Baby Panther's Death in The Estates
November 5th, 2012
Early Sunday morning around 7am, I was taking my son and his
buddy fishing to the Picayune when we noticed what we thought was a
dead bobcat on the road off of 18th Ave NE, here in Golden Gate Estates.
It was very foggy but I was determined to turn around and check.
Unfortunately it turned out to be a baby panther dead on the road. I
just couldn't believe my eyes, nor could the boys. It was a female
about 25 pounds and about four months old. It was very sad.
We decided to pick her up off the road and place her in the truck and I would call the Florida Fish and Wildlife when I got home. I did not call from the scene because I had my pajamas on and I had to get back home before my husband went to work. We had a birthday party Saturday night and I had 9 kids back at the house sleeping in tents.
Shortly after unloading the boat and getting the boys and all their fishing gear in order, I found myself in a very unique situation. The truck was not only just about out of gas with the gas light blinking, but I was in my pajamas, did not have a phone, and a baby panther in the back of the truck. Talk about anxiety. How stupid of me to be in such a position. Just imagine if I were to get pulled over or run out of gas. Good Lord!
I had about 10 miles to go before getting back home. Thank God I made it! By then, my hubby must have given up on me and left for work anyway. Thankfully, my nephew was old enough to watch the kids while I was gone. Once the kids saw the panther, they could hardly believe what they were seeing. They had many solemn moments as she looked so peaceful.
I then called the Fish and Wildlife hotline right away. Soon after they sent out Felix Collazo, a FWC law officer. By then, I was out of my Pj's and dressed. One thing you have to understand about me, as early as I get up and the things I do, I am practically always in my pajamas. So if you see me out there bright and early on the roads, just expect it.
So Felix and I went over what happened. Felix said usually under these circumstances I should have stayed with the panther and called the police. But I was honest and wrote up the statement that I had the two boys, in my pajamas, and in no way was I in the position to wait, let alone leave her abandoned on a foggy road.
Soon after, a biologist came and confirmed she was about four months old. They decided it was best for them to go back to where I found her off of 18th Ave NE and contact all the surrounding neighbors about her death. They also planned to set up a patrol early this morning because Mommy panther could very much be lingering around looking for her. I posted that on Facebook and a friend that lived across from where she was killed wrote that she heard the panther get hit at 11:30 pm Saturday night.
Shortly after, my nephew told me he heard gunshots Saturday night from the direction where the panther was killed. So if you think about it, maybe the gunshots scared the Mother panther and her cub (or cubs) and they were running scared and became separated? Could very well be the case. And why do folks here in The Estates feel you have the power to shoot off guns anyway? I really don't understand that.
So there you have what happened. It's all very unfortunate knowing she is the 19th panther to be killed this year. So sad really. The FWC plan to have her mounted so people can get a better understanding of what panthers are all about and how we can be more attentive to their habitat.
We decided to pick her up off the road and place her in the truck and I would call the Florida Fish and Wildlife when I got home. I did not call from the scene because I had my pajamas on and I had to get back home before my husband went to work. We had a birthday party Saturday night and I had 9 kids back at the house sleeping in tents.
Shortly after unloading the boat and getting the boys and all their fishing gear in order, I found myself in a very unique situation. The truck was not only just about out of gas with the gas light blinking, but I was in my pajamas, did not have a phone, and a baby panther in the back of the truck. Talk about anxiety. How stupid of me to be in such a position. Just imagine if I were to get pulled over or run out of gas. Good Lord!
I had about 10 miles to go before getting back home. Thank God I made it! By then, my hubby must have given up on me and left for work anyway. Thankfully, my nephew was old enough to watch the kids while I was gone. Once the kids saw the panther, they could hardly believe what they were seeing. They had many solemn moments as she looked so peaceful.
I then called the Fish and Wildlife hotline right away. Soon after they sent out Felix Collazo, a FWC law officer. By then, I was out of my Pj's and dressed. One thing you have to understand about me, as early as I get up and the things I do, I am practically always in my pajamas. So if you see me out there bright and early on the roads, just expect it.
So Felix and I went over what happened. Felix said usually under these circumstances I should have stayed with the panther and called the police. But I was honest and wrote up the statement that I had the two boys, in my pajamas, and in no way was I in the position to wait, let alone leave her abandoned on a foggy road.
Soon after, a biologist came and confirmed she was about four months old. They decided it was best for them to go back to where I found her off of 18th Ave NE and contact all the surrounding neighbors about her death. They also planned to set up a patrol early this morning because Mommy panther could very much be lingering around looking for her. I posted that on Facebook and a friend that lived across from where she was killed wrote that she heard the panther get hit at 11:30 pm Saturday night.
Shortly after, my nephew told me he heard gunshots Saturday night from the direction where the panther was killed. So if you think about it, maybe the gunshots scared the Mother panther and her cub (or cubs) and they were running scared and became separated? Could very well be the case. And why do folks here in The Estates feel you have the power to shoot off guns anyway? I really don't understand that.
So there you have what happened. It's all very unfortunate knowing she is the 19th panther to be killed this year. So sad really. The FWC plan to have her mounted so people can get a better understanding of what panthers are all about and how we can be more attentive to their habitat.
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