Florida panthers move closer to extinction

 

A female panther was just killed in Collier County, Florida. She's the 14th of these highly endangered cats to die this year. All of their deaths were caused by cars. Each has been heartbreaking, and there will be more unless their habitat is protected. Please help with a gift today to the Saving Life on Earth Fund. All donations will be matched, but only through Friday. As few as 200 Florida panthers are left in the wild. On average nearly 30 are killed every year, mostly by vehicle strikes. And the threat will be even more dire if runaway development projects in Lee and Collier counties, the heart of panther habitat, go forward. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says nearly double the number of panthers could be killed if these cats keep losing ground on the shrinking patch of habitat that still remains. That would doom them to extinction. Decades of urban sprawl have left Florida panthers eking out a living in less than 5% of their historic range. Today they're the only large felines living in the Southeast. By keeping roads and cars from slashing through their habitat — and securing the last few areas where they can still hunt and find mates — we can pull these great cats back from the brink. Wildlife corridors and habitat protection are crucial to saving them. And it's the same for other wide-ranging creatures, from mountain lions in California to red wolves in North Carolina. These species can survive — and recover — but we must make it safe for them to roam. The Center has been fighting for panthers for more than a decade. We won't stop, but we need you with us. For the wild,

Kierán Suckling Executive Director Center for Biological Diversity   P.S. Monthly supporters who give steady gifts of $10 or $20 sustain the Center's swift and continued action to save wildlife.

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