Presentations From 2011:
Panthers and People
During this presentation focused on Florida panthers, you’ll learn some basic life history information, threats they face, and what’s being done to enhance their survival for future generations. You’ll also see how biologists capture panthers and find kittens in the den and why tracking panthers is so important to their overall population health. We'll also discuss techniques for peacefully coexisting with Florida’s state animal. The presentation will conclude with a question and answer session with the biologist. This presentation will be given by panther biologist Mark Lotz with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
Sharing Big Cypress
Big Cypress National Preserve, a 729,000-acre unit of the National Park Service in South Florida, is inhabited by many wildlife species and enjoyed by area recreationalists. The presence of panthers in Big Cypress has changed dramatically since monitoring began in 1981, due to research and management actions that have addressed inbreeding, highway mortality, habitat preservation, and balanced recreational uses. Deborah Jansen, Wildlife Biologist for the Nation Park Service, will discuss a 30-year timeline of events affecting the panther in Big Cypress.
From Panthers to Orchids: An Ecosystem that Holds it All Together
The cougar, mountain lion and Florida Panther, all the same species, have a distribution throughout the western hemisphere second only to humans. They are top predators, masters over their prey, the embodiment of stealth. Yet they are more than charismatic fauna. They are sentinels of the wilderness. Not guards or wardens, but harbingers to what wild places still offer humans- the real predators. Larry Richardson, wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will take you to their home and define more than just a cat, but the beauty and value we have in the place they live.
Florida Panther Research and Monitoring Table
All Day 10:00AM - 4:00PM
Come learn how biologists use technology to monitor and study Florida panthers! David Shindle, Senior Biologist with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, will showcase various equipment and supplies used for capturing and monitoring Florida panthers, including radio collars, telemetry equipment, and PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tags and scanners and how this equipment provides vital information about the Florida panther population. There will also be a video loop of panther capture footage and a slide show of remote camera images of Florida panthers captured at various places around southwest Florida.
During this presentation focused on Florida panthers, you’ll learn some basic life history information, threats they face, and what’s being done to enhance their survival for future generations. You’ll also see how biologists capture panthers and find kittens in the den and why tracking panthers is so important to their overall population health. We'll also discuss techniques for peacefully coexisting with Florida’s state animal. The presentation will conclude with a question and answer session with the biologist. This presentation will be given by panther biologist Mark Lotz with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
Sharing Big Cypress
Big Cypress National Preserve, a 729,000-acre unit of the National Park Service in South Florida, is inhabited by many wildlife species and enjoyed by area recreationalists. The presence of panthers in Big Cypress has changed dramatically since monitoring began in 1981, due to research and management actions that have addressed inbreeding, highway mortality, habitat preservation, and balanced recreational uses. Deborah Jansen, Wildlife Biologist for the Nation Park Service, will discuss a 30-year timeline of events affecting the panther in Big Cypress.
From Panthers to Orchids: An Ecosystem that Holds it All Together
The cougar, mountain lion and Florida Panther, all the same species, have a distribution throughout the western hemisphere second only to humans. They are top predators, masters over their prey, the embodiment of stealth. Yet they are more than charismatic fauna. They are sentinels of the wilderness. Not guards or wardens, but harbingers to what wild places still offer humans- the real predators. Larry Richardson, wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will take you to their home and define more than just a cat, but the beauty and value we have in the place they live.
Florida Panther Research and Monitoring Table
All Day 10:00AM - 4:00PM
Come learn how biologists use technology to monitor and study Florida panthers! David Shindle, Senior Biologist with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, will showcase various equipment and supplies used for capturing and monitoring Florida panthers, including radio collars, telemetry equipment, and PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tags and scanners and how this equipment provides vital information about the Florida panther population. There will also be a video loop of panther capture footage and a slide show of remote camera images of Florida panthers captured at various places around southwest Florida.
