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Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther
It wasn't so long ago when a lot of people thought the Florida panther was extinct. They were very nearly right. That the panther still exists at all is a miracle--the result of a desperate experiment that led to the most remarkable comeback in the history of the Endangered Species Act. And no one has told the whole story--until now.With novelistic detail and an eye for the absurd, Craig Pittman recounts the extraordinary story of the people who brought the panther back from the brink of extinction, the ones who nearly pushed the species over the edge, and the cats that were caught in the middle. This being Florida, there's more than a little weirdness, too.An engrossing narrative of wry humor, sharp writing and exhaustive reportage, Cat Tale shows what it takes to bring one species back and what unexpected costs such a decision brings.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published January 21, 2020
87 people are currently reading
1395 people want to read
About the author
Craig Pittman
11 books216 followersCraig Pittman is the author of seven books about Florida, including "Oh, Florida! How America's Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country," (2016) which became a New York Times bestseller, and "Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther" (2020). His most recent book is "Welcome to Florida: True Tales from America's Most Interesting State" (2025). He writes a weekly column for the Florida Phoenix and also co-hosts the popular "Welcome to Florida" podcast. He is a native Floridian and graduated from Troy State University in Alabama, where his muckraking work for the student paper prompted an agitated dean to label him "the most destructive force on campus." Since then he has covered a variety of newspaper beats and quite a few natural disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires and the Florida Legislature. In 2020 he was named a Florida Literary Legend by the Florida Heritage Book Festival and in 2022 the national Sierra Club gave him its Rachel Carson Award. He lives in St. Petersburg, Fla., with his wife and two children.
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March 15, 2020
I wrote it so of course I think it's the cat's pajamas -- so to speak. Meeeeeow!
January 29, 2020
The below review originally appeared on Open Letters Review.
Tales of extinction in the modern world are certainly not atypical, but it is rare for one to have a happy ending. An unlikely story of an apex predator resurrected from what appeared to be certain death, Craig Pittman’s Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther will give readers a whole new meaning to the phrase, “rooting for the Florida panthers.”
By 2016, the Florida panther would go the way of the dodo bird, a 1992 study forecasted. Indeed, in the 90s, the majestic yet ferocious animal’s survival had the odds stacked against it: rampant development of Florida land increasingly robbed them of their habitat, cars flying down interstates regularly flattened surviving members, and hunters not only targeted the panther’s prey, but sometimes set their sights on the cats themselves. That on top of serious health issues resulting from the inbreeding the small population was practicing meant the Florida panther needed a champion if it was going to see the 2020s.
Fortunately for the big cats, a handful of such people stepped forward to come to the rescue of Florida’s state animal. These are the individuals Pittman follows throughout this book, which begins with the realization that, at the time, there was a fundamental lack of knowledge about the nocturnal creatures. It turns out the elusive animals had done a good job of remaining that way through much of Florida’s modern development. Though much was known about other Florida species when the project to save the panther loosely got started in the 1970s, details about the big cats themselves were as sparse as actual sightings of them in Florida. Pittman states bluntly, “how do you protect an animal that you know almost nothing about?”
Scientists answered that question by gathering data in order to get a state-of-the-species big picture. To do so, they chased down and tranquilized remaining cats to collect samples and outfit the animals with tracking collars in order to keep tabs on their movements after they returned to consciousness. The team immediately faced backlash from the community over safety complications surrounding putting collars on wild animals. The uproar ultimately quieted, but turned out to be only a small taste of the often outrageous stumbling blocks that were to come.
Given that this is a story of Florida, a level of absurdity is expected, if not outright required. Pittman happily obliges with a number of colorful caricatures, from a stetson-wearing, expert animal tracker to a media-manipulating turncoat scientist. Though the cast of characters becomes large as new additions join the fray as the saga goes on, distinctive and memorable portraits of each of the players keeps clear what in another author’s hands would be confusing and not nearly as readable. Pittman is at his best when retelling some of the more wacky scientific endeavors undertaken in the name of rescuing the panther, inserting humor in just the right spots to earn belly laughs.
The author’s humor doesn’t always hit its mark. As he notes about himself in the text, he “can seldom resist the urge to play smart aleck,” a quality he feels comfortable extending to his prose. His style gets chummy with the reader, at times making the story feel like a belly-up-to-the-bar hometown tale, and in other moments, like a surrender of his authorial authority. There are many sections of the book in which the author seems to forget what he’s writing is not a voice over script for a documentary; his dramatic closing points to chapters give the feeling that he’s setting up readers for a commercial break rather than smoothly introducing the next section.
What his style does achieve, however, is a feeling of camaraderie with the reader, similarly looking on in horror as government agencies, politicians, land developers, and even some Florida residents actively worked against efforts to revitalize the panther population in what was and still is the animal’s native land. Human entitlement leaps off the page higher than the panthers themselves; if Peter the Great built the formerly swampy St. Petersburg on bones, so too did Florida - the state with its own St. Petersburg - when building ill-placed, damp universities on the bones of Florida wildlife.
What the author never stabs a finger at directly is that this story spans decades; one development in the narrative is often followed by a quick, one-sentence acknowledgement that years passed before the next event the author details, a holdup often caused by bureaucratic squabbling. The red tape was long enough to play cat’s cradle with, keeping idle hands busy while the panthers died out in front of the world's eyes. As the book progresses, the frustration with the unnecessary and destructive delays reaches the hair-pulling level. Though the end result was a largely positive one, with healthy panthers roaming Florida once more, this story makes clear that even a truly dedicated team may not be able to save the next animal from extinction if such obstacles promise to impede forward progress. And there will certainly be a next animal.
As such, a full-length reading of Cat Tale may not be quite as hopeful and uplifting as the premise suggests, but it does tell an honest, entertaining story of an apex predator being brought back from the brink, despite all the odds against it. Pittman’s history with this story and its actors clearly shows; his research is robust and the tale is lovingly told. As only a true Floridian could, Pittman makes sense of the bizarre and clears a path through the chaos in this parable of a species holding onto life by its claws in an inhospitable world.
Tales of extinction in the modern world are certainly not atypical, but it is rare for one to have a happy ending. An unlikely story of an apex predator resurrected from what appeared to be certain death, Craig Pittman’s Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther will give readers a whole new meaning to the phrase, “rooting for the Florida panthers.”
By 2016, the Florida panther would go the way of the dodo bird, a 1992 study forecasted. Indeed, in the 90s, the majestic yet ferocious animal’s survival had the odds stacked against it: rampant development of Florida land increasingly robbed them of their habitat, cars flying down interstates regularly flattened surviving members, and hunters not only targeted the panther’s prey, but sometimes set their sights on the cats themselves. That on top of serious health issues resulting from the inbreeding the small population was practicing meant the Florida panther needed a champion if it was going to see the 2020s.
Fortunately for the big cats, a handful of such people stepped forward to come to the rescue of Florida’s state animal. These are the individuals Pittman follows throughout this book, which begins with the realization that, at the time, there was a fundamental lack of knowledge about the nocturnal creatures. It turns out the elusive animals had done a good job of remaining that way through much of Florida’s modern development. Though much was known about other Florida species when the project to save the panther loosely got started in the 1970s, details about the big cats themselves were as sparse as actual sightings of them in Florida. Pittman states bluntly, “how do you protect an animal that you know almost nothing about?”
