TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

When Panthers Stalked Florida

ADVERTISEMENT

By GARY R. MORMINO Tribune correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 9, 2008

First Of Two Parts

The story has become the stuff of legend. In the late 1970s, the Seminoles elected James Billie tribal chair. Billie, a Vietnam veteran, felt overwhelmed by the challenge. At the time, native Seminoles were mired in poverty. When he asked an elderly medicine man what he needed to do to earn the trust of the tribe, the shaman instructed him to first capture, kill and eat a Florida panther.

Chief James Billie followed the instructions and was promptly arrested for killing an endangered species. He argued that he was performing a religious purification ceremony. A Broward County jury acquitted the flamboyant tribal chair.

Billie, triumphantly standing on the courthouse steps, faced the press corps. "What does panther taste like?" a reporter asked.

"It tastes like a cross between manatee and bald eagle," Billie fired back. Rim shot.

Cursed and hunted, exalted and mythologized, the Florida panther has somehow managed to survive in spite of humans' best and worst efforts to save and eradicate the creature. Their tawny profiles adorn license plates and athletic team logos.

Once they roamed as far west as Arkansas and north as Tennessee. Driven into southwest Florida, fewer than 100 panthers reside in the Big Cypress, an area south of the Caloosahatchee River.

Panthers require vast open terrain. A male panther needs an area of 200 square miles to survive. Human encroachment has proved devastating to panther numbers. When the Tamiami Trail opened in 1927, hundreds of panthers, unaccustomed to Model T headlights, died on the highway. Today, panthers continue to die on the roads.

About 20 years ago, this columnist was in Everglades City giving a talk about the history of the area. An elderly gentleman in the audience told an amazing story. As a young boy, he accompanied his family across the newly opened Tamiami Trial. A frightening thunderstorm caused his father to pull off to the side of the road. During one lightning bolt, the young boy noticed dozens of panthers clinging to pine trees to avoid the rising waters. No one will ever again see so many panthers at one time and one place.

For centuries, panthers have been hunted and trapped in Florida. In 1887, the Florida Legislature authorized a $5 bounty for panther scalps. As late as 1958, hunting panthers was legal. In 1967, the federal government placed the panther on the endangered list.

If the wolf served the role of nature's dark side in European literature, the panther filled that part in America and Florida. Back issues of the Tampa Morning Tribune are filled with stirring stories of panthers terrorizing unsuspecting travelers, and stoic settlers battling the treacherous cat.

Today, one of Hillsborough County's most serene places is the stretch of Morris Bridge Road along the Hillsborough River. In 1899, however, it was the setting for pure terror. R.E. Smith, his wife and 2-year-old child were traveling from Ehren to Thonotosassa by horse and buggy. The family stopped along the river to enjoy lunch.

Smith heard a terrifying scream as a panther leapt from a live oak limb to attack his child. Smith confronted the beast. The Tribune described the action:

"In the fight, the cat bit Mr. Smith terribly on his arm, and, fastening its claws in his clothing, tore his coat and shirt almost completely from his body. Fortunately, Mr. Smith succeeded in getting a good grip on the animal's throat, and being a powerful man physically, he managed to maintain his hold, tightening it until he choked the cat to death."

"When the fight was over, Mr. Smith was almost totally exhausted, the loss of blood from the savage bites and screeches of the catamount making him weak. When he had recovered sufficiently, the dead animal was placed in the wagon and the family proudly took it to Thonotosassa where it was placed on exhibition at Mr. Biggs' store."

Gary R. Mormino directs the Florida Studies Program at USF St. Petersburg. Please send your encounters with panthers to him. gmormino@ stpt.usf.edu.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT