Wildlife officials in Florida have captured and collared the heaviest Florida panther ever recorded. The panther — an adult male — weighed 166 pounds (75 kilograms), officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said in a Facebook post on Monday (Feb. 10).
The feline was sedated and then released during a routine population check, social media posts show.
Male Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) typically weigh between 100 and 160 pounds (45 to 73 kg), while females weigh 70 to 100 pounds (32 to 45 kg), according to the FWC.
Pictures show the animal perching on a tree branch and lying on the ground while biologists performed a health check. “When collaring a panther, biologists conduct a comprehensive health assessment that includes blood tests and collecting tissue samples for genetic analysis,” officials wrote in the Facebook post.
Related: Florida alligator weighing over 900 pounds could have been 90 years old when caught
Florida panthers are an endangered subspecies of cougar. Their range historically extended from the sunshine state to Louisiana and Arkansas, but hunting over the past centuries has decimated their population. Nowadays, Florida panthers are only found in southwest Florida, where they live in wetlands, swamps, upland forests and stands of saw palmetto, according to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).
Although Florida panthers are the sunshine state’s official animal mascot, only 120 to 230 of them remain in the wild, according to the FWC.
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In this latest catch and release, officials fitted the panther with a GPS collar, which will enable researchers to track how it survives and reproduces in its remaining habitat. “The effort is part of a long-term research program that monitors panther movements, health and population dynamics,” they wrote in the Facebook post. “This project provides essential data for conservation efforts on the endangered Florida panther.”
Officials did not say where exactly they captured the panther, but the location was revealed as being Babcock Ranch near Fort Myers by the local broadcaster WINK News.
FWC officials urged anyone who spots a panther to report the sighting via the Florida panther program website. Florida residents who wish to support the program can purchase a “protect the panther” license plate, according to the Facebook post.
