Panther Social Ecology

Maehr, David

Among the world's large cats only the African I ion (Panthera leo) exhibits a gregarious nature more typical of canids like timber wolves (Canis lupus) and wild dogs (lycaon pictus). Most felids, including Florida panthers, are essentially solitary predators and the family group, composed of the female and her offspring, forms the basic social unit. The relatively even distribution of prey across a forested landscape in south Florida is a stark contrast to the open savannahs and huge migratory herds of prey in East Africa. These differences in terrain, vegetation and prey availability undoubtedly help explain the divergent social systems these large cats exhibit. As with all mammalian carnivores, abundance and distribution are determined in part by their movements, social interactions, reproduction, mortality, and dispersal. The Florida panther follows a pattern typical of many solitary carnivores where movements are wide-ranging, the dispersal of young can be extensive, direct social contact is minimal, and the variation among individuals is a function of sex and age. in general, the panther exhibits a mate defense system where investment in resources is low in males but high in females, males compete for mates and are polygamous, dispersal is greater in males, and inbreeding is minimized by juvenile dispersal (Greenwood 1984:122). An understanding of these aspects of behavior and population dynamics, and the ways they interrelate is essential in evaluating the panther's status in its changing environment. Chapter IV examined the way panthers distribute themselves across the south Florida landscape. This chapter examines the day-to-day and annual cycles of social ecology characteristic of Florida panthers.