 acres , wow ~ if a kitty can't breed & live happily with that much room and with food abundant well just die already LOL .

[@MD-iw9te]

They should train the cats to eat the invasive pythons. If you catch some to rehabilitate then they should feed them invasive pythons.