How America’s most endangered cat could save Florida

RJ Hamster

2 years ago

Saturday, April 22, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we track the tenuous rebound of the Florida panther, slow down time through Tuscany, celebrate World Press Photo winners … and gaze at tonight’s meteor shower—just in time for Earth Day.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CARLTON WARD JR.

The Florida panther almost didn’t make it. The big cats (one pictured above) still have a tenuous hold in a southwestern strip of the state, facing gators, hurricanes, and their deadliest foe, humans.

Now, however, the rarely seen cats are reclaiming territory. Nat Geo Explorer Carlton Ward Jr. is not only documenting them, he is advocating for reserves and conduits between habitats.

“This is it. This is the last stand,” he says in the film “Path of the Panther,” which premieres today on Nat Geo.

Read the full story here.

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Sprawl: Roads foster suburban development, such as this new neighborhood near Orlando, which cuts into historic panther habitat. One study projects that an additional five million acres—and most of the unprotected connections within Florida’s wildlife corridor—will be developed by 2070 unless major investments in land conservation steer construction closer to existing urban areas.

Cars vs. panthers: Staff at the White Oak Conservation Center carry two sedated kittens whose mother broke her leg when struck by a car. The mother was nursed back to health, and the family was returned to the wild. Shortly after, however, the kittens were killed when they were hit by cars.

Providing a home: The Disney Wilderness Preserve, owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy, protects 11,500 acres of valuable upland and wetland in central Florida, in the headwaters of the Everglades. Conserving areas like this will help the Florida panther expand its territory and survive long term, experts say.

Swamp time: A female panther and three kittens explore Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, a reserve of old-growth cypress forest surrounded by encroaching suburbs on three sides. Many of these camera trap images took years to capture because of the cats’ rarity, their unpredictable movements, and the difficulty involved in getting the right lighting. Read more. And see the trailer.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

PHOTOGRAPH BY FRANS LANTING, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

How to spot AI-generated images (is this cheetah photo real or fake?) Related: Photo award winner rejects prize after revealing his image was created with AI

A new advance against cancer: Kill the bacteria

This dance was shocking and suggestive—and it conquered the world

How a Nat Geo Explorer photographed our latest magazine cover Related: See ‘Secrets of the Elephants’ on Disney+

7 hormones that control your hunger—and how you can control them

How can you become a climate activist? ‘Start small,’ like Nat Geo Young Explorer Eyal Weintraub

What’s old is new again: Why the grandkids are getting chlamydia

Rest in … compost? These ‘green funerals’ offer an eco-friendly afterlife.

The search for Cleopatra. Will we ever see her face?

What a way to celebrate Earth Day: Tonight’s meteor shower happens once a year

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANUSH BABAJANYAN, VII PHOTO/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

Oasis: The Aral Sea in Kazakhstan used to be the world’s fourth largest lake, but it lost 90 percent of its body to serve agriculture and industry needs in the 1960s. Above, women sit on a hot spring that has emerged from the dried bed—a scene that helped photographer and Nat Geo Explorer Anush Babajanyan win this year’s World Press Photo Long-Term Project contest.

VIEW MORE PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY ENRIC SALA

Our fascinating Earth: The southernmost point one can go in the Americas is bustling with marine life—and Argentina plans to keep it protected. In Thetis Bay, jellyfish float among a kelp forest (pictured above) while penguins escape sea lions on land.

WHERE IN THE WORLD?

PHOTOGRAPH BY FRANCESCO LASTRUCCI

Val d’Orcia must-sees: Discover Tuscany in a new way, by relaxing in 99 degree Fahrenheit sulphuric waters that gush out of the ground (above), exploring historic religious buildings, and strolling through farmland as it was in the 14th century.

EXPLORE MORE

Today’s soundtrack: The Awakening, Ahmad Jamal (R.I.P.)

This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, Hannah Farrow, and Jen Tse. Amanda Williams-Bryant, Alisher Egamov, Rita Spinks, and Jeremy Brandt-Vorel also contributed this week. Thanks for reading!

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