Florida State Mammal
Florida Panther (common name) Puma concolor coryi (scientific name) Overview The Florida panther is a large, slim, tawny type of cougar, the only kind currently found east of the Mississippi. Until recently, panthers lived throughout Florida, but today they’re confined to nature preserves in south Florida and some surrounding private land, and are among the most endangered animals in the world. Florida panthers are timid, and hide or retreat to remote areas rather than meet humans. Scientists often track them by observing tracks, scat, and other marks instead of observing actual animals. Puma concolor coryi has been Florida’s state mammal since 1982, when it was chosen by the state’s schoolchildren. Close-up STATUS Official State Mammal ALSO KNOWN AS Cougar, mountain lion, puma, catamount PHYSICAL DETAILS Male and female panthers look the same, though males are a little larger. The cats are tawny with much lighter bellies. Panthers’ tails have very dark tipping, and there are dark markings on the backs of their ears and shading on their faces. Florida panthers have broad faces and upright, rounded ears. Their tails are about as long as their bodies, and help them balance when climbing, pouncing, or running. Panthers’ body shape also helps them to run short distances at very high speeds and leap long distances, about 20 feet (6 m) from a standstill or 16 feet (4.9 m) up into the air. Panthers have very sharp 1-inch retractable claws, five in front and four in back. These help panthers climb and seize, hold and rip their prey. Young panthers have black-spotted, grey-beige coats until they are between 9 and 12 months old.    Males Females Size height at shoulder 23–27 in (58.5–68.5 cm); length 7 ft (2.1 m) nose to tail tip; front pad width 2-2.5 in (5–6 cm) height at shoulder 26.4 in (67.1 cm); length 6 ft (1.8 m) nose to tail tip; front pad width 1.5–2 in (4–5 cm) Weight 110–159 lbs (50–72 kg); average 130 lbs (59 kg) 70–99 lbs (31–45 kg) LIFESPAN Up to 20 years; average of 12 years in the wild HABITAT Any wet or dry forested area with substantial cover, including cypress forests, thicket swamps, freshwater marshes, hardwood hammocks, saw palmetto woodlands, and pine forests. Range: Southern Florida Conservation: Endangered. The cats live in only 5 percent of their historic range and may number as few as 80. It has been illegal to hunt Florida panthers since 1958; the cat has been listed as endangered nationwide since 1967 and statewide since 1973. It is currently among the most closely protected species. BEHAVIOR Panthers make sounds similar to other cats, including growling, purring, and hissing. Panther kittens make shrill squeaks when frightened, and mother cats make a whistling noise to get kittens’ attention. Young panthers start to observe their mothers hunting when they are about two months old, and catch small animals independently by the time they are one. At two, the young are usually independent and females are ready to mate. Males start mating at three. Mature females can establish territories that overlap their mothers’ areas at first, but young males are usually chased away by older, dominant males. Panthers can swim when necessary to find better territory or food. They hunt alone and usually eat once a week, though very young animals are fed more frequently. Panthers need their own territory; for males that constitutes about 320 square miles (520 sq km). Their territory may overlap one or more female territories, but not another male territory. Females require 120 square miles (195 sq km). In ideal conditions, male Florida panthers can travel very long distances to find a suitable range for themselves, though urbanization makes this impossible in modern Florida. Young males have no real territory of their own and must kill a dominant male and claim his area before mating. Top land speed recorded: 43 mph (69 kph) DIET Deer and wild pigs. Also raccoons, armadillos, rabbits, and occasionally birds or alligators. A panther will kill farm animals for food occasionally if nothing else is available. OFFSPRING Breeding interval: Annual Birthing period: October–March Average litter size: 1–3 kittens Size at birth: 28–45 pounds (22 kg); average 31 pounds (14 kg) TRIVIA Panthers are easy to mistake for bobcats (Felis rufus), a smaller, spotted wildcat with a shorter tail. Panthers are a type of cougar that once had the most extensive range of any land mammal in the Americas and were found throughout South America and north into the Yukon.
