Female Panther Release 1-31-13 (Varispeed)
FWC biologists released a female Florida panther at the Picayune Strand State Forest in Collier County. The panther, along with its brother, had been raised at the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee since they were 5 months old after their mother was found dead in 2011. Kevin Baxter of FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute was there to see her release: After an hour long trip down winding dirt roads, we arrived at the release site in the Picayune Strand State Forest east of Naples and waited for the panther to complete its long journey from the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee. The panther was transported to Picayune Strand, a place determined to be a good release location due to the many miles of surrounding public lands. Once the panther arrived, biologists unloaded the cage from the truck and set it on the ground. The cage door opened, and after a brief pause to take in her surroundings, the female Florida panther darted down an old path into the woodlands of her new home. After more than a year of effort was spent raising this kitten at the White Oak Conservation Center with minimal human contact, her release back into the wild was completed in only a few seconds. An estimated 100 to 160 adult and subadult panthers remain in south Florida. The release was coordinated in consultation with partners from the USFWS Southeast Region (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).
FULL STORY: More photos of the release: Support panther conservation efforts with a license plate: Report dead or injured panthers, call the FWC's Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922) or #FWC or *FWC on a cell phone. For more information on Florida panthers, go to floridapanthernet.org.
Female Panther Release 1-31-2013
FWC biologists released a female Florida panther at the Picayune Strand State Forest in Collier County. The panther, along with its brother, had been raised at the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee since they were 5 months old after their mother was found dead in 2011. Kevin Baxter of FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute was there to see her release: After an hour long trip down winding dirt roads, we arrived at the release site in the Picayune Strand State Forest east of Naples and waited for the panther to complete its long journey from the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee. The panther was transported to Picayune Strand, a place determined to be a good release location due to the many miles of surrounding public lands. Once the panther arrived, biologists unloaded the cage from the truck and set it on the ground. The cage door opened, and after a brief pause to take in her surroundings, the female Florida panther darted down an old path into the woodlands of her new home. After more than a year of effort was spent raising this kitten at the White Oak Conservation Center with minimal human contact, her release back into the wild was completed in only a few seconds. An estimated 100 to 160 adult and subadult panthers remain in south Florida. The release was coordinated in consultation with partners from the USFWS Southeast Region (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).
FULL STORY: More photos of the release: Support panther conservation efforts with a license plate: Report dead or injured panthers, call the FWC's Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922) or #FWC or *FWC on a cell phone. For more information on Florida panthers, go to floridapanthernet.org.
WHITE PLANTATION ON THE ST MARYS RIVER YULEE FLORIDA VIDEO BY HOME INSPECTIONS PLUS 904 993 343
WHITE PLANTATION ON THE ST MARYS RIVER YULEE FLORIDA
VIDEO BY HOME INSPECTIONS PLUS 904 993 343
Nassau County Florida presented by ICI Homes
Picturesque Nassau County is tucked away in Floridas northeast corner. A blend of southern traditions with a coastal feel, this historic and bustling county is bordered by Georgia to the north, downtown Jacksonville to the South, and miles and miles of small coves, wide inlets and pristine Atlantic Ocean shoreline to the east.
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Fernandina Beach was once a busy Victorian seaport. After the introduction of the first powered shrimp boat, Fernandina Beach became known as the birthplace of the modern shrimp-fishing industry.
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The Amelia Island Museum of History is housed in the old Nassau County jail. The museum shows and tells the island's history.
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Shopping is varied, convenient and plentiful and easily provides a day of leisurely adventure and relaxation for visitors and residents alike.
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FWC Releases Rescued Florida Panther Siblings
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologists released two endangered Florida panthers in 2013, a brother and sister that they rescued as kittens about one and a half years earlier.
FWC biologists captured the then 5-month old kittens after their mother was found dead in September 2011. Without that intervention, the kittens likely would have died a short time later. The kittens were taken to the White Oak Conservation Center in northeast Florida, where they were raised until they were ready for release.
