Feb 2, 2016

Sakata Employees Rescue Panther Kitten at Florida Research StationSource: Sakata

On Monday, Jan. 18, Sakata employees performing routine field maintenance at a research station in Ft. Myers, Florida, found a young male panther kitten abandoned and sleeping in one of the fields.

Although the Florida station frequently receives wildlife visitors, this discovery was more unusual, as Florida panthers are an endangered species and the kitten was extremely young and alone (2-3 months old).

Sakata alerted Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to the presence of the kitten. The kitten was taken to the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens, which recently constructed a facility specifically aimed at providing housing for injured or orphaned panthers found in the area.

Although this is only a temporary solution, it provides a safe haven for panthers to recover as the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and FWC coordinate to find permanent homes for cats that for whatever reason, cannot survive if re-released into the wild.

The panther kitten (known as UCFP261 until renamed) is no exception. After the kitten’s rescue, Sakata opened its doors to tracking and monitoring to be conducted by USFWS and FWC. Research concluded that the kitten was most likely lost during a rare encounter of two mothers with kittens crossing paths in the field and the kitten attempting to leave with the wrong mother.

Sakata also granted the organizations access to monitor the property to see if the lost kitten’s mother returned to the field where he was lost. Unfortunately she did not, and because cats who are under the age of six months when brought into captivity are generally not released back into the wild, the decision was made to not release the kitten as odds were not great that he could survive on his own.

The efforts and quick thinking of Sakata employees played just a small role in Florida’s overall plan to recover this species from near extinction. In the 1970s, Florida reported merely 20 to 30 cats; however, several decades of combined efforts put forth by USFWS, FWS, zoos, companies like Sakata and Florida citizens alike have brought the current population up to roughly 180 adult cats today.

For more information or to follow up on the status of the panther kitten, please visit www.napleszoo.org.