Scientists answered that question by gathering data in order to get a state-of-the-species big picture. To do so, they chased down and tranquilized remaining cats to collect samples and outfit the animals with tracking collars in order to keep tabs on their movements after they returned to consciousness. The team immediately faced backlash from the community over safety complications surrounding putting collars on wild animals. The uproar ultimately quieted, but turned out to be only a small taste of the often outrageous stumbling blocks that were to come.
Given that this is a story of Florida, a level of absurdity is expected, if not outright required. Pittman happily obliges with a number of colorful caricatures, from a stetson-wearing, expert animal tracker to a media-manipulating turncoat scientist. Though the cast of characters becomes large as new additions join the fray as the saga goes on, distinctive and memorable portraits of each of the players keeps clear what in another author’s hands would be confusing and not nearly as readable. Pittman is at his best when retelling some of the more wacky scientific endeavors undertaken in the name of rescuing the panther, inserting humor in just the right spots to earn belly laughs.
The author’s humor doesn’t always hit its mark. As he notes about himself in the text, he “can seldom resist the urge to play smart aleck,” a quality he feels comfortable extending to his prose. His style gets chummy with the reader, at times making the story feel like a belly-up-to-the-bar hometown tale, and in other moments, like a surrender of his authorial authority. There are many sections of the book in which the author seems to forget what he’s writing is not a voice over script for a documentary; his dramatic closing points to chapters give the feeling that he’s setting up readers for a commercial break rather than smoothly introducing the next section.
What his style does achieve, however, is a feeling of camaraderie with the reader, similarly looking on in horror as government agencies, politicians, land developers, and even some Florida residents actively worked against efforts to revitalize the panther population in what was and still is the animal’s native land. Human entitlement leaps off the page higher than the panthers themselves; if Peter the Great built the formerly swampy St. Petersburg on bones, so too did Florida - the state with its own St. Petersburg - when building ill-placed, damp universities on the bones of Florida wildlife.
What the author never stabs a finger at directly is that this story spans decades; one development in the narrative is often followed by a quick, one-sentence acknowledgement that years passed before the next event the author details, a holdup often caused by bureaucratic squabbling. The red tape was long enough to play cat’s cradle with, keeping idle hands busy while the panthers died out in front of the world's eyes. As the book progresses, the frustration with the unnecessary and destructive delays reaches the hair-pulling level. Though the end result was a largely positive one, with healthy panthers roaming Florida once more, this story makes clear that even a truly dedicated team may not be able to save the next animal from extinction if such obstacles promise to impede forward progress. And there will certainly be a next animal.
As such, a full-length reading of Cat Tale may not be quite as hopeful and uplifting as the premise suggests, but it does tell an honest, entertaining story of an apex predator being brought back from the brink, despite all the odds against it. Pittman’s history with this story and its actors clearly shows; his research is robust and the tale is lovingly told. As only a true Floridian could, Pittman makes sense of the bizarre and clears a path through the chaos in this parable of a species holding onto life by its claws in an inhospitable world.
July 29, 2020
I bought this book for my husband, who loved it, then decided to read it myself. I wanted to skim it as I have a huge tbr list, but I ended up totally immersed and read every word with enthusiasm, dismay, and finally appreciation for the selflessness and hard work and determination of the many men and women who helped bring the Florida panther back from the brink of extinction.
"The people in charge of saving the panther were the captives."
This remarkable history of the fight (and I mean, FIGHT) to save the panther is told expertly, with humor and intelligence, and the narration is never dry or dull. Pittman, an award-winning journalist, knows how to tell a mighty good tale!
Someone on our condo property in northern Florida claimed they saw a panther. I doubt it, but I hope he might have. This elusive mammal has defied all odds, with the help of a special team of collaborators, and moved from southern Florida to central. It's not out of the question that a lone male may have trekked up to our wild acreage. There have been sightings about an hour south of us.
In any case, I learned so much about the animal and Florida politics. Yuk on the second topic. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes environmental stories, stories about animals, stories about the South, or anyone who wants to expand their reading horizons and read something a tad different. You might end up disgusted by state politics, but your appreciation of the scientists and animal experts who slog through the muck to do their jobs and make huge personal sacrifices to save a species is well worth it. In closing, besides a high five to Pittman, I want to say the names of these wildlife heroes:
Roy McBride--Deb Jansen--Andy Eller--Chris Belden--Jane Comiskey--Melody Roelke--Walt McCown--Darrell Land
They deserve medals, and at the very least, our appreciation.
"The people in charge of saving the panther were the captives."
This remarkable history of the fight (and I mean, FIGHT) to save the panther is told expertly, with humor and intelligence, and the narration is never dry or dull. Pittman, an award-winning journalist, knows how to tell a mighty good tale!
Someone on our condo property in northern Florida claimed they saw a panther. I doubt it, but I hope he might have. This elusive mammal has defied all odds, with the help of a special team of collaborators, and moved from southern Florida to central. It's not out of the question that a lone male may have trekked up to our wild acreage. There have been sightings about an hour south of us.
In any case, I learned so much about the animal and Florida politics. Yuk on the second topic. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes environmental stories, stories about animals, stories about the South, or anyone who wants to expand their reading horizons and read something a tad different. You might end up disgusted by state politics, but your appreciation of the scientists and animal experts who slog through the muck to do their jobs and make huge personal sacrifices to save a species is well worth it. In closing, besides a high five to Pittman, I want to say the names of these wildlife heroes:
Roy McBride--Deb Jansen--Andy Eller--Chris Belden--Jane Comiskey--Melody Roelke--Walt McCown--Darrell Land
They deserve medals, and at the very least, our appreciation.
November 22, 2019
Absolutely fascinating. As a non-fiction read, the subject itself is captivating, but told through hilarious- and ultimately humanistic- lens of best-seller Craig Pittman, the book truly strikes a cord. Florida is often the epicenter of the absurd (with good reason, as this Florida native can attest) with our environment noted for its brutality (snakes, mosquitoes, alligators, wild boars, twig ants!) if at all, but Pittman gives weight here to the plight of the Florida panther, while also unraveling the twisted tale to save it and bring it back from the brink of extinction. Because of Pittman's easy, entertaining voice, I would particularly recommend this to any readers interested in environmental issues but leery of typical non-fiction tomes. This book is both fulfilling and accessible to everyone.
June 21, 2023
This is one of those books that just grabbed me. I don’t know if it was that cover or what, but I had to get it. It isn’t the kind of topic I would necessarily seek out. Still, it seemed fascinating.
I am glad I did too because it really was a great book. I don’t want to compare it to Bill Bryson as it is probably not a comparison that will work for everyone, but my intent is to say it’s a nonfiction story told with some quirky detours along the way
And let’s face it, the Florida Panther is an interesting topic. It sure seems if humans weren’t killing it physically either hunting it or via cars running over them; then surely human politics and human failings were going to kill then instead.
Although it doesn’t read like a Carl Hiassen novel, I can understand why he’s mentioned so much in reviews of the book. Some of the real life characters here do seem to be from the world of Hiassen.
It is an interesting story and it is true- how does one protect the Panthers? It is of course easy to second guess what others did, but I think one surely realizes that there’s no good answer. You’re going to make someone mad no matter what you do
This book is for anyone interested in Florida Man of course. I lived in Florida for about six months so it is relatable to me. It certainly will appeal to anyone interested in environmental politics. But even outside of that, it’s just an interesting nonfiction tale.
February 3, 2020
When I was a little girl, they typically showed a short animated film as part of a movie. I remember a very clever one with the refrain, "Man, is it tough to be a bird!"
It is not easy to be a panther (or Puma, or mountain lion, or cougar--they're all essentially the same cat) in these United States. Like "Heart of a Lion", this book was in part inspirational, in part plain depressing. What got to me was the sheer greed and bullheadedness of some people who were supposed to be protecting the Florida Panther, but who instead slated thousands of acres of Panther habitat for development. Still, there are triumphs here. The Panther population was actually growing at the time of publication, and there is some hope that the cats may repopulate the Southeast. Mr. Pittman also writes in a clear and entertaining style.
But, while "Heart of a Lion" made me hope cougars would actually come back to the Northeast--that book pointed out that, in a 2,000 mile journey, a young male cougar never harmed or even threatened to harm a single person, pet, or farm animal--this one gives me pause. Wandering young panthers in Florida do attack and kill both pets and livestock. Can we learn to live with these losses? I was more horrified by the wanton killings of Panthers Pittman describes.
So I guess you could say this is an even-handed, generally entertaining, introduction to Florida Panthers. It does offer some entertainment, some knowledge, and some hope, and I'd recommend it for most libraries. Teens, as well as adults, may enjoy it.
It is not easy to be a panther (or Puma, or mountain lion, or cougar--they're all essentially the same cat) in these United States. Like "Heart of a Lion", this book was in part inspirational, in part plain depressing. What got to me was the sheer greed and bullheadedness of some people who were supposed to be protecting the Florida Panther, but who instead slated thousands of acres of Panther habitat for development. Still, there are triumphs here. The Panther population was actually growing at the time of publication, and there is some hope that the cats may repopulate the Southeast. Mr. Pittman also writes in a clear and entertaining style.
But, while "Heart of a Lion" made me hope cougars would actually come back to the Northeast--that book pointed out that, in a 2,000 mile journey, a young male cougar never harmed or even threatened to harm a single person, pet, or farm animal--this one gives me pause. Wandering young panthers in Florida do attack and kill both pets and livestock. Can we learn to live with these losses? I was more horrified by the wanton killings of Panthers Pittman describes.
So I guess you could say this is an even-handed, generally entertaining, introduction to Florida Panthers. It does offer some entertainment, some knowledge, and some hope, and I'd recommend it for most libraries. Teens, as well as adults, may enjoy it.
September 29, 2021
The manatee, alligator, sea turtle, and Florida panther are on Florida’s endangered species list. The Florida Panther was named the state animal of Florida in 1982 after a vote by students statewide. For this book, Craig Pittman expanded his 2010 panther series, “Dead Cat Walking”.
The Florida panther elsewhere is known as a puma, cougar, mountain lion, or catamount. 200 years ago these nocturnal hunters roamed to Texas and Georgia. As their rear legs are longer, they can leap 15 feet up and 45 feet across. They are difficult to track as they roam a vast area easily hunting and moving 20 miles at night while sleeping during the day. They are found mainly in Big Cypress Swamp, Everglades National Park, and Fakahatchee Strand (north of Big Cypress and home of the famed ghost orchid).
The panthers have become endangered as their natural habitats have been wiped out by developers erecting roads, houses, golf courses, and strip malls; killed by vehicles and hunters; their genetics due to inbreeding; and the failure of politicians and the Florida Game and Wildlife Commission to protect the species and allow permits to be issued for rampant building and encroachment on their habitat.
Since the 1980s, many are being tracked to understand where and how they live. The death of Third Florida Panther (FP3) changed the trajectory of their extinction. While she was being treed by two biologists and their dogs, the 70-pound feline fell from a tree and died despite mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Her body can be found in the State Archives of the Museum of Florida History in downtown Tallahassee. By the mid-1990s, the numbers of panthers had dwindled to 20 or as some scientists believed, five males and a female.
As the author wrote, “This is a story of the panther’s rapid decline, the efforts to rescue it from the brink of extinction, and all that resulted from this effort, both good and bad. It’s the story of more than just the struggle over saving a charismatic cat. It’s also the take of raw courage, of scientific skulduggery and political shenanigans, of big-money interests versus what’s best for everyone.” “This being Florida, there’s going to be a little weirdness sprinkled into this tale.”
Here are some of the many characters who have crossed the paths of panthers:
legendary and recalcitrant West Texan hunter Roy McBride (who was an inspiration for Cormac McCarthy’s The Crossing;
the passionate panther advocate Deborah Jansen, who was a field researcher of both the game commission of South Florida and the National Park Service;
Biologist and panther tracker, Chris Belden;
Veterinarian Medlody Roelke a/k/a Turbo-Vet, who fought hard to prove that genetics was diminishing the population;
Biologist Walt McCown, who introduced inflatable “crashpads” to capture panthers.
David Maehr a/k/a Mr. Panther, who was media hungry, controversial, and a defiant leader, who blatantly misrepresented his scientific findings.
Even peripherally, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, author of Everglades: River of Grass and co-founder of the Friends of the Everglades, and black and white Everglades photographer, Clyde Butcher appear.
I was surprised to read about “The Turtle God” a/k/a British Peter C.H. Pritchard, who “housed the largest private collection of turtle specimens in the world – around thirteen thousand items, from prehistoric to the present day” in the Chelonian Research Institute in Oviedo, Florida. He was a former Vice President of the Florida Chapter of the Audubon Society. I once lived there yet had never heard of him.
I learned that the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida holds over “half a million specimens” in three buildings, “including the world’s largest collections of butterflies and moths” and a panther collection.
I was sorry to hear how the Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies succumbed to developers and politicians and delayed at the expense and destruction of the panthers’ habitat. There was outright bureaucratic lies to approve permits for developers. Former biologist from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Andy Eller, wrote of “blatant misrepresentation of scientific information to make the panther appear less endangered than it was”.
The cover completely charmed me and was wondering where it came from and serendipitously walked into a bookstore and found the same panther on the cover of the Photo Ark’s Vanishing: The World’s Most Vulnerable Animals. It was a Florida panther from the Zoo Tampa.
This was the ultimate cat fight that was entertaining, fascinating, and populated with heroes and villains. Written with sardonic wit and intelligence, it is well researched and takes you on a rollicking ride through Florida’s history, swamps, and characters. Arrogance and greed were very destructive to the panthers’ habitat and survival. Hopefully, the Florida Panther will survive and flourish. 4.5 stars. I highly recommend.
The Florida panther elsewhere is known as a puma, cougar, mountain lion, or catamount. 200 years ago these nocturnal hunters roamed to Texas and Georgia. As their rear legs are longer, they can leap 15 feet up and 45 feet across. They are difficult to track as they roam a vast area easily hunting and moving 20 miles at night while sleeping during the day. They are found mainly in Big Cypress Swamp, Everglades National Park, and Fakahatchee Strand (north of Big Cypress and home of the famed ghost orchid).
The panthers have become endangered as their natural habitats have been wiped out by developers erecting roads, houses, golf courses, and strip malls; killed by vehicles and hunters; their genetics due to inbreeding; and the failure of politicians and the Florida Game and Wildlife Commission to protect the species and allow permits to be issued for rampant building and encroachment on their habitat.
