Last year was a record year for Florida Panther deaths (26), which is a bummer.
But the good news is that they've been getting it on with hot Texas pumas and making baby panthers.
Then, on March 6, Gov. Rick Scott declared that the state would have a "Save the Florida Panther Day."
Saturday is that day.
"It is proper and fitting for all Floridians to pause and reflect on the plight of the Florida panther," Scott said in a statement. "The task of preserving this rare component of Florida's diverse natural resources as a legacy to generations of Floridians yet to come."
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, there are 100 to 160 adult panthers roaming the Florida wild, south of the Caloosahatchee River and Lake Okeechobee.
The sale of the popular Florida panther license plate has helped fund research and protection efforts.
The FWC and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials say the population has risen in the past two decades, thanks mostly to conservation efforts by private landowners, state and federal land managers, and, as pointed out above, panthers having themselves hot dates with other panthers.
Now, thanks to Scott, March 16, 2013, is "Save the Florida Panther Day."
Now if we can stop building roads and/or stop running them over with our cars, that would be terrific.
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