How National Parks Protect The Florida Panther

Information provided by the National Parks and Conservation Association

National parkland (as well as a federal wildlife refuge and state preserves)remains the primary "safety zone" for the surviving Florida panthers--and their most secure hope for survival in the future. These areas provide safe havens for panthers to live, hunt, and reproduce.

NPS's stated goal is the long-tern preservation of the species and its ecological role and function as part of a "natural" ecosystem. The various holdings of NPS offer varying degrees of protection. National parks provide the highest level of protection to endangered species native to their lands. National preserves offer a somewhat lower level of protection, followed by national monuments.

    The Florida panther primarily inhabits:

  • Public preserves such as the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve, and Big Cypress National Preserve
  • Private preserves such as the National Audubon Society's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
  • Reservation land such as Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation and Miccosukee Indian Reservation
  • Private ranch, farm, and citrus-growing land, particularly in Hendry and Collier Counties

In Everglades National Park and Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, all hunting is prohibited, even of prey animals like deer and wild hogs. Several of the preserves allow limited hunting in season. Each of the national parks, preserves, and refuges supplies trained personnel to monitor and manage panther populations and habitat on its property. They have also joined forces with state parks, the State of Florida, environmental groups, and others to conduct a variety of protection, management, recovery, and public education programs.

The greatest need of the panthers is land. Each male panther requires a range of from 200 to 500 square miles, without overlap with any other male panther. These are huge amounts of acreage. Only the protected public lands and adjacent private lands in Florida comprise sufficient contiguous land to support a wide-ranging predator such as the Florida panther.

But even with such large tracts of existing public parkland, the availability of "secure," suitable panther habitat is not sufficient. Some areas are fragmented, which can reduce the potential ranging area and increase the chances of the panthers moving into unprotected areas. Furthermore, much of the public acreage is wetlands, which do not support the larger prey populations of deer and wild hogs that panthers require for optimum, healthy feeding. More secure habitat is needed, preferably forested, hardwood hammock and pine flatwoods.