These cats are all that remain of native cougars east of the Mississippi. Habitat destruction poses the most significant threat to the Florida panther's survival. Without aggressive measures to conserve this cat's habitat and protect the few remaining individuals, this rare cat will disappear forever. In the long term, the Florida panther's survival will depend on the cat's ability to expand into additional parts of its historic range. Residential and commercial development, due to Florida's rapidly expanding human population, increasingly encroaches on the panther's dwindling habitat.
Development abuts the primary protected public lands that panthers depend upon.
Roughly half of the cat's remaining habitat is privately owned, complicating efforts to protect panthers. Habitat loss and fragmentation pose grave threats to the remaining panthers by limiting their ability to expand their populations and separating cats from one another, which could lead to inbreeding in smaller subpopulations. Genetic problems pose nearly insurmountable odds of recovery. This isolation also increases territorial fights among cats, which are often fatal. Roads, which fragment habitat, are another direct threat to panthers.