Since the 1980s, many are being tracked to understand where and how they live. The death of Third Florida Panther (FP3) changed the trajectory of their extinction. While she was being treed by two biologists and their dogs, the 70-pound feline fell from a tree and died despite mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Her body can be found in the State Archives of the Museum of Florida History in downtown Tallahassee. By the mid-1990s, the numbers of panthers had dwindled to 20 or as some scientists believed, five males and a female.
As the author wrote, “This is a story of the panther’s rapid decline, the efforts to rescue it from the brink of extinction, and all that resulted from this effort, both good and bad. It’s the story of more than just the struggle over saving a charismatic cat. It’s also the take of raw courage, of scientific skulduggery and political shenanigans, of big-money interests versus what’s best for everyone.” “This being Florida, there’s going to be a little weirdness sprinkled into this tale.”
Here are some of the many characters who have crossed the paths of panthers:
legendary and recalcitrant West Texan hunter Roy McBride (who was an inspiration for Cormac McCarthy’s The Crossing;
the passionate panther advocate Deborah Jansen, who was a field researcher of both the game commission of South Florida and the National Park Service;
Biologist and panther tracker, Chris Belden;
Veterinarian Medlody Roelke a/k/a Turbo-Vet, who fought hard to prove that genetics was diminishing the population;
Biologist Walt McCown, who introduced inflatable “crashpads” to capture panthers.
David Maehr a/k/a Mr. Panther, who was media hungry, controversial, and a defiant leader, who blatantly misrepresented his scientific findings.
Even peripherally, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, author of Everglades: River of Grass and co-founder of the Friends of the Everglades, and black and white Everglades photographer, Clyde Butcher appear.
I was surprised to read about “The Turtle God” a/k/a British Peter C.H. Pritchard, who “housed the largest private collection of turtle specimens in the world – around thirteen thousand items, from prehistoric to the present day” in the Chelonian Research Institute in Oviedo, Florida. He was a former Vice President of the Florida Chapter of the Audubon Society. I once lived there yet had never heard of him.
I learned that the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida holds over “half a million specimens” in three buildings, “including the world’s largest collections of butterflies and moths” and a panther collection.
I was sorry to hear how the Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies succumbed to developers and politicians and delayed at the expense and destruction of the panthers’ habitat. There was outright bureaucratic lies to approve permits for developers. Former biologist from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Andy Eller, wrote of “blatant misrepresentation of scientific information to make the panther appear less endangered than it was”.
The cover completely charmed me and was wondering where it came from and serendipitously walked into a bookstore and found the same panther on the cover of the Photo Ark’s Vanishing: The World’s Most Vulnerable Animals. It was a Florida panther from the Zoo Tampa.
This was the ultimate cat fight that was entertaining, fascinating, and populated with heroes and villains. Written with sardonic wit and intelligence, it is well researched and takes you on a rollicking ride through Florida’s history, swamps, and characters. Arrogance and greed were very destructive to the panthers’ habitat and survival. Hopefully, the Florida Panther will survive and flourish. 4.5 stars. I highly recommend.
January 31, 2021
I grew up on the Canadian prairies. When I think of fun and adventure, I look West to the awesome vistas of the Rocky Mountains and the Coast. I never understood why so many people are so determined to head for Florida to either vacation or live. I don’t care about sandy beaches or surfing or getting sunburned so it all just seems flat and boring to me. I do, however, love nature and wildlife. That’s another reason why the western part of this continent is so attractive to me. That’s also why I wish there weren’t so many people flocking to Florida to transform it into a vast housing development, crowding out its native wonders. What that state has going for it, it seems destined to lose, including the Florida panther. That makes me sad.
This is a fascinating book, both encouraging and discouraging at the same time. It seems, these days, that conservation stories rarely have a happy ending when there’s money to be made unless rich people getting richer is your idea of a happy ending. I always took for granted that most people love the spectacular wildlife with which North America has been blessed. Maybe they do, as long as it doesn’t get in their way. Maybe the average person is really selfish when push comes to shove. Maybe, when global warming causes the ocean to rise, what is submerged in Florida will be no great loss as it will simply provide developers with more demand for their product elsewhere.
I wish the panthers of Florida well. Maybe something that I can’t foresee will happen to turn their rather bleak looking future around. Perhaps they will escape their imprisonment in Florida and find refuge elsewhere. Long may they roam.
This is a fascinating book, both encouraging and discouraging at the same time. It seems, these days, that conservation stories rarely have a happy ending when there’s money to be made unless rich people getting richer is your idea of a happy ending. I always took for granted that most people love the spectacular wildlife with which North America has been blessed. Maybe they do, as long as it doesn’t get in their way. Maybe the average person is really selfish when push comes to shove. Maybe, when global warming causes the ocean to rise, what is submerged in Florida will be no great loss as it will simply provide developers with more demand for their product elsewhere.
I wish the panthers of Florida well. Maybe something that I can’t foresee will happen to turn their rather bleak looking future around. Perhaps they will escape their imprisonment in Florida and find refuge elsewhere. Long may they roam.
January 21, 2020
I received a free electronic ARC of this excellent history of the Florida Panther from Netgalley, Craig Pittman, and Hanover Square Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this work of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to recommend Craig Pittman to friends and family. He shares with us the sad and interesting record of the ups and downs - mostly downs - of the existence of the Florida panther. Again their numbers are expected to be small but there are still some out there - at least for the next little bit. Looking at Washington policies of today, we haven't learned much over all these years... The ones who will bear the brunt of this short-sighted attitude will be the usual - Sandhill Cranes, Florida puma, the Manatee.
Pub date Jan 21, 2020
Hanover Square Press
Reviewed on January 18, 2020, at Goodreads and Netgalley. Reviewed on January 21, 2020, at AmazonSmile, BarnesNoble, BookBub, Kobo, and GooglePlay.
Reviewed on Goodreads and Netgalley on Jan 18, 2020.
Pub date Jan 21, 2020
Hanover Square Press
Reviewed on January 18, 2020, at Goodreads and Netgalley. Reviewed on January 21, 2020, at AmazonSmile, BarnesNoble, BookBub, Kobo, and GooglePlay.
Reviewed on Goodreads and Netgalley on Jan 18, 2020.
August 5, 2023
I have followed the Florida panthers' fight for survival for many years through Craig Pittman's newspaper stories, but there was still so much in this book that I didn't know or didn't remember. It was a pleasure to read the story told from beginning to end and especially to read Pittman trying to hold state and federal bureaucrats accountable for their bad decisions (or non-decisions).
Panthers were nearing extinction as a result of genetic defects due to inbreeding, road deaths and the construction of housing, roads and even universities in panther territory. It took the importation of Texas cougars to start them on the road to recovery and expand their range further north. How well panthers and peoples can coexist in a highly populated state like Florida remains to be seen, and we all know that money talks. However, it feels good to know that the panthers are out there and maybe have a fighting chance.
I think this is Pittman's best book yet.
***
Update: I just read Cat Tale for the second time for one of my book clubs and liked it even better. The only thing I felt it was missing was a chapter about pythons and their reshaping of the ecosystem as they devour mammals panthers could have eaten (and maybe even actual panthers.)
Panthers were nearing extinction as a result of genetic defects due to inbreeding, road deaths and the construction of housing, roads and even universities in panther territory. It took the importation of Texas cougars to start them on the road to recovery and expand their range further north. How well panthers and peoples can coexist in a highly populated state like Florida remains to be seen, and we all know that money talks. However, it feels good to know that the panthers are out there and maybe have a fighting chance.
