The week-old panther found near-death in a wildlife refuge in southwest Florida looks fake in its video, almost like a poorly animated special effect such as Leonardo Dicaprio's sinking body in "Titanic," or, more appropriately, the tiger in "The Hangover." That's how exotic and rare the highly endangered Florida panther is, with only around 160 left in the wild as of November.
Covered in leopard spots (which they typically lose as they mature and grow a more uniform and lighter fur), the male kitten discovered by FWC biologists and researchers of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida while they were collecting data for another project was unresponsive and suffering from hypothermia, likely why it was left for dead by its mother. He was transported to the Animal Specialty Hospital of Florida, where he recovered well enough to make it to Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo for rehabilitation, Design & Trend reported.
The Lowry Park Zoo has cared for eight panthers, including four kittens, in its recent history, according to Design & Trend.
Though the kitten missed out on the necessary survival skills to make it in the wild, it won't stay on display at the Lowry Zoo, but end up in the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, a more natural environment.
"We want to give any panther kitten the best opportunity to survive in the wild," said FWC veterinarian Dr. Mark Cunningham in a statement. "But clearly this kitten was in poor condition and almost certainly would have died without intervention."
The active kitten (in the video it's constantly squirming away from its handlers) came to the zoo at 2.8 pounds and has nearly doubled that to 4.8 pounds since.
Many news outlets are referring to it as "cute." All I see is a strange animal unaccustomed to the hands of human care.
