These have to be some of the coolest, most magnificent creatures around....

[Tommy_Carcetti]

.....in possibly one of the most unique habitats for that particular animal. A mountain lion that lives in a lowland wetland....it boggles the mind. But amazingly, they do exist....in small numbers.




http://nbc4i.com/2016/03/30/man-finds-florida-panther-on-porch/

Man finds Florida panther on porch

WFLA Staff
Published: March 30, 2016, 8:50 am

LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – Phil Hendra was at his father’s East Fort Myers house on March 18 when he saw this Florida panther on the porch.

Hendra snapped the photo of the endangered cat. The Fish and Wildlife Research Institute shared the photo Tuesday. The institute is part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

East Fort Myers is in Lee County, south of the Orange River.

“(The panther) stayed for about 20 minutes and laid down for a bit,” Hendra said. “It looked at us inside the window then slowly walked away, and we have not seen it since. My parents have lived here since 1988 and they may have seen a younger panther about two years ago, but nothing compares to this once in a lifetime experience.”

FWC clarified this panther was not spotted in Pinellas County, as some social media posts indicated.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

1. Whoa....

nice kitty.

[djean111]

2. Gorgeous and beautiful. Thank you!

And, much as I love seeing this picture, I hate that the picture is out there, because some asshole with a gun will go looking for it.

My Florida neighborhood (beneath Tampa/Brandon) is filled with sand cranes and peacocks (someone who raised them left and abandoned them, they are doing VERY well) and is right next to a little-known sanctuary with cranes and coyotes and such. We are always worried that someone will sneak in and start bagging what they consider "game".

Although if the peacocks get as numerous as they are on Longboat Key, all bets may be off.

Hopefully, those beautiful creatures will take over when the waters rise and make much of Florida "lowlands", and the houses are gone.

[TexasBushwhacker]

3. So beautiful

As long as humans are going to encrouch on their habitat, keep your pets indoors and your trash covered.

[A HERETIC I AM]

12. Believe it or not, there is PLENTY of open space and wilderness....

not too far from the house in the OP.

You really don't have to go too terribly far from Fort Myers before you get into farm land and groves, and not too far after that and you're in the Everglades.

A cat like that can make a pretty good living in a large orange grove.

[Nay]

4. Last month we saw a Florida panther on the grounds of the

Kennedy Space Center an hour outside of Orlando. The grounds are a national park, and the panther just ambled across the road about a hundred yards from our bus. It was magnificent.

[denbot]

10. My wife, daughter, and I took that tour a year ago last July.

Seeing a panther would have been awesome! While touring the Kennedy S.C. grounds the largest alligator we saw in Florida was in a pond fairly close to the launch pads. Leaving the park we also saw a small herd of wild hogs(4), which I would guess is pretty bad for the local environment, but possibly a pretty good prey source for those great big kitties.

[cherokeeprogressive]

5. Big cats are truly the most majestic of all animals I think.

Where I live they're called Mountain Lions and adults weigh about 90-125 lbs on average. A couple of years ago one grabbed a pitbull that was being walked on a leash and ran away with it. The owner said the pitbull never made a sound after the initial yelp when it was grabbed by the throat and both were gone in about 20 seconds. It happened on one of our local hiking trails.

There's a local legend about a Mountain Lion living in the local mountains that weighs upward of 150 lbs but it's impossible to find anyone who's ever seen it. I've seen two in the 8 years I've been living up here.

[MisterP]

6. well if you let it in it'll just want to go right back out

[annabanana]

8. !

[sinkingfeeling]

7. That's a big kitty.

[maindawg]

9. Kinda Scarry

The couger as actually increasing in population, in some parts of the world. They are so intelligent that one may live near humans and never be detected at all.
I would not step out that door.

[A HERETIC I AM]

11. That's why we have signs like this in our state;