The presence of Florida panther kittens is a hopeful sign for species recovery. Carlton Ward Jr. "How America’s most endangered cat could help save Florida." As its headline promises, National Geographic’s latest feature on the endangered Florida panther explores the unspoken, symbiotic relationship between the big cats and the humans they must coexist with. The article also showcases intimate, rare photographs of the panthers, which took five years to capture. According to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) , Florida panthers are actually a subspecies of mountain lion — the only one remaining in the Eastern U.S. They’re also known as pumas and cougars. The subspecies’ historic range once extended from Florida to Louisiana throughout the Gulf Coast states, and even Arkansas, NWF reported. Today, wild Florida panthers can only be found in southwestern Florida. Hunting decimated the population, and the species was among the first to be added to the U.S. endangered species list in 1973, with fewer than 30 individuals remaining, according to the National Geographic article. Habitat loss compounded the issue. With such a small population, inbreeding, which could lead to diseases and genetic malfunctions, was of particular concern. Journalist Douglas Main wrote the feature story, and […]
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