	Click to enlarge an image Florida Panther Close-up of Florida Panther Florida Panther in the Wild CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Puma Species: P. concolor coryi
	Data Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Author: World Trade Press

Florida Marine Mammal
West Indian Manatee (common name) Trichechus manatus (scientific name) Overview After the whale, the West Indian manatee is the largest aquatic mammal. It is a slow-moving and gentle herbivorous animal believed to have evolved from land mammals like the elephant and hyrax. Its two subspecies, the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) and the Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus), have slightly different heads and ranges. The species was declared the state marine mammal of Florida in 1975 and is Puerto Rico’s unofficial marine mammal. Hunted for hundreds of years for its meat and hide, manatees in Florida and Puerto Rico are protected throughout their ranges by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, although they continue to be hunted in Central and South America. ALSO KNOWN AS Commonly known as the sea cow, it is also called the Caribbean manatee or Antillean manatee, depending on its range. Close-up STATUS Official State Marine Mammal PHYSICAL DETAILS Gray or brown in color, although sometimes covered with barnacles or patches of green or red algae. The muzzle is heavily whiskered and coarse, single hairs are sparsely distributed over the rest of its body. Manatees have flexible, split upper lips that pass food into the mouth. The lungs are positioned along their backbone to help with buoyancy control. Females are typically longer and heavier than males.    Males Females Size 13 ft (4 m) 13 ft (4 m) Weight 3,300 lbs (1,500 kg) 3,300 lbs (1,500 kg) LIFESPAN Over 60 years HABITAT Brackish, shallow rivers and estuaries and freshwater rivers connected to the coast. Range: The Florida manatee occurs primarily in Florida and southeastern Georgia but is known from as far north as Rhode Island to as far west as Texas. The Antillean manatee ranges from Mexico and the Caribbean to northeastern Brazil. The West Indian manatee is abundant along the southern coast and river mouths of Puerto Rico. Conservation: Endangered. However, in 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the West Indian manatee population of Florida had rebounded and should be reclassified as "threatened." BEHAVIOR The West Indian manatee is agile in water, where it rolls, somersaults, and even swims upside-down. It surfaces for air once every five minutes or so, but can remain submerged for up to 20 minutes while resting. It is generally considered solitary or semi-social, except for mating herds or winter congregations in warm water refuges. The manatee often moves from place to place in search of food and usually swims at speeds of 1 to 4 mph but can swim at speeds of up to 15 mph (24 kph) for short distances. It squeaks and squeals when frightened, playing, or communicating. The manatee has a slow reproductive rate because females and males reach sexual maturity at about 5 and 9 years of age, respectively. Manatees have multiple sexual partners over their lifetimes, and mating females can be pursued by 20 or more males. Males do not render any parental care to their calves. DIET The West Indian manatee is an herbivore that feeds opportunistically. Common forage plants include cord grass, algae, turtle grass, shoal grass, manatee grass, and eel grass. Individuals consume up to 10 percent of their body weight per day. OFFSPRING Breeding interval: 2 to 3 years Birthing period: 13 months Average litter size: 1 calf (rarely twins) Size at birth: average 70 lbs (32 kg) TRIVIA The name manatee comes from the Spanish word manatí. A manatee is capable of exchanging 98 percent of its lung capacity in a single breath. The calf of a manatee usually remains dependent on its mother for one to two years. The molars of the manatee are continually replaced throughout its life. The town of Manatí in Puerto Rico is named after the animal.
	Click to enlarge an image Manatees Feeding on Seagrass Manatee with Calf Manatee Swimming CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Sirenia Family: Trichechidae Subfamily: Capreolinae Genus: Trichechus Species: T. manatus
	Data Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Author: World Trade Press

Florida State Saltwater Mammal
Dolphin (common name) Tursiops truncates (scientific name) Overview Dolphins, also known as porpoises, are actually toothed whales. In Florida, both of these names usually mean the bottlenose dolphin, common in coastal waters around the peninsula. These are warm-blooded animals that give birth to live young, whom they suckle. Dolphins have keen hearing and sight, as well as a reputation for being extremely intelligent. They use echoes to sense their surroundings and communicate with each other using sounds such as clicks and whistles. They're also strong, fast swimmers that can dive deep and jump completely out of the water. ALSO KNOWN AS Porpoise, sea angel Close-up STATUS Official State Saltwater Mammal PHYSICAL DETAILS This dolphin has a short, stubby snout that, on its flattened oval body, vaguely resembles a bottle's neck. Its nose is actually a blowhole on top of its head. This dolphin has a triangular back fin, two short flippers at the sides of its body used for steering, and a forked tail. The top of its body is gray, and can range in shade from slate to medium gray. Its sides are lighter colored, and its belly can range from pale gray to pinkish. This dolphin has up to 100 conical teeth. Points are quite sharp, an adaptation that helps this dolphin keep hold of slippery prey.  Males Females Size 8–13 feet long (2.5–3.6 m) 7–10 feet long (2.4–3.7 m)   Weight 400–800 lbs (180–362 kg) 400–700 lbs (270–317 kg) LIFESPAN About 30 years old HABITAT Shallow coastal waters including bays, around ocean islands, lagoons, estuaries, and occasionally near the mouths of rivers. Range: Tropical and temperate oceans worldwide. Conservation: Not endangered, but coastal populations have shown they are on the decline because of pollution, habitat degradation, hunting, as well as accidental deaths caused by getting trapped in fishing gear. BEHAVIOR Dolphins are social animals, usually traveling in pods or groups of individuals of various sizes. When feeding, much larger groups of perhaps hundreds of dolphins can forage together. Smaller groups may break off from the larger group to perform a particular activity, such as raising new calves, and return to the larger group later. Dolphins communicate using both sounds that can be heard and echolocation. During mating season, males may fight each other to get near females or try to defend small groups of females from other males. On the other hand, they sometimes work together to separate a receptive female from her group. An individual male can also attract a female using physical movements such as arching his back. A female gives birth about a year after mating, usually to a single calf. The newborn nurses for up to 20 months and stays close to its mother for several more years. When a mother bottlenose must leave a group to forage, other pod members look after her offspring while she's gone. A female is mature when she's five to 10 years old, and a male when he's eight to 13. Dolphins often don't begin mating until years after they mature. Top swimming speed recorded: 22 mph (35 kph) DIET Fish, including catfish, eel, and tuna, as well as squid and crustaceans such as crab and shrimp. OFFSPRING Breeding interval: Every 3-6 years Birthing period: Year round Average litter size: one Size at birth: 20–66 pounds (9–30 kg) TRIVIA Dolphins may migrate, but usually retain the same territory for decades. Although generally strong predators, young, weak, and aging bottlenose dolphins are prey for sharks and killer whales. Dolphins are known for their ability to learn, which makes them popular in aquarium shows and on television programs or in movies. They also fill noncombatant roles by the military, detecting underwater mines or enemy divers.
	Click to enlarge an image Bottlenose Dolphin Surfing a Boat's Wake Bottlenose Dolphins at Play Closeup of Bottlenose Dolphin CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Family: Delphinidae Genus: Tursiops Species: Truncatus
	Data Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Author: World Trade Press