I think this is Pittman's best book yet.
***
Update: I just read Cat Tale for the second time for one of my book clubs and liked it even better. The only thing I felt it was missing was a chapter about pythons and their reshaping of the ecosystem as they devour mammals panthers could have eaten (and maybe even actual panthers.)
October 26, 2023
The story of Florida panther conservation. But also Florida history. I really learned a lot about Florida, and honestly, I haven’t felt so close to Sarah since I read that book about the gifted school.
Overall interesting to read this and think about some of the ways the ocelot work is similar to and different from what happened and what’s been done for Florida panthers.
A little much on discussion/dissection of the human characters who were involved and not enough cat talk, though there are other books for that. I’m giving a presentation about wildlife science communication soon, and can’t help thinking this: as scientists we need to tell our stories, or else someone else will for us and they might not tell it quite how we would have liked…
Overall interesting to read this and think about some of the ways the ocelot work is similar to and different from what happened and what’s been done for Florida panthers.
A little much on discussion/dissection of the human characters who were involved and not enough cat talk, though there are other books for that. I’m giving a presentation about wildlife science communication soon, and can’t help thinking this: as scientists we need to tell our stories, or else someone else will for us and they might not tell it quite how we would have liked…
April 6, 2023
How I ended up with this book on my review list, I will never know. This is not anything I would have ever chosen to read. But, I found it pretty interesting, especially at the beginning of the book. The politics towards the end is not something I really care about. But it is something that affected the panther.
I also enjoyed the science. The thought process that went into saving the panther is in depth. So, to say this book is very well researched is an understatement.
I also enjoyed this narrator. He is very matter of fact and expressive.
So, if y’all need a book about the history of panthers in Florida…THIS IS IT!
I also enjoyed the science. The thought process that went into saving the panther is in depth. So, to say this book is very well researched is an understatement.
I also enjoyed this narrator. He is very matter of fact and expressive.
So, if y’all need a book about the history of panthers in Florida…THIS IS IT!
January 9, 2026
me, listening to this and looking at my cat with her kinked tail: 🤨
my cat, who has never had a Thought before: 😃
my cat, who has never had a Thought before: 😃
October 10, 2020
Sad, frustrating, illuminating yet hopeful
Craig Pittman has written a conservation tale filled to the brim with everything that could possibly go wrong in the war to save an iconic endangered species. The beleaguered Florida panther's path to survival is filled with villains, the indifferent, bureaucratic fumbles and obfuscations, bare faced political expediency, the careless and the venal. It has seemed at many times as if the battle to save the panther were hopeless and doomed to failure.
Full disclosure, I'm a Florida naturalist who has worked to save another iconic species, the sea turtle, for many years. It's also a battle with villains, the indifferent, entrenched bureaucracy, political machinations and all the rest. My territory has been coastal, not the habitat of panthers, but no less frustrating and yet hopeful. What these two war campaigns [and that's whatconservation battles seem like to those involved] have in common are some dedicated individuals working against all the odds to protect habitat and lives... to ensure the reproduction and survival of incredible creatures who have no idea what's happening to them nor the political decisions that will have such sway over their very lives. The similarities between the panther and turtle wars only differ in details, not in scope or import. And, while I've never seen a panther in the wild [though I've seen many turtles], I did meet a wild bobcat, up close and personal at a beach side preserve. It was early morning, one else was around... it was just me and hunting bobcat, face to face, not 10 feet apart for what seemed like a short eternity. We survived the encounter without injury or interference.
Florida, as Pittman knows, can be a weird place, but first and foremost, it's a place where profits are to be made, damn the consequences. Paving over paradise is not just the catch phrase from a Joanie Mitchell song. Clashes between well meaning conservationists and profit driven developers, each with their allies and enemies, are inevitable and on going. This terrific book is at it's base the story of modern Florida clashing with it's geography and critters and the characters playing their roles. But it has larger, national and world wide considerations as well. What happens in Florida is playing out in one form or another across the globe. Too many people, not enough habitat.
As a final upbeat note, the panther and the sea turtles hang on against all the odds. We must help as we can. Read, learn, become active. There is time, if we act now.
Craig Pittman has written a conservation tale filled to the brim with everything that could possibly go wrong in the war to save an iconic endangered species. The beleaguered Florida panther's path to survival is filled with villains, the indifferent, bureaucratic fumbles and obfuscations, bare faced political expediency, the careless and the venal. It has seemed at many times as if the battle to save the panther were hopeless and doomed to failure.
Full disclosure, I'm a Florida naturalist who has worked to save another iconic species, the sea turtle, for many years. It's also a battle with villains, the indifferent, entrenched bureaucracy, political machinations and all the rest. My territory has been coastal, not the habitat of panthers, but no less frustrating and yet hopeful. What these two war campaigns [and that's whatconservation battles seem like to those involved] have in common are some dedicated individuals working against all the odds to protect habitat and lives... to ensure the reproduction and survival of incredible creatures who have no idea what's happening to them nor the political decisions that will have such sway over their very lives. The similarities between the panther and turtle wars only differ in details, not in scope or import. And, while I've never seen a panther in the wild [though I've seen many turtles], I did meet a wild bobcat, up close and personal at a beach side preserve. It was early morning, one else was around... it was just me and hunting bobcat, face to face, not 10 feet apart for what seemed like a short eternity. We survived the encounter without injury or interference.
Florida, as Pittman knows, can be a weird place, but first and foremost, it's a place where profits are to be made, damn the consequences. Paving over paradise is not just the catch phrase from a Joanie Mitchell song. Clashes between well meaning conservationists and profit driven developers, each with their allies and enemies, are inevitable and on going. This terrific book is at it's base the story of modern Florida clashing with it's geography and critters and the characters playing their roles. But it has larger, national and world wide considerations as well. What happens in Florida is playing out in one form or another across the globe. Too many people, not enough habitat.
As a final upbeat note, the panther and the sea turtles hang on against all the odds. We must help as we can. Read, learn, become active. There is time, if we act now.
January 10, 2020
Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC!
Readers are encouraged to pay attention to the subtitle of Craig Pittman’s Cat Tale: the wild, weird battle to save the Florida panther – because there is a great deal of weird to be found within the pages of this book. Like other similar titles (William Stolzenburg’s Heart of a Lion, for instance) Pittman lays out the relevant facts about panther the panther’s biology, ecology, and habitat. He traces the panther’s story from its days as a tragically understudied state animal, to near extinction, to revitalization through breeding with imported Texas panthers, to the dispersal of males that scientists hope will establish new pockets of panthers and claim new territories throughout the Southeast.
However, the focus of this book is much less on the panthers themselves than on the passionate, sometimes bizarre, and often combative personalities that fought to save them – or created barriers for those who were working to save them. Readers will learn about scientists who jettisoned their data in order to cede protected lands over to developers, about government agencies that failed to demarcate land that needed saving, and about science revolving around genetic unsoundness that failed to gain traction and led to failed (and rather tragic) captive breeding attempts. Pittman writes, “I have read that some people claim that the return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park is the greatest conservation victory in US history. Compared with what it took to reel panthers back from oblivion, though, I don’t think so.” Thanks to his writings, it is hoped that readers will now know about this conservation battle – its victors, its victims – and hopefully conservation efforts will increase as a result.
