Concern rises over Florida panther
Fewer roadkill numbers could signal trouble
A state biologist responded recently to a series of questions from The NewsPress / Naples Daily News regarding panther numbers and the big cat’s future, and there are still many unknowns surrounding the Sunshine State animal.
Dave Onorato, a panther biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or FWC, said in an email Thursday that eight documented panther death at this point in the year seems like a small number but that there are still 10 weeks in the calendar year.
“(Eight) for the year would be low compared to our peak year in 2016 (34),” Onorato said. “That said, there’s still over two months left this year for additional road mortalities to happen. Additionally, looking at the mean number of road mortalities per year for the 6 years prior to the peak (2010 to 2015) and 6 years since (2017 to 2022), the averages are 19, and 23, respectively. So, these averages are not very dissimilar.”
Onorato said numbers have been up and down since the 2016 peak, and that FWC is monitoring the situation.
Florida advocates and environmental groups have said they are concerned about the low numbers and the future of the panther.
There have only been eight panther deaths documented this year, and scientists have long said that the number of roadkills is an indicator of the health of the overall population.
Twenty-five panther deaths were documented through Oct. 17 of 2021, according to FWC records, with 23 big cat deaths tallied at this point in 2022.
Is the panther disorder impacting the population?
Some panthers and bobcats have suffered and died from feline leukomyelopathy, or FLM, a neurological disorder which causes the cats to lose control of their rear legs and pelvis.
Onorato said the state has not found an increase in FLM cases recently, and that camera footage in Collier County has not shown a tremendous increase.
“While we can't rule out FLM as a cause of the reduced number of (roadkills), but we have not documented a consistent increase in FLM cases over the past year,” Onorato said. “We continue to record cases, but we have not noted a surge of cases in our extensive camera array in (Southwest) Florida.”
So, has the panther's range shrank?
“”We have no evidence to lead us to that conclusion,” Onorato said. “We are still detecting panthers via cameras, (roadkills) and depredations from all areas where we have been documenting them as the population increased following genetic rescue,” Onorato said. “This includes documentation north of the Caloosahatchee River.”
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