FWC collars 2 panthers in Naples for tracking, study

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FWC researchers collaring a sedated panther for later study in the wild. Credit: FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

The Florida Wildlife Commission has captured, collared and released two female panthers in Naples for researchers to track and study in the wild.

The Florida Panther Research team from FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute caught the panthers thanks to homeowners and property managers who called FWC to report deer carcasses they found which the panthers had fed on. Biologists baited cage traps with the deer carcasses and monitored them via remote livestream cellular cameras, given a high probability that a panther will return to feed on its prey. In both cases, the panthers returned within hours and entered the cage traps after dark. Biologists sedated the panthers, conducted health assessments and fitted them with radio collars. Both panthers were released on-site after a 1-hour workup.

Panther biologists will locate these panthers two to three times each week via aerial telemetry. The resulting location data will enable critical research into the health, movements and breeding success of panthers along with the urban-wild interface. FWC thanked Virginia Stokes and Dream River Farm for helping the researchers capture FP261 in October and thanked Bart Boissonneault and Naples Heritage Golf & Country Club for enabling the capture of FP262 in December.

FWC says reports from citizens are a vital resource to biologists and encourages the public to report possible panther depredation to its Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-800-404-3922 and any video footage or pictures of panthers to the FWC website’s panther sightings page.

FWC researchers collaring a sedated panther for later study in the wild. Credit: FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
Panthers filmed via night vision cameras. Credit: FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

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