The female panther was released first, on January 31 in the Picayune Strand State Forest in southwest Florida. Post-release monitoring has shown her adapting well and behaving as typical wild female panthers do.
The male panther was released on April 3 at the Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area in South Florida. Early monitoring has shown the male also acclimating himself well to the wild, however, biologists caution that young male panthers face the added survival challenge of encounters with older, established male panthers.
An estimated 100 to 160 adult and subadult panthers remain in south Florida. Florida residents can support conservation efforts like the rescue and rehabilitation of these panthers by purchasing a panther license plate at:
To report dead or injured panthers, call the FWC's Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922) or #FWC or *FWC on a cell phone.
For more information on Florida panthers, go to
An endangered Florida panther rescued as a kitten and raised in captivity has made a rare run back i
HEADLINE: Rare Fla. panther released into the wild
CAPTION: An endangered Florida panther rescued as a kitten and raised in captivity has made a rare run back into the wild. The state's wildlife agency released the panther into a wildlife management area in the Florida Everglades. (April 3)
Keyword-wacky-bizarre
AP Television
Palm Beach County (In Florida Everglades) - April 3 2013
1. Florida panther leaves from cage back into wild (tight shot)
2. Florida panther runs out of cage and onto paved road - about a quarter of a mile before turning into brush
3. SOUNDBITE (English):Dave Onorato/Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)
The Florida panther is highly endangered, so every individual is actually important to the population with only about 100-160 left. Every individual can make a difference.
4. Wide of panther crate being removed from car
7. SOUNDBITE (English) :Onorato
The reason that we chose this spot is that it's really on the eastern fringe of panther habitat and so the probability of this male running into a resident male panther is lower than if we were to release it in the middle of panther refuge or parts of Big Cypress, he would have a higher probability of running into a resident male. And that's going to be an issue for him until he figures out where he belongs and get his wildness into him as he proceeds.
8. Tight of FWC logo on Onorato's shirt
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Onorato
This is one more panther that has a chance at being a contributor to this endangered population of pumas here. So by having that additional panther in here, he may produce or be responsible with producing several litters in his lifetime if he survives. And that has benefits to the genetics of the population over time.
Panthers are only found in one place and that's South Florida.
10. FWC logo on truck with pan to Onorato
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Onorato
It's quite a great feeling to see that - when you see that animal running free. He's been in captivity, obviously in a really nice facility. But in the end he belongs in the wild. So to see him run straight for a while for such a distance and running free and off into the words just makes everything worthwhile.
12. Onorato getting into car
STORYLINE:
An endangered Florida panther rescued as a kitten and raised in captivity has made a rare run back into the wild.
The sandy-colored, 120-pound panther cautiously poked its head out of the crate that wildlife officials drove Wednesday from northeast Florida to Palm Beach County, then it trotted out onto a gravel road in the Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area.
It built up speed with longer and longer strides, sprinting several hundred yards before veering off into the brush and disappearing.
To see him run straight like that for such a distance and running free off into the woods makes everything worthwhile, said Dave Onorato, the scientist who opened the panther's crate.
The 2-year-old male panther and its sister were rescued by wildlife officials in September 2011 in Collier County after their mother was found dead. They have been raised at the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee since they were 5 months old.
Only around 160 Florida panthers remain, and it's rare for the big cats to be cared for in captivity and then released.
Only about 15 kittens or injured adult panthers have been treated at the center and released since it began working with the cats in 1986.
Having him in the wild with the potential to contribute to reproductive output really is what we need for panther recovery, Onorato said.
The female panther was released in Collier County in February. Like her brother, she's wearing a collar that allows researchers to track her movements.
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Sandhill crane
The sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on the American Plains. This is the most important stopover area for the nominotypical subspecies, the lesser sandhill crane (Grus canadensis canadensis), with up to 450,000 of these birds migrating through annually.
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