west palm beach magazine
three annual races
One common Goal
By Lonnie O’Neill
T
here’s an estimated of 150 (or fewer) Florida
panthers, our state animal, left in the wild.
These large, tan cats are found in southern Florida in
swamplands such as Everglades National Park and Big
Cypress National Preserve.
proceeds from May’s run support their partnership
with Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and their
work at Endau Rompin National Park in Malaysia.
Current estimates have the Malayan tiger population
around 300 in the wild.
Because this species is so critically endangered, it
is vulnerable to just about every major threat – from
habitat loss to cars and even feline diseases. Right
here in our own city, the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society is doing a lot to save the Florida panther.
Working along with conservationists are working hard
to study the cats and hopefully make the population
healthy and viable.
Jaguars are not facing the same dire fate as the other
two cats, but they are nevertheless endangered with
numbers now believed to be below 15,000 in the wild.
Net proceeds from the September run support PBZ’s
partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society at
Madidi-Tambopata Landscape in Bolivia. This area is
situated on the Eastern slope of the Andean mountain
range, between north western Bolivia and southeastern Peru. It covers approximately 110.000 km2 and is
characterized by an impressive altitudinal range (180
to 6.100 m.a.s.l.), varied topography and climate that
have resulted in diverse plant and animal communities and a high number of endemic species. It is estimated that around 12,000 species of vascular plants,
1,100 species of birds (11% of all the bird species in
the planet) and around 300 species of mammals exist
in this area.
The Palm Beach Zoo organizes three races throughout the year with the purpose of raising funds to ensure permanent protection for prime panther habitats
and for educating programs for the public to learn
about the plight of Florida panthers.
Net proceeds from the January run helped support
the Zoo’s partnership with Florida Wildlife Corridor as
they work to protect panthers and their habitat. Net
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