Proceedings of the Ninth Mountain Lion Workshop - Carnivore ...

The Land of the Living Dead Comes Alive: The Florida Panther in Big
Cypress
Deborah K. Jansen, Big Cypress National Preserve, 33100 Tamiami Trail East, Ochopee,
FL 34141, USA, deborah_jansen@nps.gov
Roy T. McBride, Livestock Protection Company, 26690 Pine Oaks Road, Ochopee, FL
34141, USA, roy@livestockprotection.net
ABSTRACT Ten years ago, a major portion of Big Cypress National Preserve (BCNP), a
unit of the National Park Service in south Florida, was described by Florida panther
(Puma concolor coryi) experts as an area of unsuitable habitat for panthers and their prey.
Portrayed as a “population sink”, there was opposition to include BCNP as a
reintroduction site in the Florida panther genetic restoration project, which in itself was
opposed by some experts in the field. Research and monitoring conducted on both the
panther and its prey since then have shown that this 217,000-ha area supports a thriving
panther population and that factors other than habitat quality accounted for the scarcity of
panthers in the 1980s. With the ongoing development of private lands in south Florida,
BCNP and the adjacent public lands are becoming the core habitat remaining for
panthers. This paper points up the dangers of premature conclusions when data are scant,
especially when it might impact agency decisions on the recovery of an endangered
species.
Proceedings of the Ninth Mountain Lion Workshop
189