As the deer fed at the marsh's edge, its tail flickering as it nibbled tender and ripe green growth, the nervous animal paused in its feeding and lifted its head to listen. Whatever hint of danger the deer had sensed was ignored once the threat could not be located. It stamped a forefoot, lowered its head, and began to eat once more. This deer had failed to detect a Florida panther that was downwind (going into the wind) and crouched low in the underbrush. Amber eyes, however, estimated the distance between himself and the deer. Then, at the right moment, the panther attacked the deer. With bounds at over twenty feet at a time, the panther exploded out of the underbrush, pouncing on the deer and forcing it to the ground. Within fifteen seconds, the panther stood breathing heavily over its unfortunate victim of life and death. This scene has been going on for many years, the battle of predator and prey, but now the new predators are humans, almost virtually wiping out the entire population, leaving only an estimated 30 - 50 Florida panthers left. Should the environmental leaders of Florida protect the Florida panther? The people of Florida think so, and that is why they named it their state animal. This panther is one of about thirty subspecies of Felis concolor. The subspecies, coryi, is one of the rarest and most endangered animals in the world. Panthers, also called pumas, cougars, screamers, and mountain lions, once ranged from the southern end of South America into Canada. In appearance, the Florida panther is similar to other panthers. However, this rare subspecies has several distinct characteristics such as white flecks on the shoulders, a cowlick on the back (a cowlick is a tuft of hair that cannot easily be flattened), and a crook in the tail. This is formed by the last three bones in the tail, which are bent, forming the stump on the end. Panthers have an average length of six to nine feet from the nose to the tip of the tail, stand up to twenty-eight inches in height, and weigh from fifty to one hundred-thirty pounds. These panthers are solitary and territorial animals and seldomly live together except for mating season....
... middle of paper ...
...Then, in 1979, it became a crime to kill a panther in the state of Florida. In 1982, school children made the Florida panther the state animal. The Commission's Florida Panther recovery goals are to prevent the extinction of this animal and to reestablish this subspecies' old and unoccupied range areas. These goals were assisted in 1983 when the Florida Legislature established the Florida Panther Technical Advisory Council. The commission is firmly committed to taking all necessary actions within their given authority to assure recovery for the Florida panther. The panthers are still going to need broad public support and active cooperation among all management. "Civilization is the main threat to the survival of the Florida panther…," and so it will be until we learn how to respect these species that occupied the land before us. A land that was not ours to take and land we truly need as badly for survival as these creatures. Works Cited: 1. Alden, Peter, Rich Cech, and Gil Nelson. 1998. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida. New York: Knopf. 2. Brown, Larry W. 1997. Mammals of Florida. Miami, Florida: Windward Publishing. 3. Land, Darrell, and Sharon K. Taylor. 1998. Florida Panther Genetic Restoration and Management. Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. 4. Taylor, Sharon K. 1997. Florida Panther Biomedical Investigations.
Now, just a couple of years later, the Colorado Division of Wildlife is planning to release over 180 more lynx into the Colorado wilderness within the next five years. However, out of nearly 100 Canadian Lynx that have already been released so far, about half of them have died and none of them have reproduced. With the type of results that the process has received so far, the agencies involved in the reintroduction process should stop reintroducing the lynx into Colorado. Instead, they should try to find a way different way that will get results that save the species. The government agencies that are involved in reintroducing the lynx argue that it should be done in order to save an endangered species. In this argument they bring out three strong points for trying to save the lynx: every animal should have the opportunity to exist, many people feel happy when they see the animals they share the land with and all living things are part of a complex ecosystem ("Wildlife Commission . . ."). However, they aren't sure how to reintroduce the lynx so that they don't all die.
United States Department of the interior Fish And Wildlife Service, . North American Fauna. 2012.
Known as Pterois Volitans in the animal kingdom, also called the red lionfish, is a sight to behold in the tropical waters as they swim like an underwater butterfly in the sea. In waters not native to their origin, as they are from the Pacific and have predators that will have them for a snack. Invasive to the Caribbean Sea they have rapidly reached the Gulf of Mexico and far south, spreading to parts of South America. The lionfish has become a persistent pest that’s more trouble than what it appears to be, attractive yet deceptive with a striking pattern of white and red stripes. In the New York Times article, A Call to Action… and Even Rodeos, scientists say that, “from 2005 onward, lionfish have become the most numerous nonnative invasive species in the world.” The average pound fish is one of nature’s clever creations, a venomous foe with spines and an infinite appetite that reproduce quickly. Invasive species are notorious because they have no or almost nonexistent natural predators and they are adapt to their new home very well. The biological adaptations of this fish has caused both ecological and economical mayhem, serious measures have been taken up to control their population as well as to protect our coral reefs.
