Since 1995, state statute has designated the third Saturday in March as Save the Florida Panther Day as a way to bring awareness to the endangered species that was selected by schoolchildren in 1982 as the official state animal. The Florida panther was added to the endangered list in 1967.
At the Palm Beach Zoo, families gathered Saturday for the 2nd Annual Save the Panther Day event. The Palm Beach Zoo is the first to partner with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in monitoring wild panther populations.
WPTV Reporter Christy Waite spoke with Palm Beach Zoo staff who say the panther’s numbers are on the rise and land anywhere between 120 to 240 of the mountain lion subspecies in the wild…