The Diet of the Florida Panther in Everglades National Park, Florida
Dalrymple GH and Bass OL. The Diet of the Florida Panther in Everglades National Park, Florida
We examined the diet of Florida panthers (Eclis concolor coryi) in Everglades National Park from 1984 to 1991 using data from 113 kill sites of nine radio-collared panthers, and 272 scats found at kill sites and from free-ranging panthers. Nine species were identified at kill sites and 14 species from scats. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was the most important prey species according to kill and scat analyses. Most kills were of adult bucks and does. The mean time spent at kills was 3.86 days. Secondary prey species from scat analysis were marsh rabbits(Sylvilagus palustris) and raccoons (Procy.on lotor). The diet of panthers in Everglades National Park (ENP) was compared to that of panthers from southwestern Florida, including Big Cypress National Preserve. The estimated consumed biomass of white-tailed deer in ENP was nearly identical to the combined consumed biomass of deer and feral hogs from southwestern Florida.