if we want wildlife for real and not just on tv........tolerance and behavior change needed

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Volunteers attended an orientation before the panther outreach event in Golden Gate Estates

Lisa Ostberg/Friends of Florida Panther Refuge

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Nearly 50 volunteers and support staff showed up Saturday morning at Max Hasse Park in Golden Gate Estates to participate in an outreach event organized by the Friends of the Florida Panther Refuge, Defenders of Wildlife and others.

During an overview provided by Mark Lotz, a panther biologist with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), participants learned that a mother panther and her three kittens had been hunting livestock and other animals in the north western portion of Golden Gate Estates.  Lotz said the family may have moved out of the area by now, since there hasn't been a panther predation incident reported since June 10, but the mother may still claim this area as part of her home range.  Her young, particularly any females in her brood, could set up their own territories in the nearby vicinity once they mature.

To help residents learn how to live responsibly with Florida panthers, bears, and other wildlife in southwest Florida, teams set out to distribute information residence by residence. Packets included step-by-step instructions on how to build panther-proof enclosures for pets and livestock, as well as informational brochures and a magnet with panther resources.

Panthers are an Endangered species.  Their range once included all eight of the southeastern states but has been reduced to only peninsular Florida over the last century due to habitat loss and other threats. 

Lisa Ostberg with the Friends of Florida Panther Refuge urges residents to keep their pets and livestock safe by building sound enclosures that discourage panthers, something some residents seem hesitant to do.  As the event was underway, event organizer Shannon Miller with Defenders of Wildlife received a report of an overnight attack on a goat in the same vicinity as the June predation events, and indicated that FWC officers and biologists were responding to the report. 

Other agencies involved in the event included U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the National Park Service, the Naples Zoo, and Collier County Sheriff's Office.

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