Wildlife agency to too-friendly family of Florida panthers: Git!
By Associated Press
Published March 27, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - Wildlife officials are using dogs and slingshots to teach a family of Florida panthers not to get too comfortable around humans.
The three cats have been spotted several times since last fall around homes in the Big Cypress National Preserve in southwest Florida. While it is not unheard of to encounter the endangered panthers in the region, these animals seem to have lost their fear of humans.
"There were instances of cats hanging out in people's yards and not taking off," said Bob DeGross of the National Park Service. "There was one instance where a gentleman was walking up his driveway and the cat was following him for a short distance. . . . This is the first time we've ever had to deal with this. Why these cats have displayed behavior like this is hard to say."
While the panthers never acted in a threatening manner to humans, officials fear over time they could become a threat if they continue to lose their fear of people.
"We want to nip that process in the bud by instructing these panthers that you should be careful. We can do things that hurt you and as long as we respect each other we can both be happy," said Darrell Land, a panther biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Last month officials released hounds to tree the cats, tranquilized them and put radio collars around their necks. Land said he had hoped that experience alone would make the panthers more wary of humans.
"The capture process isn't a very enjoyable one for the panther," he said.
The cats left the area, but returned last week. The hounds were called out again, the panthers were treed and shot with a vaccine for feline leukemia. Officials also "popped them in the fanny" with a slingshot, Land said.
"We generally just made their life miserable for a little bit and ran them out of the tree," he said. "We started to educate these panthers that maybe they should be more cautious around people."
It seems to be working, Land and DeGross said. They both stressed that if the panthers at any time appeared to be a threat, they would be captured and either relocated or placed in captivity.
There are only about 70 to 100 Florida panthers. Officials hope that rises to about 200 to 500, but they realize efforts to protect them could be set back if one of the big cats ever attacked someone.
"You can imagine what would happen if a panther would attack and harm somebody. That could create a tidal swell of bad feelings toward panthers and that could jeopardize any recovery efforts," Land said.
