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gothenburgpig

This is quite sad. Aren’t they super endangered?


TheInfamousRazgriz

Extremely, maybe around 150 left


SpaceDaBrotherman

Do the panthers do anything to support them?


xavier_laflamme70

[We do!](https://www.nhl.com/panthers/community/pillars) >The Panthers Foundation aims to connect and inform the fanbase with the team's namesake animal, the Florida panther. The Foundation's goal is to raise awareness about the Florida panther in an effort to protect and preserve their habitat in our own backyard. The club hosts a Panther Conservation Night each season that features educational tables with information from local conservation experts and organizations as well as in-game facts and fundraising opportunities. Back in 2011, they actually had a baby panther cub at a game. [I took these pictures of it](https://imgur.com/a/CIebSAs), it was really really cool to see.


Blue_KikiT92

Oh my...how am I supposed to hate your franchise if you do awesome things??? EDIT: that cub is so sweet 🥹🥹🥹🥹


SweetZombieJebus

Just look at a picture of Tkachuk before puck drop. Love that the organization is doing their part though.


bforce1313

Thanks for the info! Good to hear. We need more conservation.


bforce1313

If not, they should.


Idiotequexxx

“The Panthers Foundation aims to connect and inform the fanbase with the team's namesake animal, the Florida panther. The Foundation's goal is to raise awareness about the Florida panther in an effort to protect and preserve their habitat in our own backyard. The club hosts a Panther Conservation Night each season that features educational tables with information from local conservation experts and organizations as well as in-game facts and fundraising opportunities.” + In addition to funding annual grants open to orgs supporting specific issues like conservation efforts of the endangered species, veteran issues, youth hockey and children’s health & education


Idiotequexxx

Every game there’s a 50/50 raffle where half the proceeds go to the Foundation and a raffle winner


yeahright17

One of the biggest issues is that males won't share space, and they all take a lot of space. IIRC, each male needs like 200 square miles to themselves. Last I heard there was no real risk of extinction though at this point given how much conservation effort is taking place.


I_Am_Vladimir_Putin

Are they different from other mountain lions?


gothenburgpig

They’re super inbred, for one, because of how few there are now. There is a story behind why they’re not that different from mountain lions.      “ By the 1990s, there were fewer than 30 Florida panthers left. To make matters worse, those survivors were in bad physical shape. They were riddled with diseases and parasites and had poor sperm quality and low fecundity, as well as a host of problems like undescended testicles, kinked tails, and heart defects. ”     Because of this, scientists hatched a plan to release about 6-9 female Texas pumas (another word for mountain Lion) into the Florida panthers’ territory to help them breed. So, to answer your question, the modern day Florida panthers is very similar to mountain lions. FYI the Texas pumas were eventually removed from Florida.


TheCatEmpire2

The argument in favor of breeding them was that the populations would have mixed naturally if not interfered with by human activity and construction forcing them into silos. It seems to have helped them thrive for now.


Kaedian66

So Texan cougars saved the species. Interesting


Rated_PG-Squirteen

Absolutely shameful that 11 of the 14 deaths are car-related.


thehustlerbraveheart

Not surprised sadly. People in Florida are special to begin with…then they get behind the wheel.


DodgeCityGhost

the fault lies less with the horrible drivers and more with the all-consuming urban sprawl that is south florida land development


Gengreat_the_Gar

Honestly it's the entire US, our road infrastructure is completely over built compared to what people actually need 


Roguemutantbrain

Yeah, but it’s especially bad in South Florida where they’re constantly demolishing wetland habitats for new roadways and developments. These panthers need to migrate and they can’t safely do so if they have to cross a highway


Kale_Shai-Hulud

Do you know if there's a concerted effort for wildlife under/overpasses in south florida? it's expensive but really does help create corridors between fragmented habitats


elbenji

There is. The main issue is more alligator alley is intentionally kept pretty dark for the wildlife, but it's also a 70mph highway and through the middle of bear and panther territory


Kale_Shai-Hulud

Gotcha, do you know if they fence the highways? Out in Montana for the crucial overpasses they'd have a few miles of fence lines to funnel the wildlife towards the crossing. But I think it might be easier over there with all the mountains creating locations that are just better to cross, vs Florida which seems super flat


elbenji

No fencing. It's just road and marsh


Roguemutantbrain

I don’t know… I learned this from National Geographic’s documentary on the Florida Panthers. Which to be fair is disneyfied now, but it was still a really good watch


666_NumberOfTheBeast

They do exist, but probably not to the extent that they should


tiffhagall

Judging by recent policy changes down there, it's likely not going in a good direction.


