Meet the Florida Ghost Cat

The Nature Conservancy and Carlton Ward got up close and personal with the elusive Florida panther.

Learn how The Nature Conservancy (TNC) protects the lands & waters on which all life depends. Impacting conservation in 72 countries & territories, TNC has grown to become one of the most effective & wide-reaching environmental organizations in the world.

Stream THE NATURE CONSERVANCY PRESENTS on discovery+.

April 13, 2021

By: The Nature Conservancy

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Photo By: Carlton Ward Jr.

Camera trap image of a Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) in the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and on a trail leading into the upper Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve.

The Nature Conservancy works to protect land in Florida by partnering with private landowners and state government entities to help preserve wildlife habitat and to help support wildlife corridors.

Camera trap image of a male Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) from Babcock Ranch State Preserve, part of the Florida Wildlife Corridor interior to Fort Myers.

The Nature Conservancy works to protect land in Florida by partnering with private landowners and state government entities to help preserve wildlife habitat and to help support wildlife corridors.

The Caloosahatchee River at sunset. The Caloosahatchee is a manmade river used for drainage and as a navigational canal between Lake Okeechobee and the Gulf of Mexico near Ft. Myers, Florida. This waterway has been a major barrier against northern migration for the Florida panther population. Male panthers have been swimming across the river for decades, but no female panthers were documented north of the Caloosahatchee between 1973 to 2016. Since November 2016, two female Florida panthers have been captured on game cameras north of the Caloosahatchee, giving hope for the recovery of the species into its northern range.

Camera trap image of a male Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) crossing from Goodno Ranch to Black Boar Ranch property via a wildlife underpass along State Route 80. The Nature Conservancy has easements on both properties and assisted in the creation of the wildlife underpass. TNC works to protect land in Florida by partnering with private landowners and state government entities to help preserve wildlife habitat and to help support wildlife corridors.

Florida panther crossing sign on a busy section of Florida State Road 951 (aka Collier Blvd.) south of Interstate 75. Vehicle collisions are the leading cause for mortality for the Florida panther. Maintaining undeveloped land away from these highway systems is one way that TNC Florida has been working to protect this species.