Has the Florida Cougar population truly expanded to 160 individuals?????? There were 100 of the Big Cats at the beginning of the year with all types of reports on road kills sinking the population...........Wildlife Officials had reached the conclusion that there was not enough room for the Cougars and certain Environmental Groups had appealed to the Fed Government to provide more room to roam.............Any commentary on this article from you readers?

fLORIDA COUGAR POPULATION ON THE UPTICK?

LEE COUNTY, FL -
Florida Fish and Wildlife officers announced Wednesday that the Florida panther population is increasing.

 With the increase in population, FWC is working with farmers to secure their livestock.Florida panthers are fast moving, meat eating predators."These are large cats. They can take down a full grown deer," said Kipp Frohlich of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.It can kill deer, cattle or pets if they're not properly secured."They're looking for the easiest meal they can find quite often," said Nike Wiley, FWC Executive Director.

The chances of that happening just increased.FWC officials announced Wednesday that the Florida panther's population is steadily increasing from as few as 20 panthers in the 70s to as many as 160 today.
"As the panther population increases there are going to be more interactions," said Wiley.Those interactions could prove to be dangerous for animals, but FWC officials say panthers don't pose a threat to people.
"This is a big animal. Is there something to be afraid of here? Fortunately there's been no attack documented of any Florida animal or Florida panther on any person," said Wiley.

As for the attacks on animals, FWC says they have a plan for cattle owners."We have some ways to help them shore up their pens and other things they can do like bring their animals in, particularly at night," said Wiley.

Is the increase in panther population a bad thing? "It's a success story. Panther numbers are up. We're now between 100 and 160. That's a long way from where we started recovering the panthers when there was 20 to 30," said Frohlich.

FWC hopes the panthers can stay safe from their main killers – cars.
"When you're in those panther speed zones in those areas where you'll see the signs and the caution lights, please be careful. Please obey the speed limit," said Wiley.