Should exotic snakes or other large reptiles be allowed as pets in Florida? Right now these escaped/released feral reptiles create an estimated $120 billion in environmental damage each year according to David Steen on Slates Animal Blog.
“Summary Report for: Fish and Game Wardens”. O Net Online. 2014.Web. 4 April 2014. >.
Manatees are loved by many Floridians. Manatees are known as one of the state’s natural wonders. They were once marked as one of the endangered mammals in Florida. The federal government considers a species endangered when it is at risk of extinction. Therefore, the federal government is downlisting manatees from “endangered” to “threatened.”
In the Everglades there are a variety of different animals and species that seem to be able to thrive in the same habitat. The truth is that due to elevation differences, and therefore differences in the water level, the Everglades is really an area of interconnecting, but different habitats. One of the more important habitat areas is actually created by one of the Everglades most famous inhabitants – the alligator. The alligators move in and out of holes (depressions) in the limestone described above. By doing this they keep this area lower than the rest ...
Parry, Wynne. (Sept. 23Rd , 2011) Exotic Pets Turning Invasive, Threatning Florida. Tech Media. Retrieved March 10th 2014, from http://www.livescience.com/16204-florida-invasive-reptiles-amphibians.html
The concept of public bathing first arose in ancient Greece and later spread to Rome. The earliest Roman baths date back as far as the 4th century BC, and contained little more than a “row of hip-baths.” Originally mixed bathing between men and women was common, however Emperor Hadrian passed a law forbidding it in the second century. As a result, bath complexes had different hours for men and women or “built additional facilities so that both sexes could be accommodated at the same time.” Over time, advances in technology allowed Romans to “improve size and efficiency [of bath houses] and eventually to build the great double-circulation baths (thermae) which combined hot and cold bathing facilities, swimming pools, running tracks, sports grounds, and libraries […].” Bath complexes became so large that they could...
The Godfather is the “dark-side of the American dream story” (Turan, pp2). The film follows the practices of a fictional Italian mafia family, the Corleone’s. Though most Americans do not condone the practices of the Italian mafia, they cannot deny that Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is a cinematic masterpiece. This film gave insight to a mysterious way of life that the average person does not have knowledge of. As the audience is educated about the mafia they also are introduced to many stereotypes.
The meaning of citizenship as a concept varies significantly for each individual-this meaning is directly influenced by factors such as age, ideological beliefs and socioeconomic class. Due to this difference in perspective it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what citizenship entails concerning the balance between the freedoms that we experience as citizens and the responsibilities that we must each fulfill in order for a democracy to function with stability and efficiency. This has become an issue in modern society as some citizens (particularly those in the millennial cohort) shrug off traditional duty based citizenship norms such as voting in elections, paying income taxes and obeying the law- for more “engaged” forms of participation such
United States. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2010. Web. .
My heart began to beat very rapidly and I breathed deeply to try to calm myself. These deer would step into a clearing in a few feet, and I needed to try to be calm to make a good shot. I picked a spot where I thought that the buck would pass and estimated the distance. I guessed the range to be fifteen yards and waited. I let the doe pass through my ...
... as different religions, there are so many. Now think of all the people who are members or in our case have accounts to these sites. All the creators of these sites want more people to join and start following others on there creation so they will make people of power join so that they can feed there feeling of being supported. This is exactly like the people who started these ideals that there can only be one god or you can only follow one type of religion they were in a time where power was everything, and what is the best way to get this power by telling a group of human that after there hard lives here on earth they will never rest in peace and probably go to hell. Both share the threat factor as well. There are political aspects that do not coincide with these two different topics of religion, and one that is very opposite sided is democracy and its intentions.
In past years, the debate over human and mountain lion interaction has been quite heated. The California Legislature has addressed issues concerning the hunting of mountain lions for over 80 years. On March 26, 1996, the most recent ballot measure deciding the fate of the California cougar (Felis concolor), Proposition 197, was not passed. This would have repealed the 1990 passing of Proposition 117, which banned all trophy hunting of mountain lions, allowing only trained Department of Fish and Game officials to kill lions that became a threat to public safety and welfare. While compassion is felt for the victims of the relatively few mountain lion attacks, the denial of Proposition 197, which would have ended a 25 year ban on cougar hunting, was a victory for the California cougar as well as the welfare of California wildlife.