TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida Panthers hockey team may be thriving in the Stanley Cup Finals, but the actual species is still very much in danger.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the endangered species list and one of the first animals on that list was the Florida panther, which remains on the list today.
Carlton Ward, Jr.’s career as a wildlife photographer began in Africa. Little did the Clearwater native know that the animals in his own backyard here in Tampa Bay would capture his true passion for conservation.
“It wasn’t until going away for a while that I really saw how fast this state was changing,” said Ward.
As the Florida panther’s habitat shrunk, so too did the population. By the 1970s, there were only about 20 left. There are about 200 today.
“More than 1,000 people a day moving to Florida and that is the number one threat to the future of panthers is loss of habitat,” said Ward.
In 2010, Ward founded the Florida Wildlife Corridor Project, leading to the passing of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act in 2021.
“So in the end, what we have is a permanently protected and connected corridor through the Everglades all the way to Georgia and Alabama, all the way through the state of Florida,” said Ward.
Out of the 18 million acres that make up the corridor, only 10 million are protected. For the past seven years, Ward has been traveling the corridor and documenting his discoveries, compiling them into a book and movie, both titled "Path of the Panther."
“They’re basically a love letter from me to the Florida Wildlife Corridor told through the character of our state animal, the Florida panther,” said Ward.
Finding and filming the Florida panther is way more challenging than the National Geographic movie makes it look.
“In all my years in the Florida woods, I’ve only ever seen two panthers in the wild with my own eyes, only one time with a camera in my hand,” said Ward. “It takes a tremendous amount of time, energy and luck to get these images.”
Ward’s efforts have even made him a celebrity at Zoo Tampa. He hopes all his hard work makes a difference when it comes to saving this beautiful species and protecting the corridor.
“It's a story of hope and recovery and I know it has the power to bring people together into this conversation from all different backgrounds,” said Ward.
For more information on the book and film, go here.