Readers are encouraged to pay attention to the subtitle of Craig Pittman’s Cat Tale: the wild, weird battle to save the Florida panther – because there is a great deal of weird to be found within the pages of this book. Like other similar titles (William Stolzenburg’s Heart of a Lion, for instance) Pittman lays out the relevant facts about panther the panther’s biology, ecology, and habitat. He traces the panther’s story from its days as a tragically understudied state animal, to near extinction, to revitalization through breeding with imported Texas panthers, to the dispersal of males that scientists hope will establish new pockets of panthers and claim new territories throughout the Southeast.
However, the focus of this book is much less on the panthers themselves than on the passionate, sometimes bizarre, and often combative personalities that fought to save them – or created barriers for those who were working to save them. Readers will learn about scientists who jettisoned their data in order to cede protected lands over to developers, about government agencies that failed to demarcate land that needed saving, and about science revolving around genetic unsoundness that failed to gain traction and led to failed (and rather tragic) captive breeding attempts. Pittman writes, “I have read that some people claim that the return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park is the greatest conservation victory in US history. Compared with what it took to reel panthers back from oblivion, though, I don’t think so.” Thanks to his writings, it is hoped that readers will now know about this conservation battle – its victors, its victims – and hopefully conservation efforts will increase as a result.
January 7, 2020
Wow, what a book! I moved to Florida in 2002 and from 2004-2010 I worked for one of the tribes mentioned in the book and had some first hand experience assisting with telemetry tracking of FP 124 for a bit before other folks took over. Suffice to say I heard a lot of the gossip and opinions of folks behind the scenes but didn't quite piece together everything as I was a relative newbie to the area and still a fledgling biologist not long out of college. Over the years I've hurrahed at the success of the panther finally moving northward a bit and the boom in population, though I did not quite realize just how perilously close the animal came to extinction. I mean, I knew it, but not quite knew it---and the fact that I came to south Florida at the cusp of the boom of both SW Florida expansion and the panther population--what a time! The worst of the panther issue seemed to me at the time to be 20 years prior but after reading this it was much closer to my time working in the central 'glades than I knew.
Times change but government bureaucracy doesn't and sometimes I wonder if we are any better off now than we were then in regards to the panther. I've since moved back to Texas but keep tabs on the panther updates from afar. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it vindicated a few people in my eyes that had been vilified back in the day but I also wanted to reach through time and throttle Dave Maehr. Stunning how the panther is still paying for the repercussions on his selfish judgments.
Excellent book, loved it!
*I received a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my review.*
Times change but government bureaucracy doesn't and sometimes I wonder if we are any better off now than we were then in regards to the panther. I've since moved back to Texas but keep tabs on the panther updates from afar. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it vindicated a few people in my eyes that had been vilified back in the day but I also wanted to reach through time and throttle Dave Maehr. Stunning how the panther is still paying for the repercussions on his selfish judgments.
Excellent book, loved it!
*I received a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my review.*
April 17, 2021
Florida Man recounts the tale of the Keystone Kops chasing Krazy Kat. What a fiasco as the state tries to “save” the Florida panther. As we say.....only in Florida!
An eye opener and very well researched. Between sugar, phosphates, land developers, politicians, hunters and Republicans, I can now understand why it takes years to accomplish anything in this state. They should all be ashamed of what they have done to destroy the habitat of this beautiful animal.
Just in the 10 years I’ve lived in Sarasota I have seen it raped by developers. How many shopping malls, hotels and apartment buildings do we need? No wonder alligators show up on front porches and at Walmart, like the panther, their homes are bulldozed and cemented over, where else can the go? Well, there’s always the green at one of 10,000 golf courses!
An eye opener and very well researched. Between sugar, phosphates, land developers, politicians, hunters and Republicans, I can now understand why it takes years to accomplish anything in this state. They should all be ashamed of what they have done to destroy the habitat of this beautiful animal.
Just in the 10 years I’ve lived in Sarasota I have seen it raped by developers. How many shopping malls, hotels and apartment buildings do we need? No wonder alligators show up on front porches and at Walmart, like the panther, their homes are bulldozed and cemented over, where else can the go? Well, there’s always the green at one of 10,000 golf courses!
February 15, 2020
My sister and I have always been fascinated by the plight of the Florida panther. She is a veterinarian and has a BS in Wildlife Management and I have always been interested in stories about conservation. Like many of the personalities featured in this book, we thought the Florida panther's future was doomed.
Pittman does a phenomenal job explaining how the state mammal became endangered, the current threats to its habitat and way of life, and what is being done to bring the number of panthers in the wild up. A riveting read that I could have finished in one sitting had I not had to go to practice.
Pittman does a phenomenal job explaining how the state mammal became endangered, the current threats to its habitat and way of life, and what is being done to bring the number of panthers in the wild up. A riveting read that I could have finished in one sitting had I not had to go to practice.
April 24, 2020
3.5. I didn't know this history of the Florida Panther. Pittman's writing style is funny and approachable, which makes this history feel breezy and easy-to-read. The characters he studies and interviews are intriguing too, including good and bad scientists and politicians. They come to a head multiple times, either to save the panther or to keep pushing for the development of Florida in the panthers' habitat. Some are more questionable humans than others and definitely it's a 50+ year battle that is still being waged. For me, the audiobook narrator didn't have the right tone for the humorous style, but still I had fun with this one.
July 27, 2020
As a youth, animals were my thing and among animals I have always had a soft spot for big cats. My favorites have been cheetahs, leopards, and cougars (or mountain lions, pumas, or panthers) depending on the day and which random fact had most recently intrigued me. So when Cat Tale found its way onto my radar, I had high hopes that I had found something which could deliver on a lifelong interest but do more for my adult self than remind me of interests of my youth.
Mr. Pittman did more than just tell me about Florida panthers, he made sure they remained front and center throughout, while bringing to life those whose actions both helped and hurt their chances of survival. The book's description mentions Pittman's "novelistic detail and an eye for the absurd" and I found both in such abundance I sped through this book faster than most. For any with a mild interest in Florida panthers I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
A quick aside, as entertaining as I found this book, I also found it very thought provoking and mildly troubling. How do we as humans accommodate growth and development while also preserving the world we live in and rely upon? How do we decide which ecosystems are worth saving and which can be paved over? And, how can we know that the decisions we do arrive at will be enforced when the commercial influence and pressures are seemingly always greater than the spine strength of the regulators? These were questions which Mr. Pittman's book had me asking myself, but didn't necessarily provide me with the ability to answer- perhaps because there isn't an easy answer to any of them.
Mr. Pittman did more than just tell me about Florida panthers, he made sure they remained front and center throughout, while bringing to life those whose actions both helped and hurt their chances of survival. The book's description mentions Pittman's "novelistic detail and an eye for the absurd" and I found both in such abundance I sped through this book faster than most. For any with a mild interest in Florida panthers I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
A quick aside, as entertaining as I found this book, I also found it very thought provoking and mildly troubling. How do we as humans accommodate growth and development while also preserving the world we live in and rely upon? How do we decide which ecosystems are worth saving and which can be paved over? And, how can we know that the decisions we do arrive at will be enforced when the commercial influence and pressures are seemingly always greater than the spine strength of the regulators? These were questions which Mr. Pittman's book had me asking myself, but didn't necessarily provide me with the ability to answer- perhaps because there isn't an easy answer to any of them.
