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In this interview, MLF volunteer Julie West interviews Big Cypress National Preserve Florida Panther Biologist Deborah Jansen to discuss her work with one of the most critically endangered animals on the planet.  From inbreeding, to habitat loss, and record-high roadkills, Ms. Jansen discusses some of the biggest challenges panthers are facing.  Hear about her recent field work tracking and collaring the big cats in southwest Florida, and what the future may hold for Puma concolor coryi.

Deborah Jansen

Deb has spent more than 30 years studying the Florida panther.  She has been a wildlife biologist for the National Park Service at Big Cypress National Preserve since the late 1980's.  She specializes in capturing, marking, monitoring movements, social interaction, denning behavior and habitat use of panthers in south Florida.  Deb established the Big Cypress Panther Capture Team and has been a part of numerous panther recovery and response groups, as well as advisory councils, over the past few decades.  Her MERIT (Multi-Species/Ecosystem Recovery Implementation Team) subteam published the Landscape Conservation Strategy  for the Florida Panther.  She has contributed to a variety of other publications focusing on panther habitat connectivity and the genetic health of the species.

Deborah Jansen pictured left, holding three panther kittens.

Latest News Articles

Discovering Panther Ancestry with Microchips

FP171 on February 8, 2010. The grey rectangular box attached to the panther’s tongue is a pulse oximeter. It measures the pulse rate and indicates how much oxygen is in the blood, keeping the capture team informed that the panther is breathing enough and getting enough oxygen.

excerpt from March 2010 edition of Panther Update

By Deborah Jansen, BCNP Biologist

The Big Cypress panther capture team hunted for 29 days between February 3 and March 5, 2010, handling seven big cats and three tiny cats. They recollared two adult male panthers: FP133 and FP171, and put the first collars on two new adult male panthers: FP179 and 181. They also collared three new adult female panthers: FP 175, 180, and 182. The “tiny” cats, each weighing about four pounds, were the three kittens marked at the den of FP145.

One of the thrills of handling a new panther is running the scanner down its back to see if it “reads” a microchip. FP145’s litter brought the total number of panther kittens marked with microchips to 293. Who did the team find this year? Remember Lucy, the rescued panther kitten now living at Lowry Park Zoo? (see September 2007 Update) They found her sister, K254, now the healthy two-and-one-half-year-old FP175. Her brother, K253, was killed by a car on January 17, 2009. Remember the lightly-pelaged, female panther kitten, K264? (see May 2008 Update) She is now a healthy two-year-old living in Big Cypress.

But the most surprising “chipped” panther had been marked by FWC on the Florida Panther NWR in 2001 as K93. He is the son of one of the eight female pumas brought from Texas in 1995 to add new genes to the panther population. After nine years of eluding capture, he is now FP181. His torn ears, missing incisor, and once-fractured shoulder attest that he has survived encounters with both other panthers and a vehicle.

In 2.5 years, K254 (above left, weighing 2 pounds 11 ounces on July 20, 2007) grew into FP175, (above right, weighing 84 pounds on February 7). Photos copyrighted by Ralph Arwood.

Read more Panther Updates

March 2010 edition of Friends of the Florida Panther Refuge's newsletter Panther Update. Articles and photos used with permission from Friends of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.