2011 Presenters
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Mark Lotz, hailing from Ohio, has a degree in wildlife management from The Ohio State University. He moved to Florida in 1992 where he worked as a seasonal wildland firefighter at the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge for three seasons. In 1994 he was hired as a wildlife biologist on the panther project for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission where he has worked ever since. His main role on the panther capture team is the tree climber. If a panther falls asleep in the tree during a capture it’s his job to climb the tree to remove the panther. Mark also deals with most of the human-panther interaction issues and investigates when someone’s animal is preyed on by a panther. In his spare time he likes to kayak and fish. |
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Deborah Jansen received degrees in biology, journalism, and wildlife from the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire and Stevens Point. Since 1981, she has worked in Big Cypress National Preserve in south Florida for both the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the National Park Service. Deborah has been involved in Florida panther research since 1981 and for the past 9 years has been the project leader on the National Park Service capture team in Big Cypress. She is currently a member of the Florida Panther Recovery Team and Florida Panther Response Team. She and her staff also monitor other listed species, including the red-cockaded woodpecker, wood stork, manatee, bald eagle, and Big Cypress fox squirrel. Since Big Cypress is a multiple use area, knowledge of these species, their habitats and prey influences management decisions involving hunting, off-road vehicle use, prescribed fire, exotic species encroachment, and hurricanes. |
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Larry Richardson is a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Florida Panther and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuges in Naples, Florida. Richardson regularly appears as a wildlife expert in newspapers and magazines, in front of a variety of audiences and on radio and television shows. His television appearances have included over 50 programs including ABC Nightly News, CBS This Morning, National Geographic Explorer, and on networks such as Animal Planet, Nickelodeon, and TBS. Larry has also co-authored the book, Florida’s Unsung Wilderness - The Swamp, with photographer/writer Connie Bransilver. A nature photographer since 1981, Richardson’s images commonly appear in publications worldwide. He is a founding member of the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA), served on its Board of Directors from 1996 to 2001 and as president in 1999. In 2005 Larry was elected as President of Naples Zoo, Inc., a non-profit AZA accredited zoo. Richardson was raised in California, with a short stint in American Samoa. He pursued a Bachelors and Masters degree from Utah State and Mississippi State Universities in Wildlife Management and Ecology. His research in vocalizations of white-tailed deer has been written about and sourced in every major outdoor magazine since 1985. Richardson has also been a firefighter for the Forest Service and a wildlife biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and Army Corps of Engineers. His duties on the Panther Refuge include many of the duties from his previous positions. |
_David Shindle
has more than 17 years of professional field experience involving the
survey, capture, and handling of endangered cat species in sub-tropical
regions. David's wildlife research career started in 1992 assisting
USFWS with studying populations of endangered forest birds on the Big
Island of Hawaii. David began his work with cats in 1992 conducting
field research in Texas and Mexico on the endangered ocelot for Texas
A&M University-Kingsville. From 1998 to 2005, he served as the lead
field biologist, coordinating Florida panther captures and field
surveys for the FWC Panther Team. As the Capture Team Leader, he was
responsible for conducting field research and monitoring for many
studies, including the Florida Panther Genetic Restoration and
Management Project. Since 2005, David has been a Senior Biologist with
the Conservancy of Southwest Florida's Environmental Science Division.
Currently, his responsibilities include providing scientific expertise
on and developing research and monitoring projects for imperiled mammals
of southwest Florida with emphasis on the Florida panther and
Everglades mink. He continues to provide technical field assistance to
the Florida Panther Capture Team. David has also served as an invited,
independent scientist on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS)
Florida Panther Recovery Team, the Scientific Review Team for the
Florida Panther Protection Program, and various Biological Status Review
Teams for FWC’s Threatened Species List. David received his B.S. in
Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M University in 1992
and his M.S. in Range and Wildlife Management from Texas A&M
University-Kingsville in 1995.
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Dave Onorato is an Associate Research Scientists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and is based out of the Naples Field Office. Dave is the head of the research section of the Florida panther project. He earned a Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University studying black bears in West Texas and subsequently worked on conservation genetic projects involving pumas, grizzly bears, and other carnivores at the University of Idaho. Dave’s primary responsibility with FWC is to assist with developing, implementing, and publishing prioritized research projects on the endangered Florida panther to assist managers with promoting their continued recovery statewide. |