FWC, partners reach out to Collier residents living with panthers

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Dozens of volunteers knocked on doors, talked with neighbors and distributed information about living with panthers to approximately 1,000 homes in the Golden Gate Estates area of Collier County Saturday morning. With four confirmed Florida panther depredations (panthers preying on livestock) last month in the area, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), along with several concerned agencies and organizations, sponsored an outreach day to educate residents on how to coexist with Florida panthers, bears and other wildlife.

The campaign was a joint effort by the FWC, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Florida Panther Refuge, Conservancy of Southwest Florida, National Park Service, Naples Zoo, Collier County Sheriff's Office and others working to conserve and recover the Florida panther. Florida panthers were listed as endangered in 1967 and are protected under both federal and state laws.

FWC biologists say a panther family is roaming around residents' properties looking for food. The female panther has killed chickens and goats. The depredations occurred in areas that did not have predator-proof enclosures for the animals.

"Panthers are opportunistic feeders, and depredations that arise occur more out of proximity and availability of livestock prey," said Mark Lotz, a biologist on the FWC's panther team. "Livestock and pets need to be secured, especially at night, in predator-proof enclosures that have sturdy walls and a roof."

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