Florida's Endangered Species and Indigenous Wildlife

Florida has a vast resource of wildlife, including the endangered wild panther, bobcats and black bears. Wildlife officials and naturalists are concerned by the current wildfires, urban development and climate change and how this might affect Florida's indigenous species.

Right now the Florida panther is close to extinction, but they are protected. The alligators that have survived for millions of years, neared extinction in Florida back in the late eighteen hundreds to early nineteen hundreds, due to poachers hunting them for meat and for the tourist trade, among other uses. Black bears are not considered endangered, but only a few thousand remain in Florida. The recent wild fires forced bears out of seclusion from the woods as well as endangered some, including a mother and baby bear that had to have its paws treated for burns.

The Florida bobcat is a most interesting creature for they look exotic, or like something that would be locked behind bars in a zoo, yet they roam freely, mainly in wooded areas or unoccupied grassy sections. Bobcats are generally regarded as safe, and can be seen wondering around various golf courses and wooded private properties in central Florida. They aren't considered endangered, like the Florida panther. They generally avoid contact with humans, and feed on rodents and small animals. They tend to go their own way and don't bother anyone, except for rare instances.

According to the www.sptimes.com site, on May 30^th, 2007 a man in Wesley Chapel Florida was attacked by a rabid bobcat while taking out his trash. Wesley Chapel is north of Tampa. The bobcat bit and scratched at him, and the man strangled the wild animal to death. Bobcat encounters more easily occur due to the dwindling natural environment, but the animals generally do not go out of their way to interact with humans, and are often filmed running away.

It is in rare instances that these wild animals attack, like with the example of a rabid animal. Living in Florida, people tend to get used to their wild surroundings. It is not unusual to spot wild animals in certain areas. People should never try to interact with Florida's wildlife, especially people that like to feed the gators that swim in rivers around their homes. Not only is this extremely dangerous, it can also give the animal a false sense of trust, and make them approach humans more, which can be bad if small children are unsupervised or for small pets.

The biggest threat aside from illegal hunting is development. The more wooded areas that are developed, the less there is for wildlife. Climate change is a big concern as well, for the Everglades and wetland marshy areas might become affected. Runoff, pollution and beach erosion, where saltwater can also invade freshwater sources, is a concern for all species. Global scientists predict that polar ice caps melting in Antarctica might have a direct effect within fifty years on Florida, endangering marine life and more. With more control of greenhouse gases directly affecting our environment and wildlife, not just in Florida but all over the world, the better our planet will be now and in the near future.