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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.

Don Juan

Florida wildlife officials say a panther in Collier County has been feasting on caged birds. The cat, known as number 79, has eaten a trio of chickens, a turkey and possibly a goose. It’s one of the first times a healthy Florida panther keeps getting too close to its human neighbors.

Fish and Wildlife authorities had to come up with some new tactics to fend off a male Florida panther, which seems to have learned how tasty a penned chicken can be. Number 79 or Don Juan – so dubbed because he has fathered about 30 kittens in his 10 years in the wild – stole a few fowl from an Ochopee petting zoo last week. He may have taken more Monday from a nearby home. Panthers usually eat wild hogs and deer.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission panther biologist Darrell Land says they captured the radio collared cat to make sure he was healthy, released him 20 miles away and he went right back to the site.

“Though it’s not a behavior that we’ve seen very often but the opportunities are there and are very smart animals. If they know of good places to find food they’re going to continue to come back and visit those places. So I think from a management point of view we need to try to identify where those places are and where there may be conflicts with people and encourage residents and business people to make those domestic livestock off limits to panthers.”

Land says they’re trying something new – putting up electric fences to keep the panther out. There are two opportunities for the public to respond 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 cats start acting like number 79.

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Charlotte County residents today will be encouraged to start “walking to the moon”. It’s part of a campaign to make the county a healthier place. WGCU’s Valerie Alker has more.

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A prized lake in Immokalee is finally in a state of repair after a devastating fish kill. The long awaited restoration of Lake Trafford is underway after years of grassroots efforts to save one of the best bass fishing lakes in the state. Pam Geiser has the story.

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It’s never too late to reap the health benefits of regular exercise. That’s the conclusion of a study by researchers at the University of South Florida, published this month in the “Journal of Aging and Health”. WGCU’s Valerie Alker reports.