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Florida Panther Country
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red clay View Drop Down
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Posts: 10226 		  Quote red clay Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Florida Panther Country
    Posted: 16-Dec-2008 at 23:51
Back in August I had pm'd Knights about my quest for a live shot of a Florida Panther.  I slogged through some of the roughest terrain I had ever encountered to no avail.  I recently related the story to a collegue at the school I teach at and he as much scoffed at the idea that there is any place left in Florida that could support a breeding population.
 
Florida is not all like Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami Beach.  As a matter of Fact once you get about an hour west of Jacksonville, [out on the Panhandle] your into very heavily forested and unpopulated areas.  Some of the largest counties having populations of only 20-25,000.
 
I was down in "Gods Country" as the locals call it, this past weekend.  Again tried to get a live shot.  Having found fresh tracks in our daughters back lot I went on my quest once more.  Their property backs on to the Apalachicola National Forest which is approx. 160,000 acres.  That runs into Tates Hell National Forest which is Approx. 220,000 acres and covers the better part of 3 counties.  This time I remembered to take a few shots to show why it's not an easy task to photograph this animal.  This is what Panther Country looks like.-
 
 
                               
 
 
                          
 
 
                             


Edited by red clay - 17-Dec-2008 at 00:37
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Posts: 1962 		  Quote Cryptic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09-Jan-2009 at 21:21
Originally posted by red clay

As a matter of Fact once you get about an hour west of Jacksonville, [out on the Panhandle] your into very heavily forested and unpopulated areas.  Some of the largest counties having populations of only 20-25,000.                                     
I have driven through the vast piney woods of the Florida Panhandle many times.  As you state, a large animal could easily hide back there. This is especially so with the slow decline of hunting (even in rural areas) as a past time / source of food.  Not only are the Piney Woods vast, but there are fewer and fewer people going into the back country.
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Posts: 818 		  Quote Panther Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07-Feb-2009 at 00:45
Funny that, since my return & upon finally seeing this thread... I too remember that conversation. I also remember talking about the black panthers that existed around my mother-n-law's homwtown and not knowing their current status. It turns out that they are still around and with her recounting an encounter she had of seeing the backend of a black panther in the headlights of her car in the early morning hours out on the plains around this small Texas town, in which i now reside. It only piqued my curiousity since she told me this had happened atleast a month ago because prior to being told, i had thought they were either extinct around these parts, and or.... had moved way down south!
 
Pity, with all the scientific research grants thrown about by the US government, little interest is shown in this still "wild bigcat" roaming the plains! Go figure my luck...   :(
 


Edited by Panther - 07-Feb-2009 at 00:47
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Posts: 3224 		  Quote Knights Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11-Feb-2009 at 03:31
Yes it certainly would be very interesting to know the true range and distribution of cats like the Florida Panther. It can be monumentally challenging to do a survey as such, though. Still, with the potential funding and predicted range, it would be far for feasible than doing a similar survey for the Snow Leopards of Central Asia Shocked

Oh and do inform us of any sightings, Panther! Smile
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