RECOVERY PLAN
The Florida Panther Recovery Team has put together a detailed recovery strategy in hopes of rebuilding the population of the Florida Panther. Their hope is that by increasing public awareness and education on the topic of the panther, they will be able to maintain, restore, and expand both the panther’s population and habitat. This expansion will increase the range of the Florida Panther so that it spreads from South Florida to South Central Florida. The goal of this recovery strategy is to enact changes that will allow the panther population to grow and become self-sustaining so the subspecies can be reclassified from endangered to threatened, and then removed from the Federal list of endangered and threatened species in the future. The organization will consider this plan to be successful when it yields two viable populations of 240 (or more) adult and young panthers that have been maintained for two generations of panthers over a period of about twelve years. To get the existing population to this size and fitness, scientists predict that they will need to introduce panthers from the Western United States to strengthen the genetics of the population groups.
CONTINUING SUCCESS
The continued success of this plan relies on the community to do their part in becoming more educated on topics related the conservation of the Florida Panther. The overall goal of the recovery strategy is to facilitate growth so that the panther can be reintroduced to areas of its historic range where it does not currently reside. Eventually the Florida Panther Recovery Team hopes to expand the breeding population to areas North of the Caloosahatchee River. This becomes problematic as there is planned development in that area. As people become more aware of the issues faced by the Florida Panther, it is their job to use their knowledge to influence others to act in conservation of the species. In the end, the community will have to decide whether they will or will not act to guarantee this land will be set aside for panthers.
The revival of the Florida panther starts with strengthening and the current population and helping to facilitate the movement of panthers to new areas where they can continue to expand their populations. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has set aside what they call a functional zone of 9094 square kilometers in Southern Florida for the regrowth of the panther population. As the optimal habitat is between 1000-8100 square kilometers, this functional zone protects the area where panthers are found, and leaves room for population growth and spread. It is speculated that new genetics will need to be introduced to the population to keep a steady growth and then maintain the new population within the functional zone. This can be done by introducing female pumas from the Western United States into the functional zone. Should things go according to the plan, the projected growth for the future is very promising for the Florida Panther. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that there could be an increase of 14.9 million new panthers all throughout Florida by 2070 and an increase of 1.27 million residents in Southern Florida where the population currently exists. With the introduction of five females from Western puma populations every 20-40 years, the chance of quasi extinction by 26-42%.
POTENTAIL PROBLEMS
The Florida Panther Recovery Team is currently looking for suitable habitats in Northern Florida where they hope to spread panther populations as a start to helping them regain their historic range. They are currently interested in two areas of Northern Florida, the Big Bend Region, and the Apalachicola National Forest. The team believes that these regions could be split into 15 small patches just big enough to support the range of a female panther. Roughly 217 square kilometers each, these patches should be able to support the growth of subpopulations of panthers so long as the patches can remain connected to the source population. However, this is only possible if the team can stop and prevent habitat loss and fragmentation due to highways, development, and climate change.
One of the largest threats to the Florida panther is the highway system. The highway currently restricts the population to their current range as it creates a border the panther is unable to cross. In recent years, vehicle collisions have been the leading cause of panther deaths in Florida. In addition to direct causes of death, the highway also indirectly affects the panther population through climate change from vehicle emissions. As they exist in the Southern tip of Florida, the species is especially threatened by rising sea levels. If trends continue, scientists estimate a sea level rise of between 0.3-2.5m in Southern Florida. It is predicted that by the year 2040, the panther will lose 973 square kilometers (about 11%) of its functional zone due to climate change in the Big Cypress and Lone Pine Key regions of Florida. Development near the Caloosahatchee River would lead to an additional loss of 581 square kilometers (about 6%) of the outlined functional zone. Should panthers be able to spread to habitats like Big Bend and the Apalachicola National Forest in Northern Florida, they would be more likely to thrive as those areas are less susceptible to habitat loss due to sea level rise. If the populations are unable to expand, however, it is not very likely that panthers will be able to successfully rebuild their populations.