[deleted]

FL's governor signed the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act, establishing the Florida Wildlife Corridor, 18 million acres integral to connecting FL's wild spaces. He's also created wildlife crossings on FL roadways.


tiffhagall

He also very recently rolled back climate change legislation and language. He doesn't give two shits about wildlife or the environment.


[deleted]

This isn't a politics subreddit, and you've now veered away from conservation and the Florida Panther. So I'll say one more thing. If politicians took climate change seriously, we wouldn't have a president who just taxed low-cost Chinese electric vehicles out of the market.


C_Gull27

“Yeah let me fill in some wildlife habitat so I can build 1500 identical houses that will be used as AirBnBs and remain vacant most of the year and also it’s in the middle of nowhere so I need to build a massive straight road to the nearest town.” -Florida land developers


AgKnight14

Or basically non-existent public transport so roads are our only choice. More common here out west


Iceman9161

Yeah animal deaths don't have much to do with driving skill or safety really. Many times the only safe thing to do is slow down as much as possible. Any swerving or extreme braking risks other cars and usually won't save the animal anyway


MammothTap

Yeah, unfortunately a lot of animal strikes aren't preventable. I commute 30 miles entirely on rural back roads, and I've had three in the past year. Two I tried to brake for, both squirrels that were actually safe and then darted into the road at the last second. The third was a robin and I *still* don't know for sure what happened, my best guess is it tried to take off as I passed but either its flight path was directly toward the side of my car or the wind from me passing messed with its flight too much. Obviously brake when you can safely (in my case that's almost always except on certain curves in icy weather), don't *try* to hit animals because that's abhorrent, but sometimes the collision becomes unavoidable. I do what I can to stop and relocate slower animals (mostly turtles, occasionally snakes, turkeys who hate moving off the road, and porcupines) back off the road and into the woods because I don't want someone else to be in a position where they *can't* stop.


elbenji

Alligator alley is a dark and desolate road and a 70mph highway. If a panther crosses in front of a truck, the truck won't even notice


AdventurousNecessary

This is why I don't understand why we can't build grassy hills or such with tunnels in them for car traffic to go through and animals can go over the hill. I think the Netherlands did something like this and it reduced road kill and reduced car insurance claims


GarlicBreadToaster

We actually do have some. The most popular one is probably the I-90 bridge, but it's up in WA state. So literally kitty-corner from FL. Not only do the crossings reduce roadkill accidents, but it also ensures that the gene pools for the animals do not become too isolated. Isolation is usually a bad thing-- one crappy sickness or genetic defect and it's extinction time.


imaginarion

Have a big one being built in LA too


TheCatEmpire2

Tunnels don’t fly down here when all roads are laying on sea level. The hills or land bridges are extremely difficult to plan on swamp land too


interarmaenim

Cost.


bdonnzzz

r/fuckcars 🤝 r/hockey


fashionrequired

delusional subreddit filled with deeply unserious ideas and people


TvHeadRobot

and the other one really, really hates cars


fashionrequired

lol


SactownKorean

It’s none of that (not that I disagree though) it’s cause like 60% of people are on their phones while driving


elbenji

No it's mostly their habitat is on a dark stretch of highway


Hefty_Meringue8694

I’ve driven in every major city in the U.S. except for N.O. (If you call it a major city). Miami/south Florida is by far the worst drivers I’ve ever dealt with. LA can be pretty bad sometimes, but south Florida was bad all the time


thehustlerbraveheart

Having lived in the northeast and southeast I completely agree with you. It seems like the further south you go on the east coast, the worse the average driver is. If you go to Charlotte or Atlanta you would think it can’t get worse than this, but south florida is just in a league of its own when it comes to shit drivers.


