The Florida Everglades is home to a variety of wildlife, including one of North America’s most elusive predators. The answer to whether panthers reside there is a definitive yes. The Florida panther, scientifically known as Puma concolor coryi, is the only recognized population of cougar found in the entire eastern United States. This apex predator’s continued presence reflects the health of the greater South Florida ecosystem.
The Florida Panther: A Confirmed Resident
The animal commonly referred to as the Florida panther is a subspecies of the cougar. This specific population has a long-established history within the state’s wilderness, extending back centuries. Although sometimes classified under the broader North American cougar subspecies, “Florida panther” remains the common identifier for this distinct population. This big cat is the last breeding population of cougars remaining east of the Mississippi River, representing a continuation of its historical lineage in the region.
Where Panthers Roam: Habitat and Range
The panthers’ range centers on the southern tip of Florida, extending beyond the Everglades National Park boundary. Their core habitat includes the Big Cypress National Preserve and the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. These cats utilize a varied landscape, moving between cypress swamps, pine flatwoods, and mixed freshwater swamp forests. Panthers are habitat generalists, but they favor areas with dense cover for resting, hunting, and raising their young.
Male panthers require home ranges sometimes exceeding 200 square miles, while females occupy smaller territories. Protected corridors are important, allowing panthers to safely move between fragmented habitats for genetic exchange and population expansion. The majority of the breeding population is concentrated south of the Caloosahatchee River, though dispersal extends into rural communities in counties like Collier, Hendry, and Lee.
Conservation Status and Population
The Florida panther is protected as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. This designation reflects the animal’s extreme rarity, as its population plummeted to an estimated 20 to 30 individuals by the 1970s. The historical decline was caused by habitat loss and fragmentation, compounded by a severe genetic bottleneck. Low genetic diversity resulted in health issues, including heart defects and reproductive problems.
A genetic restoration program was initiated in 1995 with the introduction of female cougars from Texas to introduce new genetic material. This effort successfully increased the population’s health and resilience, allowing the numbers to grow. Current estimates suggest there are between 120 and 230 adult and subadult panthers remaining in the wild. Despite this growth, vehicular collisions remain the leading cause of mortality, highlighting the continued threat from habitat encroachment and road construction.
Physical Characteristics and Behavior
Florida panthers possess a coat that is a tawny or rust color, with a whitish-gray underbelly and black markings on the tips of the tail and ears. Adult males are substantially larger than females, weighing between 100 and 160 pounds, while females average 70 to 100 pounds. They are considered average-sized for the cougar species. These animals are highly solitary and territorial, only interacting for mating or when a female is raising her kittens.
Panthers are crepuscular, meaning they are most active during the twilight hours of dawn and dusk, when they hunt. Their diet primarily consists of large prey like white-tailed deer and feral hogs. They also consume smaller animals such as raccoons, armadillos, and small alligators. The female raises her litter of two to three kittens in a dense den, and the young remain with her for about a year and a half before dispersing.