Mercury Contamination: Another Threat to the Florida Panther
Nodvin S. 1990. Mercury Contamination: Another Threat to the Florida Panther. Park Science. 10(4):15
A report describing a newly discovered threat to the Florida panther and discusses the radio-tracking of panthers in Everglades NP. One of the nation's most critically endangered animals, the Florida panther (Felis concolor coryi) is believed to number only 30 to 50 animals in the wild, according to an Endangered Species Technical Bulletin by Dennis Jordan, Florida Panther Coordinator for the USFWS's Florida Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. The bulletin (Feb. 1990, Vol. XV No.2) ascribes the subspecies' decline to habitat loss, a reduction in the prey base, and the killing of panthers by people. But it also notes that recent information indicates an additional serious threat: contamination from mercury, a toxic me1al. Extremely high levels of mercury - over 100 parts per million - were found in the liver of a panther that died in the Everglades last summer. Until her death in July 1989, the 4-year·old female (known to researchers as #27) had been radio-tracked by Everglades NP daily for about 15 months.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Nodvin, Stephen
- Units
- EVER
- Keywords
- Habitat Loss, hot spots, natural source mercury, surface disturbances