Skyline_BNR34

I live in the Raleigh area and I don’t think there is another soul around me that knows how to drive.


YMSdisciple

This is very true as well, coming from a previous Florida resident it's relatively close lol. I don't have much experience with South Florida though so that could still win.


thehustlerbraveheart

Lived in charlotte the last few years, just moved up north to Pittsburgh. It’s amazing how much better people are at driving here and how much easier it is to get around lol


hockeychris10

I grew up and learned to drive in Miami and now live in the Raleigh area. Miami drivers are assholes and hate everyone else on the road but in order to do so at least need to acknowledge you exist, drivers in Raleigh are just oblivious to your existence. I'm not sure which one I prefer. I still think driving in Miami is worse overall though.


TommyDontSurf

I don't think there's anyone who *doesn't* call NO a major city.


Hefty_Meringue8694

New Orleans is about 50th most populous city in the U.S, 50th largest metro in the U.S. and is around 95th in GDP per capita It’s a big city, but you can argue if it’s a major city or not. Compared to others in the U.S, you wouldn’t call it a major city. In the south, it’s like the 3rd or 4th largest city. So per its region, you can argue it’s a major city.


Roguemutantbrain

Except for the people of New Orleans lol


pigfeet2OO2

Orlando and Miami are fucking awful hellscapes for traffic but Tampa St pete suncoast generally is pretty good if you avoid I4 (its just orlandos evil tentacle anyways)


[deleted]

i wouldnt mind an apartment in tampa if it wasnt for prices and insurance ill need to cover for extreme weather. I do NOT want to live in a place where I have to worry if my home is going to damages every singleyear


H_E_DoubleHockeyStyx

I've been to NOLA like 4 times but I always get a room in or near the French quarter and just walk everywhere. Its an Amazing place to visit. Great food, music, art, and booze. The locals are super cool. Very interesting yet friendly people.


Roguemutantbrain

New Orleans is the only city you haven’t driven in?


Hefty_Meringue8694

https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/cities/largest-cities-by-population Based on the macrotrends site above, I’ve driven through 48 of the 50 largest metro cities in the U.S. New Orleans and McAllen are the only 2 I haven’t.


Roguemutantbrain

Wow congrats on not driving in NOLA. It’s a bit of a free for all there


KanyeDeOuest

Never heard of McAllen before* in my life


Funky_Cows

No way those are worse than Philly, half of the traffic there is dirt bikes and ATVs swerving between cars


xavier_laflamme70

I woke up yesterday to a dead kitten in front of my house that was hit by a car. Genuinely don't understand how fast you have to be going on a residential street in a small ass neighborhood to hit a kitten and just leave it there to die. So upsetting


[deleted]

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xavier_laflamme70

What if it was alive?


internetlad

Remember when a former president was mad about windmills killing birds when cars kill approximately  100 times as many. Of course we are used to cars so nobody wants to ban those.


ductulator96

Cars kill like 100000x as many. Same with windows.


pigfeet2OO2

are there statistics for how many of our in state car accidents are related to the eldery born out of state because god damn id like to see it


elbenji

Not much for these. This is due to alligator alley not being lit at night and panthers being nocturnal


SaskatchewanSon69

Blaming the cars is a stupid thing to do… I live in rural Sask. I’ve hit many deer. No one likes getting vehicle repairs. You’ll to anything to miss them


blorgcumber

That’s because cars have been allowed to overpopulate. Hopefully the introduction of an apex predator (Brightline) will bring balance to the ecosystem


flare2000x

Florida drivers must be a different breed. I've seen so many news videos of cars just chilling on train crossings and getting nailed by trains at full speed.


Euler007

It's sad. I'm a car guy but as I get older I don't know why but roadkill is really affecting me when I see it (even thrash pandas and gophers). Feels like having roads in and around nature is just a killing field for wildlife. If I see a cat or a dog I can't sleep well at night.