October 15, 2022
I had only intended to skim this book, but it quickly pulled me in so that I read every page. This is the story of the Florida panther and its struggle for survival against the encroachment of civilization. The panther was probably saved from extinction by the schoolchildren of Florida who voted to make the cat the state’s animal. This tiny political stunt made it difficult for politicians to completely turn their back on the plight of the animal. The rest of the novel focuses on the vast number of mistakes the government made in its efforts to save the species. There were genuine efforts to accomplish that, but there was also the problem of land interests who found that catering to the panthers’ needs were not in their monetary interests. There is also some simple corruption, including, it would appear, on the part of one of the men who was supposed to be the cats’ greatest champion but consistently put his own monetary needs over theirs. Ultimately, it’s a wonderful tale of how a species was brought back from less than 20 surviving members to a viable population over 200.
This novel is totally on the side of doing whatever was necessary to ensure the cats’ survival, but it also points out that there are conflicting interests. The cats are apex predators and while they hasn’t been a documented attack on humans in the twentieth or twenty-first century, there is real danger to children and pets. Also, the human population in Florida is growing and with it there is a need to expand human habitat. Balancing the competing needs of humans and the panthers will continue to be the challenge that determines whether or not they will actually survive.
This novel is totally on the side of doing whatever was necessary to ensure the cats’ survival, but it also points out that there are conflicting interests. The cats are apex predators and while they hasn’t been a documented attack on humans in the twentieth or twenty-first century, there is real danger to children and pets. Also, the human population in Florida is growing and with it there is a need to expand human habitat. Balancing the competing needs of humans and the panthers will continue to be the challenge that determines whether or not they will actually survive.
April 6, 2020
This story has all the aspects of a soap opera with environmentals fighting land development in Florida in an effort to save an endangered species which is already suffering from genetic disorders from having too small a gene pool and contaminated habitat. The book reminded me of Susan Orleans' Orchid Thief as it involves the same habitats and legal issues including the Seminole Indians religious rights and remote parts of the Florida wetlands. Then throw in the mix the big cat enthusiasts like the Tiger King, the animal rights activist and the federal and state bureaucrats all trying to control the progress. There are parallel issues between the cougar preservation in Texas and Florida, plus we have the border wall being built through areas where there are many large predators such as cougars and bears that roam back and forth across the border. What a mess!
June 25, 2024
This book was so good that I needed time to reflect on the incredible story, and stories within this story, before I could pen my review. Wow is this book incredible. I can’t believe I called myself a “true Floridian” before reading this when I knew absolutely nothing about the state animal, especially considering how captivating and ironically “Florida” its story is due to the wildness of it all.
Craig Pittman is an incredible author!!! The storytelling and picture-painting he does is unmatched. This novel is strengthened by his journalism skills, and illuminated by his vivid and direct creative writing. There are moments when he paints a clear picture of a beautiful moment, then halts the reader with a few lines that tell a painfully realistic truth. Pittman connects two moments to create a single lesson that is thought-provoking, and sometimes frames it in a way where the reader can feel they have partially come to this realization on their own by reading into his cleverness. These moments are my favorite, they feel like taking the most flavorful bite of a fresh fruit.
I cannot find a poetic way to say that Craig Pittman wonderfully tells this story and does justice to all its main characters and key players, from the Texan in the Stetson to the panther behind the glass. Pittman’s heart is in this book and it is all the better for it (the book, not his heart, although that might have changed for the better through this journey). Pittman’s dedication to accurately and entertainingly telling this stunning story makes for a Hollywood-blockbuster-esque tale that is captivating to read.
Craig Pittman is an incredible author!!! The storytelling and picture-painting he does is unmatched. This novel is strengthened by his journalism skills, and illuminated by his vivid and direct creative writing. There are moments when he paints a clear picture of a beautiful moment, then halts the reader with a few lines that tell a painfully realistic truth. Pittman connects two moments to create a single lesson that is thought-provoking, and sometimes frames it in a way where the reader can feel they have partially come to this realization on their own by reading into his cleverness. These moments are my favorite, they feel like taking the most flavorful bite of a fresh fruit.
I cannot find a poetic way to say that Craig Pittman wonderfully tells this story and does justice to all its main characters and key players, from the Texan in the Stetson to the panther behind the glass. Pittman’s heart is in this book and it is all the better for it (the book, not his heart, although that might have changed for the better through this journey). Pittman’s dedication to accurately and entertainingly telling this stunning story makes for a Hollywood-blockbuster-esque tale that is captivating to read.
November 27, 2020
When a native animal is named the 'state animal' you would think that there would be some incentive to maintain a population within the state limits even when dealing with a predator. You would think.
Pittman investigated the story of the Florida panther, a member of the North American cougar family who lives in the swamp forests, pine forest and hardwood hammocks in southern Florida. Or at least it did. Commercial and residential growth has decimated the panther's native habitate. Highways have become deadly for more than just the deer and feral hogs that are the main source of prey for the cats.
Due to hunting and the spreading expansion of human development, panther territory was drastically restricted and the populace in the wild dropped to a few scrawny and malnourished individuals that also showed signs of genetic bottlenecks - too few individuals that were capable of breeding were also diverse enough to prevent genetic abnormalities from appearing and being passed down.
Pittman goes into the early attempts to track and follow the few panthers left as well as try to determine optimal range. A major problem being bringing these predators into farmland where livestock were easy prey - especially since the deer and hogs were already being hunted by humans. Trigger -happy individuals or just plain cat-haters were sure that they would not be caught shooting these invaders but several did and found guilty of killing an animal on the endangered list. Not that they did more than pay a fine. Of course, Florida was - and is - a place of massive development and expansion is more concerned with getting permits to build on thousands of acres, pushing tightly against panther hunting and living range. Inevitably, humans and their pets and livestock would then encounter the predators and demand that these 'vicious beasts' be removed from human territory. So they would be captured, checked over medically and if 'healthy' moved to another area. Repeat.
Fortunately, finally, the Florida state government realized that saving their 'state animal' as well as a entry on the endangered list might be slightly more important than pandering to the developers. At the time of the book, there are viable populations living and breeding in the areas limited to them although a few have been tracked hundreds of miles and across streams to the smallest areas to hide and rest before moving on.
Although several possible ways to save the panthers from extinction were considered and attempted, it was bringing in 'cousins' from Texas. At one time, the Florida panthers and Texan cougars territory bordered in the southern Gulf states before American farm and plantations created and widened a gap between them. At the time of publishing, the blending of Texas with the Florida cats seems to have worked. The population is growing and being carefully watched.
Some of the people involved sound more like caricatures - they're either that good or that bad for the panthers. Many were available for personal interviews with the author while some of the more disreputable were not so there is a bias there. Of course, Mr. Panther, David Maehr, seemed to play both sides of the story - supporting the panthers as long as he could publish and be the admired influence among wildlife scientists but once he parted company with the Florida Fish & Wildlife, he quickly became a private consultant to the developers who wanted to build into the land set aside for wildlife.
2020-237
Pittman investigated the story of the Florida panther, a member of the North American cougar family who lives in the swamp forests, pine forest and hardwood hammocks in southern Florida. Or at least it did. Commercial and residential growth has decimated the panther's native habitate. Highways have become deadly for more than just the deer and feral hogs that are the main source of prey for the cats.
