Our hunting lodge in Central Florida has a diverse collection of wildlife and that included a female panther the other day. She was collared and I don’t remember the number, however, I also believe I really do not have any need for that number. The way things work now days is that if the panther is killed on the highway, authorities will know by the number who she was. Great, I guess it’s a-kin to an auto accident, where you look for the deceased’s wallet to find out who he is.
THE PANTHER SIGHTING THING MADE AN IMPRESSION ON ME THAT STILL AFFECTS MY WOODS WALKING TODAY.
The panther slid through the back woods and the only indication she was there was the complete lack of animals for the day. We found out about it from one of the biologists in the area. I personally do not mind losing a deer or some pigs to the beast each year, but some of the cattle ranchers frown on the activity. When she came in the animals all went on vacation somewhere. There must have been a post on the animal facebook page announcing her trip agenda. She was in and out quickly, I doubt for more than a couple of hours, but the other animals were very cautious for the whole day and night. I don’t know if they could smell her or the news just got out, but they were not happy. She moved on the next day, without my sighting her, probably a good thing, I don’t think she would stand still for a selfie.
This brings to mind the many times I encountered panthers. The first time was when I was a young hunter working the Big Cypress area well before it became a park. We were working the dogs for deer when the event happened. The dogs were running something on the edge of a strand, my father was about 50 yards to my left and our friend, Vince Grimm was on my right. I carried a single shot 12 gauge with double OO buck shot. I was only about 12 and the big boys put me in the center to help get my first deer. The dogs began yelping strangely and headed into a small patch of palmettos in front of me. I was excited as one could be when out of the thicket bounded a BIG cat. He headed straight for me and I didn’t know anything about panthers at the time, I just knew he was a lot bigger than me and I stood erect and hid behind a cypress tree as the cat run lickety split by me, not more than several feet. My heart was pounding and my knees got real weak real fast. I slid down that tree and sat in the water. Reality became obvious when I realized both my pop and Vince were laughing so hard they too were in the water. The whole event unfolded in a matter of seconds, but the story still gets told now and again.
THE ONLY PLACE I’M SEEING PANTHERS TODAY ON CONTINUOUS BASIS IS ON THE FLORIDA TURNPIKE, NOT RUNNING THE EDGES BUT IN A NUMBER OF PLACES CARVED INTO THE SOUND BARRIERS THROUGH PALM BEACH COUNTY.
The panther sighting thing made an impression on me that still effects my woods walking today. I saw a good number of them throughout the years, mostly on the road to Flamingo in Everglades National Park. Panthers travel extensively, up to 200 miles, in their quest for a steady food supply. Our lodge and leased land is located along the proposed East-West corridor in Central Florida. I truly hope it gets done so we might have more opportunities to see this magnificent creature.
The only place I’m seeing panthers today on continuous basis is on the Florida Turnpike, not running the edges but in a number of places carved into the sound barriers through Palm Beach County. If you are driving, get someone in the back seat to look for them. They show up crawling along the bottom of the panels in a palmetto thicket. I want to stop sometime and paint the cougars so they stand out more, then again, I would probably just get sited for graffiti or something that requires jail time again.
