IN THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES — An endangered Florida panther rescued as a kitten and raised in captivity has made a rare run back into the wild.
The sandy-colored, 120-pound panther cautiously poked its head out of the crate that wildlife officials drove on Wednesday from northeast Florida to Palm Beach County, then it trotted out onto a gravel road in the Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area.
It built up speed with longer and longer strides, sprinting several hundred yards before veering off into the brush and disappearing.
“To see him run straight like that for such a distance and running free off into the woods makes everything worthwhile,” said Dave Onorato, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission scientist who opened the panther's crate.
The 2-year-old male panther and its sister were rescued by wildlife officials in September 2011 in Collier County after their mother was found dead. They have been raised at the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee since they were 5 months old.
Only about 160 Florida panthers remain, and it's rare for the big cats to be cared for in captivity and then released. Only about 15 kittens or injured adult panthers have been treated at the center and released since it began working with the cats in 1986.
