Chapter 1
The Florida Panther is classified with the mountain lion,puma and cougar.. The three of them all belong to the Animalia Kingdom. An article by Phil Myers tells us that animals who belong to this kingdom do not contain protists(or bacteria and blue-green algae). All members of this kingdom are unicellular which means they contain more than one cell. Their Phylum consists of the Chordata. The Chordata are our vertebrates(Myers,Phil,2008). Vertebrates are backbones. Their class is the Mammalia Class. The Mammalia Class all share three unique characteristics which are... middle ear bones,hair and mammary glands(Wund,Mathhew,2008). They all come from the Carnivora Order. The Carnivora are organisms that live mainly in forests,mountains,grasslands,scrublands,tundra and open ice areas(Poor,Allison,2008). The family these three mammals belong to is called the Felidae Family. This family consist mostly of cats who are good hunters,who rely on their prey to survive.(Fahley,Bridgett,2008). Their Genus is considered to be the Puma. The Puma Genus are adapted to tropical climate zones. They also have very thick limbs,their overall body is muscular. The species they belong to is called the Puma Concolor species. You can tell the difference between a Florida Panther and another mammal from the Felidae family simply because their darker and their feet is shorter.
Endangered and threatned are two different meanings,very similar but not quite. Endangered species refers to any plant or animal that is threatned with extinction. Threatned means any species that is likely to become endangered in the near future. When a species is threatned it can get protected from endangerement,however when a species is endangered there is a very little chance in saving that species beacuse of the already deecrease in he population.
The Endangered Species Act was passed on December 28,1973. This intended to protected plant and animal species from becoming endangered or extinct. This act gave species more territorial range and more water resources. Many critics argued over this act saying how esa is taking up too much land and resources. Many supporters say how esa saved many species from coming endangered or extinct. The endangered species act was amended again in 1982. This also helped sea animals too from becoming extinct.
An article on eparks.org says that the Florida Panthers are endangered due to the destruction of their habitat. Also the collision they have with cars and extensive inbreeding. Many businesses and companies took over their territory allowing them to migrate somewhere else. The rapid population growth also plays a huge role in their endangeredment. The state of Florida consists of over 18 million residents. More than half drive in cars. There are only 80 Florida Panthers left. This won't help their population increase if they keep colliding with cars.
The Florida Panther Society Inc is an organization that helps out the endangerement of the Florida Panthers. The FPS has conserved over 645,000 acres of panther habitat. Another organization would be The Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. It was established in 1989 under the Endangered Species Act. The refuge consists over 26,000 acres of land. The refugee is located in the southwest of Florida, 20 miles outside of Naples. The refugee is closed to the public.An article on Florida Panther.com tells us that they plan on enhancing their habitat,develop more programs and breed more sub species in order for them to save the panther.
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/florida_panther.htm(1)
http://www.floridaconservation.org/panther/handbook/natural/taxonomy.html(1)
http://www.tigerhomes.org/animal/curriculums/florida-panther-pc.cfm(1)
http://raysweb.net/wildlife/pages/07.html
http://www.floridapanther.com/articles/FLORIDA%20PANTHER.htm(1)