Traveling across the Everglades, a motorist will see signs that
caution “panther crossing”, and “wildlife on roadway”. Speed
limits are reduced at night to protect nocturnal species.
Hundreds of miles of fences stretch from one side of the state
to the other. Wildlife is often observed behind the fence and
one might wonder if you’re traveling through a zoo or you are
part of the zoo. The Big Cypress National Preserve, established
in 1974, is a vast 750,000 acre wilderness in the heart of the
Everglades. Three main roads cut through the preserve. I-75,
also known as Alligator Alley runs east/west from Fort
Lauderdale to Naples. SR-29, aka Panther Pass runs north/south
along the western border of the preserve and US-41, aka Tamiami
Trail cuts just above the southern boundary of the Preserve and
runs from Miami to Naples. In the 90’s, the Florida Panther
(Puma concolor coryi) population dropped precipitously low to an
estimated 35 cats. Various methods were used to help the
population, including introducing eigh