Consider how it must feel to stare a massive, magnificent, and beautiful wild cat in the eyes. Well, for the lucky ones, an experience like this might take a lifetime! So it was indeed a sight to behold for this Florida-based wildlife photographer when that once-in-a-lifetime meeting occurred.
Carlton Ward Jr. is a wildlife photographer and activist who has devoted his whole career to protecting Florida’s wild animals as part of his Florida Wildlife Corridor initiative. The Florida panther, above all other animals, piqued his curiosity in a spectacular way.
“It’s taken me 20 years to get this photo,” and more than 2,000 miles through Florida’s wilderness for Carlton to finally take the perfect shot.
But after countless failed attempts he managed to meet the majestic creature he has so much admiration for, at Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. And the interaction was so deep, the photographer called it “an encounter that I’ll be talking about the rest of my life.”
And when that moment arrives after almost two decades of attempting to get some shots with these wild animals, it’s undeniably overpowering.
“I was ready when the panther sat down 20 yards away and stared me down. Carlton says, “I concentrated on her eyes and grabbed the moment she offered me.”
“Energy was surging through my body. With my camera traps, I’ve taken some dramatic images, but staring into the eyes of this wild panther as she was looking straight back at me was a whole new level of emotional connection.”
We can’t get enough of these trail cam videos by @bobbywummerphotography! #Repost @bobbywummerphotography
・・・Ok turn up your volume. With panther 🐆 mating season in full swing here is a female panther talking…. https://t.co/EYula9pXXV pic.twitter.com/7ZqffLpwdJ— FL Wildlife Corridor (@FL_WildCorridor) July 8, 2019
The Florida panther is known as the last puma in the Eastern United States, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. This exceedingly fragile wild cat is a cougar subspecies that lives in pinelands and hardwood hammocks and is known as one of North America’s most secretive animals.
The animal was named Florida’s state animal in the early 1980s. After humans destroyed their natural habitats, just around 20 individuals survived in the wild. After years of conservation efforts, the Florida panther population grew to 230 individuals in 2017.
On the other hand, many wild cats are still on the edge of extinction. The most endangered ones are shown in the video below:
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