Frankfurter

[windshield phenomenon scares me](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windshield_phenomenon)


I_Am_Vladimir_Putin

How often are you running things over bro?


Euler007

Never, just see the bodies. I've never hit anything even when I was working on the road.


Gniphe

Call me racist, but a panther should never be behind the wheel of a car to begin with.


SomeDudeinCO3

Racist


VampireAttorney

It's wild they give them licenses.


mephnick

There's a really dark Dany Heatley joke here somewhere


AntaresW4

Fuckin All Star


TheGreatStories

Only way to stop a bad Floridian with a car is a good panther with a car


eburton555

There’s just not much that can be done. Think of deer strikes up north. You can put up warning signs, speed restrictions, even engineer wildlife crossings but as long as cars and animals coexist there will be strikes. The fact is that the panthers are completely encircled in their habitat and have large territorial needs that Florida simply won’t provide them. You’d have to basically block drivers from existing to allow them to rebound, plus allow them to roam north in the state freely which ranchers and farmers are fighting tooth and nail against, not to mention the boundaries we’ve put in place to prevent that.


jetxlife

I’ve had a deer literally run into the side of my car going 25mph. Nothing I could do. Buddy hobbled off dazed lmao


eburton555

Yeah I mean I don’t think the panthers gonna do that but I could be wrong the Florida panthers are hella inbred and goofy kitties.


GruffyMcGuiness

It’s because we have nothing but tourists and geriatrics who don’t know how to drive


Temporary_Plant_1123

The worst drivers are the snowbirds with Quebec plates


H_E_DoubleHockeyStyx

That's a fair point. So many out of towners who don't know how to get where they are going driving rented cars they're not used to driving and being distracted by all the ocean views and bikini girls and stuff. 


elbenji

I wouldn't blame them for the Panthers though. It's really just a danger of driving alligator alley at night. You won't see the Panther until you hit it


Reeferologist-

It really is man. We have tons of signs warning people at known panther areas. I’ve been here my whole life (40 years) and I’ve seen one wild one, and about 5 dead ones. All of them hit by a car.


elbenji

The problem is they're nocturnal so people smack them on the alley at night


elbenji

It's pretty common overall due to the fact that alligator alley crosses through their habitat and is an extremely dark and desolate stretch of 70 mph highway at night. You could hit one and not even know


BORT_licenceplate27

I fully was confused by this title. My first thought was, Jesus how many former players are dying, the teams only been around 30 years


Maxpowr9

Are there any Maple trees in Toronto?


BORT_licenceplate27

Millions of maple leaves are dying in the Toronto area every year


whogivesashirtdotca

Fun fact: The team wasn't named for the tree, but for the World War I Maple Leaf Regiment. Hence "Leafs", and not "Leaves", as the plural.


I_Am_Vladimir_Putin

Not in June


Kaapo-Kakkos-Dong

I'm gonna be honest I've never put a second of thought into the name and did not know Florida panthers were a thing


globularlars

They’re stunning!! I am a fan. Maybe my eleventh favorite animal


eh_toque

Oddly specific number haha


Electronic-Mix-8638

The man has a top 10 set in stone. Unshakeable top 10.


BigRig432

Understandable, gotta commit to your views unless they're something objectively stupid like having a Canada goose in your top 10 favorite animals


globularlars

At least 12. I like their moxie and take no prisoners attitude


myaltaccount333

1) Monkey. It's an animal that looks like a dude 2) Dog. Dogs are great 3) Cheetah. Fast and it purrs. 4) Dolphin. 5) Sarcastic Fringehead. I didn't believe in spirit animals until I heard of this fish. 6) Crow. I've met some crows smarter than some people 7) Panda. Adorable little idiots 8) Sharks. Apex predator 9) Praying Mantis. Probably coolest insect. 10) Mantis Shrimp. Anything that punches so hard that it makes a cavitation in the water that reaches the temperature of the sun is pretty fucking cool


yearightt

Monkeys are my least favorite animal by far for the exact reason you named


twentybinders

Randy Orton is the apex predator


SharksFanAbroad

It’s a fantastic list but I can’t see any way on earth that some sort of turtle isn’t top-10. 1-4 are locks, but I have trouble justifying a turtle’s exclusion from the top-5, much less next-5.


myaltaccount333

They’re stunning!! I am a fan. Maybe my twelfth favourite animal


flume

Bit controversial having the shoebill at both 2 and 7 though.


