TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida Panther isn’t only our state animal, it’s also one of the first animals to land on the endangered species list.
Today, there are less than 200 in existence. It’s the focus of a new exhibit at The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts.
There's a sense of irony as people walk through the museum admiring photos of these amazing yet rare creatures because it’s humans who put them on the endangered species list. There were as few as 20 left back in the 1980s.
“Because these animals were treated like the enemy,” said conservation photographer Carlton Ward. Jr.
In 2010, Ward, a lifelong Floridian, founded the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
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“The Florida Wildlife Corridor is 18 million acres. It’s half the state of Florida, but only about 60% of it is currently protected,” said Ward. “The Florida Panther is the ultimate symbol of the Florida Wildlife Corridor because they need so much territory.”
Ward thought that by photographing these beautiful animals in their environment and sharing them with fellow Floridians, it would help propel the movement to save their habitat.
“This is an awesome opportunity for me to bring this story home to Tampa, to show these wild places throughout the state that a lot of people living here might not know even exist,” said Ward.
In some cases, Ward spent years just to capture one shot.
“Winter after summer, winter after summer, after wet season and dry season, to finally to get these shots,” said Ward
He specifically highlighted one photo of a Florida Panther jumping over a log.
“The panther came through that trail maybe once a month, maybe once every other month facing the camera, maybe once a year in the daylight, so to have all those elements come together, in a fraction of a second to trigger an infrared beam to capture this moment, it took years,” said Ward.
However, while some photos are majestic, others are tragic, like a photo of a panther dead on the side of the highway.
“As a conservation photographer I want to tell the whole story, you want to show the beauty and the hope and what we have a chance to protect and you want to show the threat,” said Ward.
Visitors of the exhibit, like Karen Schuenemann, said it’s great to see a photographer use their craft in such a way that can truly make a difference.
“This is a gift, this is truly a gift to have, and if people don’t fight for it and understand that preservation and protection is critical, it won’t be here,” said Schuenemann.
