Better Fencing Key to Resolve Florida Panther Problem

Better Fencing Key to Resolve Florida Panther Problem

As I have seen before this cat was sick., Most any time I have been around where there has been a "problemed " cougar/mountain lion/ panther. The end results have often been a old disabled or sick cat. Seems the kind of money they spend in the research of these animals they would have an idea as to the health conditions of a collared cat..

http://news-press.com/news/local_state/040630panther.html

Fish and Wildlife biologists have been keeping tabs on the panther since it was a year old.
FP-60 was born in October 1995 in Big Cypress National Preserve. In March 1996, biologists captured and collared him.
Based on telemetry data from the collar, the cat roamed Big Cypress, the Florida Panther Refuge, Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve, Picayune Strand State Forest and even northern Golden Gate Estates.
Meanwhile, the Shealys and Jan Michael Jacobson, director of the Everglades Institute, are under investigation after they tethered a goat and filmed the panther attacking it two weeks ago, wildlife officials said.
?All I was doing was identifying what was taking my goats,? Shealy said. ?That cat broke through three cages to get to that goat.?

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cpanther30jun30,0,174...

The cat was in terrible shape. It weighed 93 pounds, down from 137 pounds in 1998. It was missing patches of fur. It had wounds on its face. A veterinarian planned to test for mercury, mange, ringworm and other health problems. Rather than being released in the wild, the panther went by truck to the White Oak Conservation Center north of Jacksonville.

Nobody approached us about compensating us for our animals," he said. "I've got photographs of the cat killing my animals. It shouldn't be my problem. It's their experiment."

http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/news/article/0,2071,NPDN_14940_3000559,00...

It's been a nightmare," said Trail Lakes Campground owner Jack Shealy.
He said he told Conservation Commission biologists weeks ago that the panther looked sick and criticized them for not taking quicker action.
Shealy insisted that the panther posed a threat to human safety, but the panther never showed any aggression toward humans, said biologist Darrell Land, panther section leader for the Conservation Commission.
The campground's animals were another story. The panther killed 16 goats, four emus, three turkeys, five ducks and a chicken before owners deterred the panther by erecting a taller wooden fence around the animals, Shealy said.
Biologists had hoped the panther would leave the area around the campground on its own, but that didn't happen. That is unusual behavior for a panther.