1943, Hall and Kelson 1959, Hughes 1965). 

 Photographs are in Allen (1950), Tinsley (1970), 

 and Lowery (1974). 



RANGE 



The species formerly ranged throughout Flor- 

 ida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and 

 Arkansas (Hall and Kelson 1959). Its present dist- 

 ribution is uncertain. Tinsley (1970) and Layne 

 (1974) state that remaining major concentrations 

 seem to be in Florida — in Big Cypress Swamp 

 and the Everglades National Park — while the 

 extent of the population throughout the remain- 

 der of its range is unknown. 



Although it is questionable that the panther 

 survives outside of Florida (Williams 1979), recent 

 reports suggest that they do. R. Nowak (personal 

 communication) in 1975 examined what may 

 have been a Florida panther in Logan County, 

 Arkansas. Lowman (1975) lists sightings near 

 Valdosta, Georgia; Bankhead National Forest, 

 Baldwin, and Clarke Counties in Alabama; the 

 Pascagoula Swamp region of George and Jackson 

 Counties, and Amite and Claiborne Counties in 

 Mississippi; Catahoula, Concordia, East Baton 

 Rouge, Madison, Natchitoches, St. Tammany, and 

 Webster Parishes in Louisiana; the Ouachita River 

 bottomlands, Ouachita Mountains, and the White 

 River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas. Also, 

 the Mississippi Game and Fish Commission (per- 

 sonal communication) has a recent report of a 

 sighting in Hancock County, Mississippi. 



RANGE MAP 



The estimated range in eastern United States 

 is represented by shading, and confirmed reports 

 are represented on the following map by stars 

 (kills, live captures, plaster track casts, photo- 

 graphs) (Goertz and Abegg 1966, Noble 1971, Sea- 

 lander andGipson 1973, Lowery 1974,Belden and 

 Williams 1976, R. C. Belden personal communica- 

 tion, R. Nowak personal communication). 



The Florida map shows the locations of con- 

 firmed reports by stars, and unconfirmed reports 

 by dots (Belden and Wilhams 1976). 



STATES /COUNTIES 



Alabama Baldwin, Clarke, Greene, Mobile, 

 Tuscaloosa, Winston. 



Arkansas Arkansas, Ashley, Carroll, Dallas, 

 Drew, Franklin, Jefferson, Logan, 

 Newton, Nevada, Pope, Saline, Scott, 

 Stone, Washington, White. 



Florida Alachua, Baker, Brevard, Browerd, 

 Citrus, Collier, Columbia, Dade, Dixie, 

 Duval, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, 

 Lake, Lafayette, Levy, Manatee, 

 Marion, Martin, Okeechobee, Osceola, 

 Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk, Santa Rosa, 

 Sarasota, St. Lucie, Taylor, Union, 

 Wakulla, Walton. 



Georgia Charlton, Clinch, Lowndes, Ware. 



Louisiana Caddo, Catahoula, Concordia, East 

 (Parishes) Baton Rouge, Madison, Natchitoches, 

 St, Tammany, Webster. 



Mississippi Amite, Claiborne, George, Hancock, 

 Jackson. 



South 



Carolina Aiken, Barnwell. 



HABITAT 



The panther has been reported in every habi- 

 tat type. No preference or nonpreference for a 

 specific habitat type has been noted. A large area 

 is required, with adequate food supply and dense 

 vegetation for cover (Bangs 1899). 



FOOD AND FORAGING BEHAVIOR 



Its principal food is white-tailed deer (True 

 1891). They also eat small mammals, insects, and 

 reptiles (Hughes 1965, Smith 1968, Tinsley 1970) 

 and livestock (True 1891, Hamilton 1943, Rodgers 

 and Crowder 1974). 



They stalk their prey until close enough to 

 pounce on it, grabbing the throat or back of the 

 neck (Hamilton 1943, Lowery 1974). If prey can 

 not be entirely consumed at one time, a panther 

 will cover it with brush and leaves, and return as 

 long as it is palatable (Goin 1948, Allen 1950, 

 Young and Goldman 1964, Lowery 1974). The 

 frequency of meals is not known, although hunters 

 in western United States report that mountain 

 lions (Felis concolor ssp.) kill every 3 to 4 days 

 (Young and Goldman 1964). 



SHELTER REQUIREMENTS 



Not known 



NESTING OR BEDDING 



Not known. 



RITUAL REQUIREMENTS 



Not known. 



