Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Community fears big cats

By Kaydee Tuff

Two months after reports of Florida panthers frequenting the Pinecrest community near Loop Road in the Big Cypress Preserve, several wildlife agencies admit the animals may pose a safety concern to residents.

"There are no known cases of panthers attacking humans in Florida," says Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officer Henry Cabbage, "However, the presence of panthers that seem to have grown accustomed to being around humans is unusual enough to deserve attention."

State and federal conservation officials met with Pinecrest area residents and other concerned individuals, Mar. 6, to discuss the presence of panthers around residences and a conservation education center.

Jan Michael Jacobson, of the Everglades Institute, says the problem is more than a just concern. He says he fears for his life and the lives of nearby residents.

"The panthers have been seen with front paws on the four-foot high fence looking the situation over," he says. "They can leap at least 10 feet high, so the fence is no protection at all.

Jacobson says the cats are not true Florida panthers, but offspring of "reintroduced" Texas cougars brought to Florida to increase panther numbers. He says the Texas animals are much more aggressive in nature.

"These cats boldly walked the length of my neighbor's yard, and passed within fifteen feet of him. This after he had to listen to a wild pig being killed and eaten less than 30 feet from his lawn lounge where he rests," Jacobson says.

Cabbage says it will be about six weeks before blood tests taken from the panthers will show if they have a connection to the Texas cats.

Members of the FWC, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Park Service (NPS) say they became aware of the situation earlier this year when local residents reported sightings.

Later the Miccosukee tribe said the panthers - at least one adult female and two kittens - have showed up in the area repeatedly since last fall, and the cats appear to have no natural fear of humans.

NPS biologist Deb Jansen said she suspects the kittens were reared in the Pinecrest area where they frequently saw people, and since people were part of their environment early on, they may not have developed the natural fear of people that panthers normally have.

"Since the kittens are about 11 months old, we expect them to strike out on their own and set up their own territories elsewhere in about six months," Cabbage said.

Officials have radio-collared the cats and are tracking their movements. They say the panthers favor the drier hammocks and pine islands in the area where deer and other prey animals congregate.

The Pinecrest community is on one such chain of pine islands in the Big Cypress National Preserve. Officials say although the cats have not demonstrated any aggressive behavior toward humans, they have not fled from encounters with people.

"Human safety is the top priority with all of the agencies, even when issues revolve around management of an endangered species like Florida panthers," Cabbage said.

Jacobson contends that Florida Panthers do not exist and therefore should not qualify as an endangered species.

"That claim is an egregious lie and they have known so for at least 10 years. There is no such thing as a ‘Florida' Panther," he says.

According to Jacobsen, many subspecies, including the Florida Panther, are known to science to be one species. He questions the use of tax dollars spent on the Florida Panther based on its status as an endangered species.

"Nowhere in the Endangered Species Act is there authorization to spend tax dollars on a species which is shot as vermin in Texas, and is hunted in a number of states," Jacobsen says. "The Texas cats "reintroduced" into my neighborhood morphed from varmints to ‘endangered' when they were ‘reintroduced' here. Same cat - different status."

According to Cabbage, the panthers were recently tranquilized and vaccinated and officials hope the experience was traumatic enough to install some fear of humans.

"If the panthers do return to the area, we will chase them with dogs again to continue training the cats to avoid the Pinecrest area and to avoid people," he said.

The three agencies also developed plans to alter the natural and man-made features of the area to prevent deer and other prey from congregating and drawing panthers to Pinecrest.

"We take this situation very seriously, and we are encouraging residents to do the same by removing any deer and wild hog attractants that, in turn, also may attract panthers," Cabbage said, adding the FWC's nuisance bear policy and many western states' cougar policies focus on the concept of removing attractants as an effective means of managing problems.

"We believe this approach will work for panthers," Cabbage said.

Jacobsen says the plan does not go far enough.

"I do not plan to become panther scat," he says. "These cats must be removed immediately."

The three wildlife agencies have invited the Miccosukees to discuss the situation with them and to assist in monitoring the three cats' movements and behavior. The tribe has accepted the invitation to help monitor the cats but has not agreed to discuss the matter with state and federal officials, according to the NPS.