What is the state animal of Florida?
Florida panther is the official state of Florida. The Florida Panther was entitled as the “official Florida state animal” on May 1, 1982. Puma concolor coryi is the scientific name of the Florida Panther. It is also known as the catamount, mountain lion, fire cat, painter, cougar, and Puma. Another delightful name of Florida panther is klandagi in Cherokee, which means “lord of the forest”.
Florida’s state animal, Florida panther is commonly be found in the southeastern United States including Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and parts of Tennessee and South Carolina. The law designating the Florida panther as the official Florida state animal is found in The Florida Statutes, Title 4, Chapter 15, Section 15.0353.
State animal of Florida facts—
- Common Name: Florida Panther
- Scientific Name: Puma concolor coryi
- Habitat: usually found in pinelands, hardwood hammocks, and mixed swamp forests.
- Length: 7 or 8 feet long
- Weight: The males average weight for is about 120 pounds, while for females is 75 pounds.
- Color: The pelts of the Florida panther are tawny-colored on their backs; white on chest, belly and inner legs while the tip of their tail, part of the face and back portion of the ear are black in color.
- Diet: Florida Panthers mostly eat white-tailed deer, but they will also hunt feral hog, rabbit, raccoon, armadillo, birds, and other animals.
- Major strength: Agility
- Major weakness: Can’t roar.
- Lifespan: About 12 years in the wild and 20 years in captivity.
Florida’s State animal, Florida Panthers have preserved incredibly large habitat ranges, occasionally more than 200 square miles, which can overlap, but Panthers have a propensity to avoid one another. They can leap more than 15 feet when pouncing on their prey. There are no documented cases of attacks on humans in Florida. Panthers prefer lonely living and found in somebody’s company only when mating or when the mothers raise their young.
The mother panther gives births of the kittens generally in late spring when plentiful food sources are available for her. The weight of the kitten is about a pound when they born and have spotted coat that helps disguise them in the den. Their bright blue eyes are closed at birth, which opens after 3 weeks of birth. Young Panthers stay with their mother for 1 ½ to 2 years.
Florida’s State animal, Florida Panthers do not roar but can make many different sounds to communicate, including purrs, whistles, mews, chirps, hisses, growls, and even screams. The panther’s scream is called a caterwaul. Florida Panthers are mainly active at dawn and dusk and also during the night. The Florida Panther is introverted and isolated; there has never been a documented that they are an attack on a human.
Reference:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/
- https://floridapanther.org/
- https://bigcatrescue.org/florida-panther-facts/
- http://wildflorida.tv/panther/funfacts.html
- http://www.ereferencedesk.com/
