Panthers once roamed throughout the Southeastern United States. Today this endangered species' breeding population is limited to south Florida, with an estimated population of 120-230 wild adults and sub-adults covering less than 5% of their historical range.
*Refuge is open dawn to dusk
Refuge Establishment
Immediately prior to refuge establishment, the land was owned by the Collier family and was primarily used for private hunting leases and cattle grazing. A few home sites and hunting camps were located on the land. In 1989, the US Fish & Wildlife Service purchased the initial 24,300 acres from the Collier family for $10.3 million dollars to become the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, under the authority of the Endangered Species Act, to protect the Florida panther and its habitat. The refuge is located in the core of occupied panther territory, and protection of this important area was needed to ensure that not only panthers and their habitat were protected, but also important wildlife corridors that connected adjacent private and public lands. In 1996, the refuge was expanded to 26,400 acres with the addition of more Collier family land through the Arizona-Florida Land Exchange Act of 1988. Today, in addition to the 12-16 Florida panthers that den in, hunt on, and roam the refuge each month, numerous other wildlife also call the refuge home, including black bears, bobcats, white-tailed deer, Big Cypress fox squirrels, alligators and wood storks.
To Find This Cache.......
*Begin by downloading the new Adventure Lab app from Groundspeak https://labs.geocaching.com/
Once you have the app installed, select the "Where Panthers Roam" lab.
Or you can scan the QR code found in the gallery. After completing the five lab cache stages you will receive a set of coordinates that will take you to this final.
(Coordinates are given on the final stage of the lab adventure.....don't forget to scroll down and find them!)