When there are twice as many (2X) of something/panthers as should be in a place it is no wonder they are regularly being creamed by cars. Everyone can thank the obsessive mismanagement of them for high numbers (consequences be damned) by the State and Federal government oh and let's not forget the almighty Endangered Species Act) for many of the current problems. Here's some facts Mr Cone missed which come from a Federal document by USFWS on this subject:

http://www.fws.gov/verobeach/MammalsPDFs/R4FWSPantherEAFinal.pdf?spcode=A008

Pg 19 under 4.1.1 go down and read from line 11 to 14 which explains somebody  (Kautz et al (2006) knew panthers were at or very near carrying capacity back then. Here's the excerpt below :

Kautz et al.
(2006) estimated that existing panther habitat could support 79-94 panthers. Based on the
2002-2003 field count by McBride (2003) of 87 panthers, the existing habitat south of the
Caloosahatchee River may be at carrying capacity.

In the above statement the Caloosahatchee runs West of Lake Okeechobee to the coast and if one drew a line across the State's West to East coast thru Lake Okeechobee all the land below the line is only 6 million acres but the current panther population needs 12,000,000 which is essentially impossible today but people still try to beat mother nature with good intentions only cauusing more harm to the species and the people who pay for it all.

 

Mr Cone has also totally misrepresented ORV use in the Big Cypress Addition Land. Guess what folks - there are no ORVs operating in the Addition as of today (Jan 1, 2015) except government research ORVs once in a while. An ORV has never injured a panther either so where is Mr Cone getting his misinformation from Santa Claus. I believe I am qualified to mention these facts due to having roamed the Big C for over 5 decades.

Whether people know it or not the previous delisting criteria for the panthers was 3 populations comprised of 50 (proof at this link    http://www.panthersociety.org/karen.html  of them with one of the 3 populations being in another Southeastern state. Somehow the reasonable 50 number got modified to 3 populations of 240 and this massive problem was born.

We are told by the educated ones that more panther crossings are needed at $4,000,000 dollars a piece. All that would do is create more jobs for the educated ones that caused the mess in the first place since it would assist in there being more of these animals that are basically obsolete and inappropriate for the 21st century in Florida or hardly anywhere else with residential communities nearby. If nothing else the educated ones along with the environmental extremists  understand job security and fund raising very well from the looks of it.

Panther management in Florida is probably one of the worst wildlife stories ever in the whole wide world due to the fact that many other wildlife species (mammals) are being/have been extripated as this species eats it way through South Florida's entire wildlife population. Think about it - this specie's population is similar to allowing 200 deer/turkey etc. poachers work freely 7-24-365 - now how smart is that. One difference between panthers and human poachers is that a panther eats fawns along with does and bucks plus anything else with fur, scales or feathers. One can't just blame panthers though since pythons, gators, coyotes etc. take their share also and are pretty much supported to do so by misguided State/Federal hunting bans on many predatorspecies such as these. Extreme Green folks and those they've tricked into agreeing with them over the years with their endless propaganda stream may not like hunting but it is necessary in this 21st century whether they acknowledge the fact or not.

Hopefully all had a good New Year - The End.

 

animals that are basically obsolete and inappropriate for the 21st century

Hmmm... too bad we don't set max population numbers for people like we do other species.

Agreed, dahkota.  Perhaps it's "inappropriate" to expand development in ways that threaten one of the world's most unique places.

Do I detect some sort of dollar driven agenda?

Frank-- you seem to have a problem with "educated" people??

