Cougars can help indicate what may be normal for the Florida panther, since these panthers are a subspecies of cougar. One study showed that the level of inbreeding in Florida's panther population is not so different from that seen in other groups of large cats who show little sign of cryptorchidism. The study compared captive male cougars in Florida, Texas, Colorado, Latin American, and North American zoos. It found undescended testicles in only two of more than fifty captive animals. And regardless of the amount of inbreeding, the defect has never been reported in any other species of nondomestic cat.
Contaminants have a history of affecting Florida's panthers.
In July 1989, a four-year old female panther was found dead in Everglades National Park. She was one of only three prime breeding-age females in the area, and concern over her death prompted an investigation. Her tissues were analyzed for pesticides, PCBs, and other manmade contaminants. Toxic levels of mercury, an endocrine disrupter, were listed as the cause of death. Raccoons are an obvious route of exposure.