Florida Panther in my neighborhood (Orlando, Port St. Lucie: 2014, houses, transfer)

[toneyp1]

My wife and visiting relative saw a panther and babies cross the street not far from my house. There are bushes behind my house and the one next to me and 4 more over grown plots to the end of the street.Anything can be living in there. There are also 5 more street behind mine and then i-95. The neighborhood kids play in the bushes behind my house. They come from all around this area. There are 3 tree houses and a obstical course(as they call it..lol ) visible from my yard. I called the police and they transferred me to some Florida wildlife something or the other. They asked us a bunch of questions and said someone will call us back. I wish my son had gotten the darn number but he hung up before i got followup info. Anyway that was 3 weeks ago and no one has called or contacted us. What should I do? My wife is real scared. I have 2 cats who are use to being let out every single morning. They whine, fuss and meow us to death now when I dont let them out.

[Javaman12]

Have you thought about reaching out to one of the local news stations? Might be a good story - especially the part about your call being ignored.

[parrotgirl]

Toneyp1, check out this webpage: https://public.myfwc.com/hsc/panther...etlatlong.aspx

It's a panther signting registry, and tells you how to recognize a Florida panther. If the cats you saw look like these, then it's panthers you saw. Normally, they are very solitary and would not be likely to hang around suburban locations. Could you possibly have seen a family of bobcats? Panthers are pretty huge cats. As Javaman12 points out, if it's panthers in your neighborhood, every local TV station will be paying you a visit.

[sware2cod]

What made you identify them as panthers instead of bobcats?

Keep your cats inside going forward - forever. They could get killed by I-95 or a car on your local strees or any number of domestic or wild animals.

Maybe it was a wake up call for you to realize that the cats need to be kept indoors.

[FlaLadyB]

Florida Panthers are also endangered. Only about 80-100 left. They keep pretty close tabs on how many we actually have.

Doesn't seem normal they would be close to any kind of neighborhood or people.

Bobcats, yes, we see them.

Florida Game and Fish is who you might call. Any photos?

[PortStLucieWater]

One night I was driving south on California Blvd from St Lucie West Blvd (near Lake Charles). The road is very dark in that area at night and I saw a large cat like animal run right in front of my car across the road. I only got a quick glimpse of it so definitely wouldn't be able to identify it.

[parrotgirl]

PortStLucieWater, check out the size of the panthers on that weblink I mentioned earlier today. Those are two gigantic cats!

[pattybee]

Originally Posted by toneyp1

I have 2 cats who are use to being let out every single morning. They whine, fuss and meow us to death now when I dont let them out.

CITY OF PORT ST. LUCIE LEASH LAW

Animals at Large—92.03 (A)(1)
All domestic pets must be properly restrained at all times while outside the confines of the owner’s home. Restraint is defined as being on a leash, within an enclosed area or otherwise secured within the property limits of its owner or keeper. Verbal command is not deemed to be proper restraint. Animals captured running loose are transported to the Animal Control holding facility for the owner to pick up. An impound fee of $25 is charged for each animal picked up, and $10 for each night the animal remains at the animal control compound. If the owner fails to pick up the animal, it is transported to the Humane Society of St. Lucie County (772) 461-0687.

[dogdiamond]

toneyp1 The lives of you, the family , pets and neighbors most certainly in jeopardy if you indeed saw panthers (with the long thick tail) nearby your residence. A panther attacked a man near the Kissimmee River on Apr 17th , 2014. First reported attack since 1800s. Luckily he was not too seriously injured.

First you need to begin acting like you are at risk all the time day or night. Get a gun , learn how to use it and be prepared to shoot an animal such as a panther if it attacks or puts you in fear for your life. Do not shoot it from behind or you will have a problem with law enforcement. It is legal to shoot a panther if it is threatening to attack a human. Be very careful and cautious when outside at night especially as well as daytime. Do not leave ANY edible substances anywhere outside that aren't in a secured tamper proof container. Go to a city or town council meeting (possibly with some neighbors) and Assertively demand protection or removal of the animal(s) from the area. Easier said than done since many folks are making money from panther conservation programs. Don't accept their response referring you to Fl Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Let elected officials know it is their job along with police to protect the tax payer paying their salaries and you WILL unelect them if no action is taken. Also contact FWC's South region office in West Palm Beach 561 625 5122. Demand a report be written and that you will fill out any form (sworn affadavit) they request you to to validate and document the incident. Nothing in writing equals nothing happened - no matter what u say in the future if someone is attacked. If you are responsible you must take this sighting very seriously on behalf of yourself and others. One would feel quite bad if they didn't document this and then a neighbor gets injured terribly or killed.

Contacting the media can also be productive to aid in public awareness. I will discuss this with a media official I am meeting with tomorrow. Keep the faith and be willing to get involved if for no other reason than the safety of you and your loved ones.

Don't feel alone this has been happening for years in Naples Fl area and Central Fl more often with bears as in Lake Mary a couple of months ago.

Bottom line is dangerous animals in close proximity to people is a result of decades of wildlife restoration efforts with little thought of the problems of too many lethal carnivores near the folks paying the tab. Agencies are now catching on as described at this FWC meeting held Apr 15, 2014. Here's a link to the video of it 4/15/14 Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission - The Florida Channel - The Florida Channel . If you truly care I suggest watching the entire 4 hour discussion having to do with what they refer to politely as "conflict animals" and what to do about them. For this agency to discuss this for 4 hours means they know big problems are here such as a lady NE of Orlando being attacked and dragged around by her head until he let her go for some reason.

If you indeed spotted a panther(s) in your area you have a very serious problem that you and your neighbors will have to be aggressively politically active to solve.

[dogdiamond]

Originally Posted by Javaman12

Have you thought about reaching out to one of the local news stations? Might be a good story - especially the part about your call being ignored.

May want to think about buying a game camera with a silent shutter and infra red sensing system and tie it to a tree about 20 inches up the trunkto shoot a photo of any neighborhood panther. Tjey aren't too expensive today at Bass Pro or somewhere like that. An agency (e.g. FWC) will want some sort of evidence before doing anything

Then you can get photo proof of a panther so that agency's can't blow you off. Make sure something like a lawn chair or a portion of the house is in the viewfinder so when the animal is photographed it verifies it was where youu say it was. Don't move the camers once a panthers is captured on film - so that when an official comes to followup they can recreate the photo scene.