twenty-eight inches in height, and weigh from fifty to one hundred-thirty pounds. These panthers are solitary and territorial animals and seldomly live together except for mating season. Following an approximate 90 day gestation period the females are more sedentary once the usual two to three kittens are born, but more than one kitten rarely survives and that is another reason for the low panther count. Florida panthers live in three main areas, Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve (just North of the Everglades) and the Fakahatchee Strand which is a dense water downed jungle West of the Big Cypress. A cypress is a long, thin stretch of tropical hardwood swaps. In the Everglades National Park Florida panthers are most concentrated in an area called the " Hole in the Donut". Although there are some panthers living in the Everglades the Big Cypress Swap is more to their liking and because of this there are more panthers in the Big Cypress than in the Everglades. Since the majority of the panther population is in the Big Cypress, hunters are upset with some of these efforts such as the ban of all hunting dogs, all-terrain vehicles and airboats in the preserve which are to help aid the survival of the panther. Because unlike the Everglades where hunting of deer and boar is allowed, in the Big Cypress it is not, and the Big Cypress is fully stocked with both of those animals.Tom Logan who is chief of wildlife research for the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission stated that civilization is the main threat to the survival of the panther." The panthers are being wiped out along with their homeland that is being surrounded by new and upcoming developments. Specifically, the highway is the biggest threat to the Florida panther. Nine panthers have been killed in the last eight years. Plans to complete Interstate - 75 by making it a two-lane toll road called "Alligator Alley" were put on hold because ...
