The puma concolor coryi, better known as the florida Panther, is one of the many endangered species and one of the most endangered animals in the world.The Florida panther is the only subspecies of cougar left east of the Mississippi River. Because the panther was perceived to be a threat to humans and livestock, they were hunted to near extinction by the mid 50's. Today the hunting of Florida pnathers is a crime. Specifically, in 1967 the U.S. Department of Interior listed the Florida panther as an endangered species and Congress passed the endangered species act in 1973. With only approximately 50 - 100 [depending on the source consulted] Florida panthers left in the wild, the preservation of this majestic animal is essential. In an interview, Darrell Land, who is currently panther section leader for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, proposes, "I beleive that we can maintain the current population of 70-100 panthers into the foreseeable future with very little management intervention. This however does not equate to recovery because the population would still be toosmall to declare it recovered." And yet, despite the grim look of full recovery for the Florida panther, research continues to preserve the last of this rare breed.More importantly, the original territory of the Florida panther ranged as far west as Texas and as far north as South Carolina but today they are only found in South Florida. Florida is one of the fatsest growing states in the unio. This growth is the biggest threat to the Florida panther.