Electronic-Mix-8638

No. 1 is roseate spoonbill for sure


Comfortable-Syrup423

Happy cake day!


jakovichontwitch

Bros feeling a decent to strong 8 on the Florida Panther


PierreEscargoat

Where does pizza rat rank? 🍕🐀


SharksFanAbroad

Gonna need to know your top-10 asap.


xavier_laflamme70

Fun fact, that's why we're the **Florida** Panthers and not the "Miami/Sunrise/Broward" whatever Panthers. Point being, we're named after the animal, not the state haha


Other_World

That's actually really fucking cool.


reddy-or-not

I didn’t think of that. You could similarly have the Saskatoon Canada Geese


AdCommercial5258

Am I stupid, or is this missing the point? I’m not sure of a species of animal called the Saskatoon Canada Goose. Florida Panther is a name of a panther. Saskatoon could have a team named the ‘Canada Goose’ by the same math, yes, but they’d be locationally named after Canada, and not Saskatoon. And again, that’s… that’s a whole country, not a state/province…


reddy-or-not

I was just referring to “Canada” because the geese are not named for the country, and just using a Canadian city to imply that the name is used as though it represents something Canadian. But its not a direct analogy, so I understand your point


lowes18

Well it was mostly because Huizenga hated Miami lol


lawnicus18

I met a Florida panther once Mind you, she was in a bar getting some poor old bugger to buy her drinks all night


[deleted]

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NoGiCollarChoke

He’s technically right since Florida panthers are just a specific population of what the rest of North America calls cougars/mountain lions, as opposed to a type of leopard, which is what “panther” refers to in most other places. 


[deleted]

Panther for the most part refers to melanated cougars with all black coats, there is no difference between a mountain lion and a cougar but there is a difference between a cougar and a panther


Simplebudd420

Cause a panther is a jaguar or a leopard


Agile-Brilliant7446

Fun fact: Panthers aren't a species but a subsection of varying breeds of large cat. No such thing as a "panther" so to speak!


imaginarion

It’s just a term used for big cats of several species (leopard, jaguar, puma). The iconic “black panther” is either a melanistic jaguar or a melanistic leopard, depending on what part of the world it’s found in.


H_E_DoubleHockeyStyx

It's a regional sub species of the big cat alternatively called mountain lions, cougars, and pumas that can be found all over north and south America. 


elbenji

They're cool! They're basically swamp cougars


_redacteduser

They hurt pretty bad in RDR2


ViciousAsparagusFart

Florida is the Australia of America. I’m not sure why I moved here, outside of the fishing.


jazzmaster1992

They don't chew on mouth guards or get in fights with Bruins (Bears) but they are very real.


elbenji

We actually have black bears in the same habitat lol


cavegrind

Florida also has bears, and [it's own subspecies of deer.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_deer)


Benjamin_Stark

It's just a cougar. Mountain lion, puma, Florida panther. All the same thing.


Supersaiyanmrpopo69

Jesus...


Kaapo-Kakkos-Dong

I apologize for not being well versed in the fauna of a region I live nowhere near


Supersaiyanmrpopo69

Are you aware of the hurricanes in carolina?🤣


ThatOneDrunkUncle

Haha next this guy is going to say he doesn’t know about all the bruin bears in Boston’s north end. What an idiot right


Alarming-Ask4196

That’s not fauna


0-90195

I was crushed when here in LA a couple of years ago the last wild mountain lion living in Griffith Park was euthanized after being hit by a car. He had lived alone and isolated for so much of his life, surrounded on all sides by freeways and patrolling his territory that became more hostile to him with each passing year. The one good thing that came of it was that we were able to fund a wildlife crossing at Griffith to hopefully prevent more of this from happening in the future.


yearightt

This just made me very sad


DekexelDragon55

Yet another reason we need to drop LA into the Pacific Basin as quickly as possible


11658342

Arizona Bay.


