Florida panther

Florida panther
Close-up of head in Everglades National Park
Close-up of head in Everglades National Park

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Puma
Species: P. concolor
Subspecies: P. c. couguar
Population: Florida panther
Range of the Florida panther within the U.S.
Range of the Florida panther within the U.S.
Synonyms[2][4][5]
  • Puma concolor subsp. coryi (Bangs, 1899)
  • Felis concolor subsp. coryi Bangs, 1899

The Florida panther is a North American cougar (P. c. couguar) population in South Florida. It lives in pinelands, tropical hardwood hammocks and mixed freshwater swamp forests. Its range includes the Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Picayune Strand State Forest, as well as rural communities in the counties of Collier, Hendry, Lee, Miami-Dade, and Monroe County. It is the only confirmed cougar population in the Eastern United States, and currently occupies 5% of its historic range. As of 2024, about 200 individuals are left in the wild.[6]

  1. ^ NatureServe (5 May 2023). "Puma concolor coryi". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Florida panther (Puma (=Felis) concolor coryi)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  3. ^ 32 FR 4001
  4. ^ "Felis concolor subsp. coryi Bangs, 1899". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Puma concolor subsp. coryi (Bangs, 1899)". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  6. ^ Jacobo, J. (2024-05-17). "How experts are trying to save the Florida panther". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-07-29.