Twenty five ought six
Banned
WAYCROSS - A new federal report shows that the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in North Florida and Southeast Georgia could be the ideal place to relocate a population of endangered panthers.
The report is part of an update to a plan to increase the Florida panther population, which now lives in a few counties west of the Everglades. The report's recommendations include creating a panther corridor from South Florida into South Georgia.
There are about 100 panthers in Southwest Florida, up from the 30 in the 1990s.
Wildlife officials want to give the cats more room to roam.
The report recommends creating three separate groupings of 240 panthers to make sure they survive.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Sunday, December 28, 2008
The report is part of an update to a plan to increase the Florida panther population, which now lives in a few counties west of the Everglades. The report's recommendations include creating a panther corridor from South Florida into South Georgia.
There are about 100 panthers in Southwest Florida, up from the 30 in the 1990s.
Wildlife officials want to give the cats more room to roam.
The report recommends creating three separate groupings of 240 panthers to make sure they survive.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Sunday, December 28, 2008