Due to hunting and the spreading expansion of human development, panther territory was drastically restricted and the populace in the wild dropped to a few scrawny and malnourished individuals that also showed signs of genetic bottlenecks - too few individuals that were capable of breeding were also diverse enough to prevent genetic abnormalities from appearing and being passed down.
Pittman goes into the early attempts to track and follow the few panthers left as well as try to determine optimal range. A major problem being bringing these predators into farmland where livestock were easy prey - especially since the deer and hogs were already being hunted by humans. Trigger -happy individuals or just plain cat-haters were sure that they would not be caught shooting these invaders but several did and found guilty of killing an animal on the endangered list. Not that they did more than pay a fine. Of course, Florida was - and is - a place of massive development and expansion is more concerned with getting permits to build on thousands of acres, pushing tightly against panther hunting and living range. Inevitably, humans and their pets and livestock would then encounter the predators and demand that these 'vicious beasts' be removed from human territory. So they would be captured, checked over medically and if 'healthy' moved to another area. Repeat.
Fortunately, finally, the Florida state government realized that saving their 'state animal' as well as a entry on the endangered list might be slightly more important than pandering to the developers. At the time of the book, there are viable populations living and breeding in the areas limited to them although a few have been tracked hundreds of miles and across streams to the smallest areas to hide and rest before moving on.
Although several possible ways to save the panthers from extinction were considered and attempted, it was bringing in 'cousins' from Texas. At one time, the Florida panthers and Texan cougars territory bordered in the southern Gulf states before American farm and plantations created and widened a gap between them. At the time of publishing, the blending of Texas with the Florida cats seems to have worked. The population is growing and being carefully watched.
Some of the people involved sound more like caricatures - they're either that good or that bad for the panthers. Many were available for personal interviews with the author while some of the more disreputable were not so there is a bias there. Of course, Mr. Panther, David Maehr, seemed to play both sides of the story - supporting the panthers as long as he could publish and be the admired influence among wildlife scientists but once he parted company with the Florida Fish & Wildlife, he quickly became a private consultant to the developers who wanted to build into the land set aside for wildlife.
2020-237
March 27, 2020
I rarely read nonfiction books but had the opportunity to get an arc copy of this one and could not pass it up. First of all, I adore the mountain lion. It is my favorite breed of wildcat and this book served to solidify those feelings even more. And trust me, those feels are strong as I've held a strong admiration for this wildcat since I was a little girl, watching NatGeo with my dad.
At any rate, oh the politics. Florida could have saved this genetically hindered and almost extinct species so much sooner, as in years, if not for the pretty little politics that crawl like creepy little bugs all through this book....not to mention the money grubbing of a few particular people directly involved in supposedly rescuing this wildcat species in Florida as well.
However, despite the flaws and despite the setbacks and some absolutely tragic things that occurred to both the people involved and the animals themselves, this determined animal has really made a gallant effort to thrive and do some impossible things. I'm moved by the mention of cats such as "Don Juan" and "Babs". And, in the end, the future is looking more optimistic for this truly magnificent and wonderful tawny creature. I would highly recommend it for anybody who enjoys this type of book. I loved it.
At any rate, oh the politics. Florida could have saved this genetically hindered and almost extinct species so much sooner, as in years, if not for the pretty little politics that crawl like creepy little bugs all through this book....not to mention the money grubbing of a few particular people directly involved in supposedly rescuing this wildcat species in Florida as well.
However, despite the flaws and despite the setbacks and some absolutely tragic things that occurred to both the people involved and the animals themselves, this determined animal has really made a gallant effort to thrive and do some impossible things. I'm moved by the mention of cats such as "Don Juan" and "Babs". And, in the end, the future is looking more optimistic for this truly magnificent and wonderful tawny creature. I would highly recommend it for anybody who enjoys this type of book. I loved it.
January 20, 2020
***I received a copy through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.***
As a Floridian, I was thrilled to dive into this book about one of Florida’s most famous (but least visible) animals. Working in the field of conservation, I’ve seen how hard it is to fight for wildlife. But learning a little more about the panther’s fight for survival is a pretty disheartening. This book is vital for Floridians because we need to learn from our mistakes and continue to fight. As of January 2020, 4 panthers have already been struck and killed by vehicles. I admire Craig Pittman’s hopefulness while closing this book - I’m there with you - but readers must know that the panthers fight is not over. And we have a long way to go.
Pittman did a wonderful job explaining the history of panthers, while including some fun Florida facts, and evoking emotion. Terrific read that I can’t wait to share with other conservationists around the state.
As a Floridian, I was thrilled to dive into this book about one of Florida’s most famous (but least visible) animals. Working in the field of conservation, I’ve seen how hard it is to fight for wildlife. But learning a little more about the panther’s fight for survival is a pretty disheartening. This book is vital for Floridians because we need to learn from our mistakes and continue to fight. As of January 2020, 4 panthers have already been struck and killed by vehicles. I admire Craig Pittman’s hopefulness while closing this book - I’m there with you - but readers must know that the panthers fight is not over. And we have a long way to go.
Pittman did a wonderful job explaining the history of panthers, while including some fun Florida facts, and evoking emotion. Terrific read that I can’t wait to share with other conservationists around the state.
January 27, 2020
A brilliant, funny, weird, nail-biter. Pittman is an award-winning environmental reporter whose books about the political, social, and ecological struggles facing Florida wildlife never disappoint. A longer review is forthcoming but since this one is brand new I wanted to say a few words about it for the benefit of potential readers who might (foolishly) be on the fence. Pittman writes like John D. Macdonald with an advanced degree in ecology and a finely honed bullshit detector, and I mean that in the best possible way. While this - and his previous titles such as Manatee Insanity and Oh Florida - suggest that his work is niche, the politics of conservation, ecology, and wildlife protection in Florida have far-reaching consequences. Plus, Florida is amazing and weird and so is the story of struggle to save a fascinating species at the brink of extinction, so unless your soul is very brittle & blackened, you’ll likely enjoy this book, whether you care about the environment or not.
January 21, 2020
While Craig Pittman worked on this book I was still dreaming of becoming Dr. Donna and studying the Florida panther. It was interesting to get personal insight into the people whose papers I read and behind the scenes look at what went into those published studies. I was obviously aware of the "Maehr scandal" but not all the details. One of my committee members is even mentioned in the book. I have often thought of publishing a version of my non-defended dissertation, but after reading this book I know it would never be as good a read as this one. Read my full review at Girl Who Reads
January 14, 2020
Terrific! This is both a saga of the effort to save the Florida panther and an expose of the greed and craziness that surrounds it. Oh, and it's a hoot. Florida is home to many many things- wild life, wild weather, wild people- and all it them converge here. You'll learn something, you'll shake your head in dismay, and you will chuckle. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For those concerned with environmental issues and for fans of Carl Hiaasen and Randy Wayne White. I worry this won't get the readership it deserves.
February 9, 2020
Oh how I really enjoyed this book even though it had me on the verge of tears many times. The book follows the Florida Panther and how not only had their numbers dwindled down to near extinction due to genetic abnormalities caused by inbreeding but how the Wildlife Organizations bumbled around so much trying to save them only to cause many to die. This is their journey. I highly recommend the book to raise awareness for the surviving 230 Florida Panthers that are holding on to existence.
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