Biologists need to know what Florida panthers are up to. After years of hunting and habitat loss, there are only about two hundred of the big cats left on the landscape, concentrated in South Florida. As they inch toward recovery, however, more and more of the felines are on the move north, and tracking collars provide a valuable window into their movement patterns. But as you might imagine, catching a fierce, stealthy predator that weighs up to 160 pounds is no easy task.
Here’s how scientists do it.
It starts with trained hounds, says Dave Onorato, a panther biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “We have a houndsman who has dogs that are specifically trained to go after bobcats and panthers.” In the morning, the biologists join the houndsman, whose dogs run ahead of his swamp buggy, noses to the ground. A dog’s sense of smell is some 10,000 times more sensitive than a human’s—so developed they can even tell which direction a panther is moving.
Once they have the scent, they’ll follow the trail until they close in on the animal. The pursuit triggers an age-old instinct in the panther. “Panthers evolved with wolves,” Onorato says. “And because wolves were in packs, they had the number advantage, and if they chased a panther, it would just climb up a tree.” There, the cat would wait until the wolves left.
In the case of biologists catching panthers, the cat hides out in the tree as the dogs bark below it until the humans arrive through the often-swampy terrain, which can be difficult to navigate. Then, provided the cat’s position allows it, it’s time to dart the panther with tranquilizers—but only after setting up a portable air cushion and a net in case the subject falls out of the tree. “Or, sometimes they fall asleep in the crook of the tree,” Onorato says, “and one of our biologists climbs up with spikes to lower the panther down with a rope.” (Imagine, for a moment, being the scientist chosen for that task.)
Once on the ground, everyone jumps into a flurry of activity to conduct a health assessment. “It’s like a miniature ER,” Onorato explains. “We have a vet that’s giving fluids and vaccinations; we take blood and DNA samples and weigh and measure them.” And perhaps most importantly, the biologists attach a radio collar that will allow them to track the cat and watch its movements on the landscape. Then, the vet administers reversal drugs, everyone stands back, and the panther wakes up and leaves, better equipped to fight diseases like feline leukemia virus.
Though the method is straightforward, there is still an innate risk to both people and panthers during a collaring—and not every capture goes perfectly smoothly. “Depending on how the anesthesia goes when they come out of the tree, there’s certain instances that feel a little bit like a rodeo,” Onorato says. “There are quirks thrown at you—this is a large carnivore.” But so far, the biologists have had a high success rate, and no one has been seriously hurt, though biologists do sometimes suffer scratches as the cat wakes up. More than anything, the panther is just trying to escape back into the wild, where its tracking data will provide invaluable insight into a vulnerable species for years to come.
Read more about conservation efforts for the Florida panther here, and see a video of a capture below.
Note: Much of the research on Florida panthers is funded by purchases of the Protect the Panther license plate for Florida residents. Learn how to get one here.
