In the 1600s, when farmers and settlers moved into the Florida region, they viewed the panther as a threat to their livestock and hunted the panther in defense. Over time the general perception of the animal changed to one of fear and hatred, and in 1887, the state of Florida authorized a five dollar bounty for panther scalps. This greatly increased the number killed in the following years, and lead to a dramatic decline of the panther population.

An image from www.cotf.edu shows the decline in panther range over the past 500 years.

This limited population area has made it increasingly difficult for the panther to reproduce because of the issues related to close related breeding, which leads to genetic defects. This decreases the already small population’s health, and makes it harder for a healthy generation to grow.

Fortunatly, the panther has been listed on the endangered species list for 40+ years, but it may be too late to save the animal, if the population does not have enough members to reproduce.

More detailed information about the current number of panthers in the wild will follow.