For the first time a healthy Florida panther keeps getting too close to its human neighbors. Number 79 has discovered how to avoid hunting for his own food and has attacked pets and livestock in rural Collier County. Panthers usually eat wild hogs and deer. The last panther to act this way turned out to be sickly. So Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission panther biologist Darrell Land says they captured number 79 to make sure he was healthy. WGCU’s Amy Tardif spoke with him.

There are two opportunities for the public to comment regarding the state and federal government’s current approaches to panther conservation. The new Florida panther recovery plan is on line at the Fish and Wildlife service website. And later this month the federal wildlife service will release a document on what officials should do when more of the endangered cats start acting like number 79.