NEWSLINK: We mustn’t give up on protecting the Florida panther

BY JACLYN LOPEZ

JLOPEZ@BIOLOGICALDIVERSITY.ORG

01/08/2015 6:32 PM 

ENDANGERED: A male Florida panther in the wild. HANDOUT FWC PHOTO

In the days since the news broke that a record 30 Florida panthers were killed in 2014, much of the response has centered around the idea that in a state now home to nearly 20 million humans, maintaining a panther population of only 100 to 180 might be the best we can do.

And that’s simply not true.

It’s true more people are moving to Florida — about 800 every day, by latest census estimates — giving us the dubious distinction of displacing New York as the nation’s third most-populated state.

And it’s true unchecked sprawl has already destroyed 95 percent of the Florida panther’s original habitat — that’s critical to preserving our diverse collection of wildlife.

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