Florida panther
(Puma concolor couguar)

NOTE: This section is under construction and reorganization. In time, each bulleted item shown below will possess a link to an article, paper(s), or sub-section. Please check back for updates and linked pages.

Coryi Foundation, Inc. Research Activities on the Florida Panther

• Central Florida panther field and tracking sign surveys conducted by Coryi Foundation, Inc. since 1992

• Independent field research and investigations in south Florida conducted by Coryi Foundation, Inc. since 1992

• Findings and scientific reports of Coryi Foundation, Inc. panther research/activities since 1992

• Supportive and joint research activities of the panther with the US Fish and Wildlife Service

• Participants - public comments published in the 1994 Proceedings of Florida Panther Conference in Fort Myers, Florida hosted by the Florida Panther Interagency Committee (US Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, National Park Service, Florida DEP, etc.) - document of proceedings

• Reviewers for - Jordan, Dennis. 1994. Identification and Evaluation of Candidate Florida Panther Population Reestablishment Sites. In Dennis Jordan, ed. Proceedings of Florida Panther Conference. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

• Endorsement of Coryi Foundation, Inc. panther research by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection - letter of endorsement

• Endorsement of Coryi Foundation, Inc. panther research by Emeritus Dr. James Layne of the Archbold Biological Station - letter of endorsement

• Endorsement by and associative partnership with the National Cancer Institute on bobcat genetic studies

• Affiliates and supportive scientific, conservation and government (county, state, and federal) organizations

• Cooperative partnership with the University of California on studies of predator-human interactions in the urban-wilderness interface zone

• Federal and state endorsement and authorization for research - permits and credentials to engage in research as issued by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for panther and bobcat research activities

• Cooperative partnership with Brevard Community College in community service utilization of college students for use in Coryi Foundation, Inc. panther field research for academic credits.

• Awards and certificates of appreciation for Coryi Foundation, Inc. research and community service

• Public outreach and education events since 1992

• Papers published by principle researchers of Coryi Foundation, Inc. (panther and bobcat inclusive)

Operationally significant paper published in The Journal of Heredity by an affiliate

• Genomic ancestry of the American puma (Reclassification of puma sub-species based on recent phylogenetic analyses)

Panther Ecology

• Phylogeny, zoogeography, cladistic genetics, and taxonomic classification

• Social structure and land tenure

• Home ranges

• Juvenile dispersal

• Movements

• Breeder travel and genetic diversity

• Habitat selection and use

• Reproduction and reproductive biology

• Life tables, age and sex ratios

• Prey base

• Mortality

Bioenergetics, Prey, Predation, Prey Management, and Related Issues

• Feeding habits of panther on deer and hog

• Panther bioenergetics and bioenergetic modeling of the panther food web

• Nutrition and physiology

• Predator-prey interactions and natural cycles

• Classic predator prey kill: Predation upon a white-tailed deer in Osceola County, Florida

• Hogs: Not native to North America, but favored by panthers - A paradigm shift in nature as a result of an introduced species
  
  

• What deer herds really need to be healthy: Panther/Deer herd relationships in south Florida (FFWCC Report)

• Why deer are small in the southeastern USA: Climatically-influenced shifts in floral composition since the Holocene

• Deer morphometrics: Body and antler size in relation to panther nutrition

• Deer herd quality: Genetics and nutritional quality

• The proper view of prey management: A non-biased approach to prey conservation and management

• Improvement of prey base through wise habitat and forage management

• Prey management and ecological priorities of predator-prey stability

• Prey management on private and public lands

• Deer herd fertility management as a means to control inundation by deer in urban areas
  
  

• Deer ecology

• Diseases and parasites of deer

• Chronic Waste Disease (CWD) - Regulations regarding Cervidae by state, in the United States
  
  

• Prey culling issues, controversies, and misconceptions

• Breaking the cycle: Addressing hunting and culling issues

• How deer hunting can cause an undesirable increase in deer numbers

• The yearling that was illegally and savagely killed by hunting dogs in the Mallory Swamp in 1997

• The hunter that gave up hunting after witnessing the birth of a fawn from a road-killed doe

• Canned hunting and game preserves

• The lust for antlers - Prey mismanagement practices

• The human mindset similarities between utilitarian prey management, eugenics, and genocide

• Why man does not need to hunt or kill animals to survive and the real problem with food shortages in the world

• Spikes are not inferior

• Understanding spike harvest

• Hunting regulations by state
  
  

• Why carnivores are carnivores and what went wrong at the origins of life

• How theological misunderstanding has led to lethal methods of prey management, animal exploitation, and inhumane practices such as hunting and the human carnivore diet

• The reason the natural world is not truly natural according to God's original design: The theological origins of predation as a result of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, the universal effect of man's disobedience to God and how it ushered in vicious carnivore and predatory behavior in man and animals

• Buckey: A personal and close up view of an injured deer in rehabilitative care

Biomedical and Genetics

• Diseases and parasites

• Inbreeding

• Morphological traits, heterozygosity, mitchondrial and microsatellite DNA, allozyme polymorphism, DNA fingerprinting

• Genetic diversity comparisons with cheetah, Ngorongoro Crater lions, and other species

• Population stability, demographic stability, and genetics

• Genetic restoration management

• Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of toxins in the panther food web

• The genetic genome of cats

• What cats can offer for the cure of AIDS, leukemia, and cancer in humans

Animal and Plant Community

• Interactions among panther, bobcat, black bear, coyote and red wolf

• The absence of panthers, and the in-situ balance of nature in predator deficient areas

• The extinction vortex with regards to keystone species and the serial cascading procession of system collapse

• The total picture of ecological stability

• Systematic ecosystem and biome level restoration and management - An approach to total community stability within the complex array of animal and plant interactions

Habitat Issues

• Habitat acquisition, management and conservation

• The role of private lands in panther conservation

• The Fakahatchee Strand: A case study of poor habitat management

• Case study: Over-run and over-used wildlife management areas

• Monocultural lands: Plantation practices and the disregard for ecological sensitivity

Population Recovery

• Detailed chronography of research and recovery efforts

• Official recovery plans

• Texas cougar genetic introgression

• Regional wide corridor and metapopulation implementation

• The eventual self-sustenance of genetically rich populations

• Acquisition and protection of reintroduction areas in the southeast

• Corridor theory, sink and source mathematics, immigration and emigration, Euler's equations

• Overpasses and underpasses

• Institution of captive breeding programs

• What needs to be done to preserve the great cats

Human Interactions

• A personal account of the impact that hunters place on wildlife: Bobcat case study

• Bear Island Case study: Why panthers retreat from hunter areas between November and January

• Captive puma

• How big corporations and government officials are killing the panther

• How to effectively deal with nuisance predators: Non-lethal methods of predator management

• Impacts of multiuse areas and civilization on panther populations and deer herd stability: Horse back trails, dirt bikes and ATVs, mountain bikes, insulting and inundating recreation, swamp buggies and off-road vehicles, hunting, habitat fragmentation and loss, highways, automobile mortalities, urban sprawl, and development

• Irresponsible farming and ranching operations and practices in critical panther regions

• Predator control and misguided views

• Reduction in multiuse areas and increase of minimal impact areas

• Regulation of ungulate hunter quotas on federal and state lands where panthers reside and shortcomings on Bear Island, Big Cypress Preserve

• The deleterious effects of cattle and cropland runoff on watersheds

• The failure of special interest groups and non-ecosystem approaches to effectively achieve total ecological stability in panther habitat: Why a total community approach to ecological restoration is needed

• The imbalance humans have caused: The persecution and eradication of predators and prey through bounty and harvest in the last 400 years, the death of large carnivores in North America, and the disappearance and alteration of large undisturbed wilderness

• The shortcomings of regional and local planning counsels to effectively implement large scale preservation

• What cats can offer for the cure of AIDS, leukemia, and cancer in humans

• Why local community steering committees have failed to protect natural resources for wide-ranging species

Literature Resources

• Papers and reports published by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, USFWS, researchers, and others

• List of references for Florida panther

Curriculum Vitae of the Staff of Coryi Foundation, Inc.