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From the Ft. Myers, FL News-Press

Reward offered for information on headless panther found along Florida Turnpike
NEWS-PRESS.COM • NOVEMBER 20, 2009
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5:45 P.M. —


The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is seeking information about a decapitated panther carcass found along the Florida Turnpike near the Osceola and Indian River county line Thursday.

Anyone with information can call the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922; they can remain anonymous and may be eligible for up to a $1,000 reward if their information leads to an arrest.

FWC officers responded to a report of the dead panther about 2 p.m. Thursday. The carcass was on the shoulder of the road on the southbound side of the turnpike in the southernmost portion of Osceola County, near Yeehaw Junction.

"The partially decomposed remains appear to be that of an endangered Florida panther," said FWC's Lt. Rick Brown. "It also appears someone cut off the head. We encourage anyone who knows anything about this to call Wildlife Alert as soon as possible."

Florida panther deaths so far in 2009:

Date ID Sex Age Location Cause

1/11/2009 UCFP115 M 4 CR832, E of OK Slough SF Vehicle

1/17/2009 K253 M 18 mo Eastbound exit ramp, I-75/SR29 Vehicle

1/20/2009 UCFP116 F 4-5 SR 29 3 mi S of Immokalee Vehicle

2/2/2009 UCFP117 M 3 Seminole Indian Reservation Intraspecific Aggression

3/25/2009 UCFP118 M 1.5 Treeline Ave (between Alico/Daniels) Vehicle

4/9/2009 UCFP119 F 2-3 US41 Turner River Vehicle

4/21/2009 UCFP120 F 2 Big Cypress Mitigation Bank Shooting

5/14/2009 UCFP121 M 2 SR29 ~4 mi S I-75 Vehicle

5/25/2009 UCFP122 M 2 Immokalee Rd near Camp Keais Rd Vehicle

6/12/2009 FP140 F 7 FPNWR, SE of Hog Pond Intraspecific Aggression

7/28/2009 FP204 F 19 Captive, White Oak Euthanasia

8/5/2009 UCFP124 M 1.5 I-75, mile marker 90 Vehicle

9/6/2009 UCFP125 F 2 I-75, mm 96.5 Vehicle

9/15/2009 UCFP126 M 2 Ranch 1 grove, Camp Keais Road Unknown

10/5/2009 FP166 M 5-6 Seminole Indian Reservation Intraspecific Aggression

10/7/2009 UCFP127 F 3-4 Turner River, 0.3 mi S US41 Unknown

N/A UCFP128 N/A N/A N/A Under Investigation

10/19/2009 UCFP129 M 3-4 MOS. CR 846 2 miles E of Immokalee Vehicle

10/21/2009 UCFP130 F 3-4 CR 846 2 miles E of Immokalee Vehicle

11/1/2009 UCFP131 F 3-4 MOS. CR 833 N boundary of BCSIR Vehicle

11/19/2009 TBD TBD TBD Florida Turnpike, Osceola/Indian River Cty Line Under Investigation

If cats are getting that thick Then maybe Florida needs to start thinking about manegmet practice.Just My opinion.
Bill

Cathunter : the population of cats in FLA is growing but not likely will there be a season .
The last cat I actually saw was in the Yee HAW JUNCTION area
I believe there is more of a chance a LIMITED BEAR season than for cats

You gotta wonder who decapitated it and why! I doubt it was the person who killed the panther. Probably just a passerby who found it and thought it would be a cool souvenir.

bob baldwin jr wrote:Cathunter : the population of cats in FLA is growing but not likely will there be a season .
The last cat I actually saw was in the Yee HAW JUNCTION area
I believe there is more of a chance a LIMITED BEAR season than for cats

Bob I understand where you are gomming from But I have lived in lion country all my life and I have only seen 2 or three cats back in the mountains never seen one on the hiway Look what happened in Oregon and WArshington and Califonia The lions expanded so fast that they now comming in to towns killing livestock and people.
Bill

Not so much the cats coming to the roads. It is the roads coming to the cats.

They live in a populated area. All the cats live in a 100 mile by 100 mile area.

cajunl wrote:Not so much the cats coming to the roads. It is the roads coming to the cats.
They live in a populated area. All the cats live in a 100 mile by 100 mile area.

I shure dont want to start any thing but that is only enough range for one breeding pair
Bill

sounds like they need thinned out to me if there is that many in that amount of area.
or the lions are going to start thinning out some people.
JIMMY

http://www.wftv.com/countybycounty/21924405/detail.html

Reward Offered After Decapitated Panther Found
Posted: 5:29 pm EST December 10, 2009
Updated: 7:16 pm EST December 10, 2009

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OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. -- They're some of the world's rarest cats, but someone killed a Florida panther in south Osceola County and cut off its head. Wildlife officials are offering a reward as they hunt for the hunter.
The Florida panther is the state’s most-endangered animal and one of its most prized. The Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) says that’s probably why one was decapitated and left on the side of the road the week of Thanksgiving. Officers think someone mounted the head.
“That’s pretty sad what people can do. You take a beautiful animal like that and you wonder who could do such a thing,” said Debbie Helsel, Back To Nature animal sanctuary.
The pictures are too graphic even for wildlife rehabilitators who work with the animals so Eyewitness News chose not to display them. FWC says there are only about 80 Florida panthers left in the wild.
It's a felony to kill the state- and federally-protected animal. Violators face charges up to five years in jail and a $15,000 fine.
“We are trying to save a natural resource that is depleted and struggling to survive,” FWC Lt. Rick Brown said.
Because it is part of a criminal investigation, officials only say it was left on the side of the Florida Turnpike in the south part of Osceola County. Wildlife officials aren’t sure how the animal died. They have yet to examine the body, because their panther scientists are in the field, but Lt. Brown and Debbie Helsel both say there's never been such a blatant case of foul play.
“You take one of God’s creatures, that’s as beautiful as that, and you do something to them, it’s just unnecessary,” Helsel said.
The FWC is offering a $1,000 reward for anyone with information. So far, they've only gotten one tip and it turned out to be nothing