I, Panther

I, Panther, is the composite of several real-life Florida panthers that live within a 2,400-square-mile area in the heart of the Big Cypress Basin. This area includes the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Picayune Strand State Forest and Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Big Cypress National Preserve, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Reserve, the Ten Thousand Islands and parts of the Everglades.

Southwest Florida is the only remaining occupied breeding habitat of Puma concolor coryi in North America. With the help of radio-frequency tracking collars and infrared motion-sensor cameras, panther researchers are able to document the movement, denning, habits, incidents of aggression and mortality of this extremely endangered species.

I, Panther, is dedicated to the female known as FP113, born in April 2002.

Time of the Long Nights
Hardwood Hammock
Dark

I, Panther, feel the power of the hunt surging through my body. It feels like the roll of thunder when the jagged claws of fire strike the pine tree. If it strikes exactly right, the tree will blacken and die, and its carcass will remain to feed the earth. I am a fine huntress, and my first strike will find its home.

Two deer stand with their backs to me as I stalk low in the thick brush. They do not hear me because I have retracted my claws and make no sound as I glide silently, belly to the ground, using only the pads of my paws. I watch and wait. The thunder pounds in my head now. Just a few heartbeats more and I will leap, claws fully extended. One of the deer has sensed danger, jerks its head around and bolts into the thicket. For the other, it is too late. I feel the low growl deep in my throat. I spring.

I land on its back, jaws wide, and in one motion I sever its spinal cord. It is fast and painless, and I am grateful for the food. I have just given birth to three kittens, and I stay ravenously hungry. I tear into the meal and eat my fill.
 

Time of the New Leaves
Palmetto Thicket  
First Light

Wake up, little ones.

Look how golden the sky is, where light is returning over the land of the great cypress. I have not brought your meal to you this morning as usual. No, today you will go with me to eat at the kill place. You are three big moons old now, and it’s time you learned where food comes from. Look how big you are getting! Especially you, Swampcat—your paws are larger than your sisters’ already, and 15 big moons from now, when you are full grown, they will be much larger than mine!

You will be like Deerstalker, your father, the fiercest of all the panthers. Other males dare not travel through his territory, for he will fight them to the death. You must eat much fresh meat to grow strong, so you, too, can claim the best territory in the land.

Come, little kittens, stay close as we move silently, so silently, into the pine forest.   

Don’t be frightened, little Coryi; that black bear is no longer a danger to you as he was when you were newly born, and I had to leave the den to hunt. Only a foolish bear would get in the way of a panther. Come, we are almost there. Now, look carefully and you will see what I have hidden beneath these old pine branches and palmetto fronds. Yes! It is the deer I killed last night as you waited in the den. As always, I saved for you the tenderest parts—the heart and liver. They contain the power that will help your eyes grow strong to see and hunt at night. Now, eat. When we are satisfied, I will drag the kill to a new hiding place. You can help me cover it so it will be safe and fresh for tomorrow. In a few small moons, we will leave the remains for the armadillos and vultures, and I will go hunting again.

Now, you may play for a while, before you settle down for your mid-day nap.