Environment - Miami and the Keys - page 451

Land Mammals
Florida's most endangered mammal is the Florida panther. Before European contact, per-
haps 1500 roamed the state. The first panther bounty ($5 a scalp) was passed in 1832, and
over the next 130 years they were hunted relentlessly. Though hunting was stopped in
1958, it was too late for panthers to survive on their own. Without a captive breeding pro-
gram, begun in 1991, the Florida panther would now be extinct and with only some 120
known to exist, they're not out of the swamp yet.
The biggest killers of the panthers are motor vehicles. Every year, a handful - some-
times more - of panthers are killed on the road; pay particular attention to speed limits
posted in area including the Tamiami Trail, which cuts through Everglades National Park
and the Big Cypress Preserve.
Easy to find, white-tailed deer are a common species that troubles landscaping. Endemic
to the Keys are Key deer, a Honey-I-Shrunk-the-Ungulate subspecies: less than 3ft tall and
lighter than a 10-year-old boy, they live mostly on Big Pine Key.
Although they are ostensibly native to the American West, the adaptable coyote has
been spotted across Florida, appearing as far south as the Florida Keys.
Shy, timid, and not to be messed with if encountered, there are several hundred speci-
mens of the Florida black bear in Everglades National Park and the Big Cypress Preserve.
Audubon of Florida ( www.audubonofflorida.org ) is perhaps Florida's leading conservation
organization. It has tons of birding and ecological information, and it publishes Florida
Naturalist magazine.
Marine Mammals
Florida's coastal waters are home to 21 species of dolphins and whales. By far the most
common is the bottlenose dolphin, which is highly social, extremely intelligent and fre-
quently encountered around the entire peninsula. Bottlenose dolphins are the species most
often seen in captivity.
Winter is also the season for manatees, who seek out Florida's warm-water springs and
power-plant discharge canals beginning in November. These lovable, lumbering creatures