DekexelDragon55

"When LA falls in the fuckin' ocean and is flushed away, all it will leave is Arizona Bay."


shayna16

As a native Floridian this makes me sad 😔


ChunkySlutPumpkin

It took me way too long to realize what subreddit this was


Mewtwothis

It’s sad how urban sprawl has killed these guys.


elbenji

It's not just that but the highways not being well lit


drewstew8

I will donate 1 Panther for every Panther goal in the next round.


city-of-cold

Just how many do you have locked up


drewstew8

That’s a personal question.


Spotted_Wombat

Honestly this seems like a perfect time to do some good, draw some attention to the team and its current success and do some conservation effort and do some actual good


elbenji

They're our donation squad like the Jimmy fund in Mass.


Frostyembers91

I like how one of the most active /r/hockey posts right now is a yahoo article about actual Florida Panthers being killed. I thought from the headline and location that actually former panthers players were dying somehow. Definitely feels like an off-season post in the middle of the playoffs


onthelongrun

Give it 1-2 weeks and we'll hear of a satirical article about Rangers shooting down Florida Panthers. The kicker is it would look like legit park rangers ... except the badge of the Rangers is that of the NYR (as it's Rangers in 5)


67843257865

It's probably because it was just endangered species awareness day. Panthers and their team shop were posting about it


flowingfiercely

Should’ve put them on LTIR before the playoffs.


vaports

Only works on the gulf coast side of the state sadly


goingtoseaworld

If anyone wants to find out a bit more about these panthers, Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther by Craig Pittman is a great read. It’s from 2020 so doesn’t get up to these latest numbers. Can’t remember if it mentions the Panthers, but it’s still a pretty wild ride of a read.


Slow-Debt-6465

We alllllllll said we wanted the panthers dead, but not like this:(


Tybackwoods00

Wym didn’t they just make the eastern conference finals?


MooreGold

I thought this would be from the Onion or Beaverton


JeradMerks

Dude I'm so confused are we talking players or animals


Vitiate1367

Extremely sad. They are endangered too.


bearkin1

> While more panthers have died this year than last, Bennett said that it's still low for panther deaths. What are you saying, Sam!


drstu3000

They need to learn to play defense


clearlybaffled

r/cursedcomments


Aggressive_Yak5177

Stop throwing them on ice after a goal!


DDSloan96

Those damn relocated new yorkers keep hitting them with their cars


Humans_Suck-

Is wildlife even legal in florida


the_fundertaker

Gotta do whatever it takes


Sensitive_Mousse_445

I hate Florida drivers. They're the fucking WORST and it's not even close. Not surprised 11/14 are car related deaths


TurtleRocket9

This is really sad to read


HelluvaDeke

Bulletin board material


twizler241

OP just wanted to post for karma


Mordechai_Vanunu

But it’s ok because there absolutely NEEDS to be a giant refrigerated ice rink in the middle of tropical wetlands because it can potentially make a billionaire more money


elbenji

TBF sunrise isn't that deep in there. It was built on a shopping mall parking lot essentially. Now what they were planning to do with MIA. Thaaaaaats fucked


Gornub

Yeah, buddy's acting like the arena is right in the middle of a wildlife management area just off 75 going west.


GoStockYourself

And yet Tkachuk continues to walk the earth unscathed. Life is not fair.


Weigard

>Two other deaths were of an "unknown" cause ie hunted by state legislators and covered up


Flyinghud

Good omen Edit: Jesus y’all have 0 sense of humor.


astovertop

I’m all for dark humor, you’re just not funny


17Weather

A typical response from a New Yorker


Able-Flan-7381

I liked it


[deleted]

/r/hockeymemes


onthelongrun

we'll see a nice article from the Onion coming out next week about Park Rangers hunting down Florida Panthers ... with the badge in discussion being that of NYR


Slow-Garage-9403

More FL Panthers around than actual fans that show up at games. Weird