Bob Mount: Florida panther killing a real shame
Columnist
Published: August 11, 2009
Several weeks ago an article appeared in area newspapers depicting an exceptionally large cat-like animal that had been killed by a “hunter” in central western Georgia not far from the Alabama boundary. It resembled a Florida panther, an endangered species known with certainty to occur only in southern Florida.
Close relatives are mountain lions, a.k.a. cougars, that occur in some western states and are not considered to be endangered.
Panthers do not appear on Georgia’s list of protected animals because, according to a spokesman for the state’s regulatory agency, “Panthers do not occur in Georgia.” He also stated his belief that the animal in question exhibited signs of having been held in captivity.
If he was correct in this belief, the big cat originated from the west; its being a Florida panther that escaped from captivity is beyond belief.
DNA tests are the only means that could reliably be used to determine the animal’s true identity. The tests have been performed, and I was informed by a reliable source that the results clearly identified the big cat as a Florida panther. What a shame. No more than about 300 of these beautiful animals remain in the wild.
* * *
“Same old song, same old verse, may be better but it could be worse,” was a ditty that stuck in my cerebrum since I heard it many long years ago.
It came to mind when I read the most recent issue of PEEReview, published by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
As an advocate of environmental protection and a Teddy Roosevelt-type Republican, I strongly disapproved of President Bush’s economic policies and his obvious disregard for the quality of our environment.
But I voted for McCain, because I was more fearful of Obama’s having the Rev. Jeremiah Wright as his mentor than I was about Cruella de Palin, who advocates aerial hunting of wolves and gassing baby wolf puppies in their dens, being vice president.
When Obama was elected, I thought to myself that, at least, he will be a strong advocate for environmental protection. Articles in the PEER publication mentioned above make me wonder.
One criticized his appointment of Sam Hamilton to head the Fish and Wildlife Service. Hamilton has served as head of the Southeastern Region of the FWS for the past 12 years. PEER states, “Sam Hamilton has by far the weakest record on Endangered Species Act enforcement of any comparable official in the country.”
And I thought Obama would order an immediate halt to mountain top removal as a coal mining practice, but the practice continues unabated.
Who’s pulling your strings, Mr. President?
Bob Mount is emeritus professor of zoology and entomology at Auburn University and writes a weekly column for the Opelika-Auburn News.
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The Florida population of Felis concolor is likely a goner, given the genetic bottleneck that has greatly reduced its likelihood of recovery. The FWS has brought in outside stock from Texas to spike the population and presumably introduce some genetic variablilty (approximately analogous to introducing Alabama beach mice into the teeny weeny population of Perdido Key beach mice—a no-no for most conservation biologists, who contend that such initiatives would comtaminate the “genetic integrity” of the subspecies). If the Florida panther is a distinct “subspecies” (which it ain’t; see below), how dare they corrupt the gene pool by bringing in these foreign cats??!!
Also, whether one is a lumper, a splitter or don’t-give-a-damner, there is reason to question the current taxonomy of Felis concolor, which has been split up into a multiplicity of alleged subspecies. Consider the study by Melanie Culver, described below:
“There once were believed to be 32 subspecies of puma in North and South America. In 1999, a landmark study of puma genetics by Melanie Culver indicated that no significant genetic distinction exists among all pumas living north of Nicaragua. Unfortunately, another argument for removing the eastern puma from the Endangered Species List could be based on the results of this study. By categorizing all pumas as one species, one could assert that the eastern puma is not endangered because plenty of pumas still survive out west. This is a dangerous premise because it does not consider the critical need to preserve ecological balance throughout the east.“
Link: http://www.wildliferehabsanctuary.org/puma-cougar.htm
The last-quoted three sentences above are a truly astonishing admission, however unintended. They contemplate, if not promote, perpetuation of the scientifically-incorrect mischaracterization of a multiplicity of eastern puma subspecies as a strategem to “preserve ecological balance….“ “[P]reserving ecological balance, in turn, translates to
putting a lot of “panther habitat” off limits to development—save the dirt! Combative biology lives!
One must wonder why there has not been any petition to de-list the Florida panther; at least I know of no such initiative. Given the science on this matter, it would seem to be a reasonable thing to respect the science and de-list the critter as well as the several other alleged “subspecies” of Felis concolor now protected by the Endangered Species Act.
BUT—turning the matter on its head, there are actually those who promote giving ALL eastern cougars the same measure of protection afforded to the Florida un-subspecies!
From: http://www.appvoices.org/index.php?/site/voice_stories/cores_cougars_corridors/issue/544
“‘Our position is if that a cougar can survive in the wild and reproduce, filling the ecological niche of cougars, that’s all that should matter,‘ she said. A 1999 study of cougar genetics by Dr. Melanie Culver backs up that view. Her analysis of DNA from the 32 subspecies of cougar known to science found that Florida panthers, Central American catamounts, and western American cougars are genetically identical. Thus, any eastern escapees that were bred north of Panama should be treated the same as the federally protected Florida panther. ‘We are blessed to have this core of habitat in which cougars could live,‘ Bolgiano said, referring to the band of public land stretching from Virginia to Alabama. ‘The wilderness areas tend to be in the most remote areas of the southern Appalachians. Many have old-growth forests within them. Certainly this is a place in which cougars could live today.‘”
Chris Boligiano is vice-president of the Eastern Cougar Foundation. The “Eastern puma” (common name used by FWS in its listing documents) is, in fact, classified as Endangered, even though the FWS considers it probably extinct. Thus, legally speaking, this presumably extinct alleged subspecies already is protected by the ESA, but not protected as much as Bolgiano wants. But I have a hard time envisioning how this presumably extinct alleged subspecies would, as a practical matter, “...be treated the same as the federally protected Florida panther.“
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