Rare photo of Florida panther with kittens. Credit Florida Wildlife Service.
Panther habitat just 5% of original size For those who have witnessed the shrinking of the panther's historic range - now down to five percent of its original size - the snapshot is as a great thrill. Picayune Strand Picayune Strand, a 55,000-acre chunk of the Everglades, was drained and partially developed decades ago. The development failed, and over the years the state and federal governments spent $150 million to purchase the land lot by lot. State and federal biologists consider the Picayune Strand an essential piece of remaining panther habitat, connecting other public lands that include the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Everglades National Park and Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park.
Since the early 1990s, when the Florida panther was on the brink of extinction, the wild population is still on the brink with less than 100 animals surviving, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Picayune Strand Restoration Project In recent months, the Picayune Strand Restoration Project gained momentum with the start of a $53 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to build the first of three pump stations to deliver water back to the landscape. In addition to rehydrating the wetlands, the Corps and the South Florida Water Management District are also removing 260 miles of roads. In the photo, taken by Panther Team Leader Darrell Land as part of a Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission monitoring program, Panther #170 and her kittens are walking on one of the roads where asphalt has been removed.
After three decades of working to protect Florida's natural resources, including panther conservation, Service wildlife biologist Kim Dryden said "It's truly exciting to take this step towards panther recovery.
Courtesy of Florida Wildlife Service
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