There have now been a total of 33 panther carcasses located and identified in Florida for 2014, 25 of those were a result of vehicle collisions. The second leading cause is intrespecific aggression, or panther deaths caused by other panthers. And while the government entities and NGO's managing this program would like you to believe vehicle mortality is the number one cause of death among panthers, it most likely is not. In 1997, a study was conducted on panther mortality. The number one cause of death among "collared panthers" was 35% intrespecific aggression compared to 21% for vehicle mortality. The relevance is that most deaths caused by intrespecific aggression are in fact, never accounted for. Most panther on panther deaths occur in remote locations, not frequented by man, or on private lands not accessible by the public or the government agencies. The only reasonable calculations of panther mortality can be extrapolated from the collared panther population, as it is the only population estimate known with any accuracy. The agencies would like you to believe that they know exactly how many panthers exist, but the truth is they really do not know. Three suggestions made by the agencies at a most recent meeting show that they believe there is a MINIMUM POPULATION of 133 individuals, that is only on Public lands, which are the least desirable habitat and make up 78% of the Panther range. Other estimates include a range of between 100-180, and yet still one model suggests there are as many as 272, or more. Regardless of how many there are, the scientists determined in 2006 that the land could sustain no more than 94 individuals. So whichever number you choose to believe, one thing is for certain, there are more panthers existing in panther habitat than the land can sustain. Game crossings under highways and fencing along roadways are being constructed with price tags as high as $7 million dollars each. Construction of fencing only serves to further compartmentalize and fragment habitat, an issue that has been identified as a leading cause in habitat degradation. Furthermore, even if all of the roads in Panther habitat were elevated, removing any and all obstructions, we would still lose as many if not more panthers than we are already. The reason is, because all available habitat has been claimed by existing panthers in the region. To understand this one must realize that the territory of a male panther is as small as 200 square miles and as large as 600 square miles, as was the case with Don Juan. Male panthers do not tolerate the presence of other males in their claimed territory. The reality is that all available habitat is already "taken" as was stated by Pedro Ramos, Superintendent of Big Cypress National Preserve. So male panthers, which make up the majority of vehicle mortality, have two choices to make. They can choose to die a horrible, painful death, doing battle with another male in an attempt to relieve him of control of his territory (intrespecific aggression). The other choice is the one we all see the effects of, that is for panthers to set out in search of a territory they can call their own. Unfortunately that is just not possible, as all the available habitat is already spoken for. In an effort to find a home to call their own these outliers end up crossing roads, or entering urban areas, which typically results in a vehicular mortality. The panther story is a success, we have brought them back to sustainable numbers, it is now time to manage the population that we have. If approved and accepted management practices are not initiated in a timely manner the future of the panther will again be as bad as the past it came from. The prey base of the panther in its range is quickly being depleted by the over capacity population. Genetic defects that were supposed to be eliminated with the introduction of Texas Cougars have resurfaced, namely the issue with holes in their hearts. The panthers of South Florida are being maintained in unnaturally high densities and as a result, deer, hog and other wildlife populations are quickly disappearing. The effects of a lack of a food source, will lead to more livestock and pet depredations, and an eventual crash in the panther population, putting them right back where they started prior to the introduction of Texas Cougars.

Okay, your stats for 2014 are that 70% of panthers died from collisions with vehicles and some of the other 30% died from other panthers which was the second most likely cause of death. But, in 1997 more panthers were killed by other panthers when they wore radio collars than were killed by cars. So we must assume that more panthers are killed by other panthers.

Well, your stats are incorrect. The 35% of panthers with radio collars killed was not limited to 1997; it is 1979 through 1997 inclusive - a period of about 20 years.  And, during a majority of those 20 years (14), Alligator Alley was not as large or as well travelled as it is today.  This information has the effect of negating the statistics and additional information you posted, as it compares apples to oranges. Additionally, if you look at the "All Panthers" stat, an uncollared panther was twice as likely to die due to vehicle collision than due to other panthers.

In just the last 15 years, the traffic on Alligator Alley has tripled. That would be 1999-2014, or right outside of your statistics. Statistically, with more panthers and more cars, it is more likely that vehicle collisions are rising.

Also, I would argue that restoring the Everglades to its natural condition, i.e. more water, less land, has a greater impact on the deer population than the panthers do.  (Not to mention the incursion of housing developments and the like into their territories.) While panthers do kill deer and other prey, loss of food and habitat have a much bigger impact on populations. I would bet, over the last 15 years, hunters, the human kind, have killed more deer than panthers have.

http://www.floridapanthernet.org/index.php/pulse/#.VKiyR3tBEhQ

 

 

Unique is the wrong reference to this cat, cougar, catamount, puma or whatever name they pin on it - they are all essentially the same. Go ahead get technical to keep the scam alive. Promoters of this scam are very lucky most Americans are blissfully ignorant and asleep on this.