FWC Releases Rescued Florida Panther Siblings

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologists released two endangered Florida panthers in April 2013.  The Panthers are a brother and sister that they rescued as kittens about one and a half years earlier.

FWC biologists captured the then 5-month old kittens after their mother was found dead in September 2011. Without that intervention, the kittens likely would have died a short time later. The kittens were taken to the White Oak Conservation Center in northeast Florida, where they were raised until they were ready for release.

The female panther was released first, on January 31 in the Picayune Strand State Forest in southwest Florida. Post-release monitoring has shown her adapting well and behaving as typical wild female panthers do.

The male panther was released on April 3 at the Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area in South Florida. Early monitoring has shown the male also acclimating himself well to the wild, however, biologists caution that young male panthers face the added survival challenge of encounters with older, established male panthers.

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