Informative Speech On Florida Panther

Good morning/Afternoon,

The Florida Panther is a highly endangered species. Endangered species are a native species or subspecies that is in serious danger of becoming extinct throughout all, or a significant portion of its range as a result of one or more causes. Today I will be answering a wide range of questions about the Florida Panther. These questions include: Where does it live, what it looks like, what is its habitat, why is it endangered and what are we doing to protect it.

Let’s start off with where it lives. It lives in wetlands, swamps and upland forests. They can be seen in Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Its habitat is a diversity of warm climates. They must live in an area with a fairly big water source

It is a large, tan looking cat with tawny beige fur covering its body. It then has a whitish-grey area on its chest and belly. They can grow to an average of 6-7 feet long. They have the largest hind legs compared to any other cat which are capable of leaping up to 15 feet, which helps them survive as they can leap at their prey. From ground up to their shoulders, they are 23-17 inches. They have large ears that allow them to hear their prey very well. The cubs are spotted which allows them to blend in with their dens. According to www.floridawildlifeviewing.com, “A panther's diet may include rabbits, raccoons, wild hogs, birds, armadillos and, when food is scarce, even grasshoppers. Adult panthers annually require between 35 to 50 animals with the food value of a deer. (Ten raccoons, for instance, are said to equal the food value of a single deer.)” Once the panther has eaten its food, it may take around 5-7 days for the panther to fully consume it. These magnificent animals are capable of reaching up to around

As I said before, it is known as an umbrella species, they help keep prey populations at a suitable number. What are we as people doing to protect it? In 1974, the Big Cypress National Preserve and Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve have taken care of approximately 640,000 acres of land for the Florida Panther to inhabit. In 1981 there was a Florida Panther Recovery Plan which helped prevent the extinction of the species created by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. They also expanded their research and began to capture and radio collar panthers. In 1889, the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge was created and to this today protects almost over 26,400 acres of land for Panthers to inhabit. There are websites such as www.defenders.org that give you the option to ‘adopt’ a panther. This doesn’t mean you get to keep one, but the money you donate, quoted by www.defenders.org, “helps Defenders' work with state and local officials to protect essential habitat, construct highway underpasses and help to maintain habitat connectivity so panthers can live in their wild, native