A Garden & Gun Best Book of 2020 “Witty and passionate.” —Lauren Groff “Craig Pittman has a remarkable talent for telling stories set in the Sunshine State that never fail to fascinate and entertain.”—Gilbert King “The definitive book on one of America’s least understood apex predators. The story of how Florida’s panthers were saved from extinction is one that both deserves and needs to be told.” —Dane Huckelbridge The captivating tale of the Florida panther, its survival and rescue from extinction With novelistic detail and an eye for the absurd, Craig Pittman recounts the extraordinary story of the people who brought the panther back from the brink of extinction, the ones who nearly pushed the species over the edge, and the cats that were caught in the middle. This being Florida, there's more than a little weirdness, too. An engrossing narrative of wry humor, sharp writing and exhaustive reportage, Cat Tale shows what it takes to bring one species back and what unexpected costs such a decision brings.

Felina the Florida panther loved growing up in her forest home--until the forest started to shrink. Learn whether Felina and the other forest animals adapt to the new human presence and what children can do to keep wild animals safe, happy, and healthy. Includes "For Creative Minds" section

Explains why Florida panthers became an endangered species, and describes the efforts of scientists to bring them back from the brink of extinction.

Summarizes what little is known about the rare, endangered Florida panther and the ways that wildlife biologists study it in its natural environment.

For animal lovers and fans of The One and Only Ivan and Hoot, this is the uplifting story of a girl who discovers a family of panthers that were thought to be extinct, and her journey to save the species. Eleven-year-old Kiri has a secret: wild things call to her. More than anyone else, she’s always had a special connection to animals. But when Kiri has an encounter with the last known Florida panther, her life is quickly turned on end. Caught between her conservationist father, who wants to send the panther to a zoo, and the village poachers, who want to sell it to feed their families, Kiri must embark on a journey that will take her deep into the wilderness. There has to be some way to save the panther, and for her dad and the villagers to understand each other. If Kiri can’t figure out what it is, she’ll lose far more than the panthers—she’ll lose the only home she’s ever known, and the only family she has left. 2018 Green Earth Book Award Honor 2018 Colorado Book Award Winner CAL Book Award Winner Green Prize for Sustainable Literature Award Winner A Bank Street "Best Children's Book of the Year" A National Geographic Giant Traveling Map of Florida Selection "A powerful tale of a future to be avoided." —Kirkus Reviews "An eerie cautionary tale about the dangers of not protecting the environment, tackles an important theme in a compelling way...a fantastical tale with roots in real-world issues." —Booklist "Earnest, heartfelt, and passionate, this book will likely inspire new environmentalists." —Bulletin "A boldly original, profoundly wise, deeply moving book. It’s a rare gift to any reader, as well as to our planet.” —T. A. Barron, best-selling author of the Merlin Saga

"Whether the panther survives or perishes, Fergus has written a book that does it full justice. His narrative is lively and full of anecdotes, some of them eye-openers."--Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post "As good as, or better than, any book I've read in years about the awful and willful ignorance of homo sapiens about the living world."--Farley Mowat, author of Never Cry Wolf "Charles Fergus [is] a diligent reporter and straightforward writer. . . . You will enjoy [his] descriptions of forays into panther territory."--Kathleen Krog, Miami Herald The Florida panther is an endangered species, its way of life altered by the spread of suburban culture across the state. In Swamp Screamer, Charles Fergus tracks the fifty or so panthers that survive in Florida, vividly describing the people trying to save these remarkable creatures--including wildlife biologists trying to preserve panther habitat and radical animal lovers who regard the panther as a symbol of their crusade on behalf of nature. Swamp Screamer is a surprising and often comic look at the wildlife movement today; it is also an evocative history of the vanishing wilds of Florida and a deeply affecting portrait of the panthers themselves. Charles Fergus has written six books, including the novel Shadow Catcher; a collection of essays, The Wingless Crow; and a memoir, A Rough-Shooting Dog. He lives in a stone house that he built himself on a mountainside in central Pennsylvania.

The quiet manatee has long been a flash point of frequent environmental debates. It is Florida's most famous endangered species, as well as its most controversial. Manatees appear on hundreds of license plates, attract hordes of tourists, and expose the uneasy relationships between science and the law and between freedom and responsibility like no other animal.  As passions have flared and resentments have grown, the battle over manatee protection has evolved into a war, and no reporter has followed the story more closely than Craig Pittman, the first environmental writer to explore the complex history, culture, and science of the controversies and concerns surrounding this remarkable creature.  With an abiding interest in the uncertain fate of this unique species, Manatee Insanity provides the first in-depth history of the attempts to provide legal protection for the manatee. Pittman follows Florida’s gentle giants through time and space, detailing interactions with a variety of human actors, from Jacques-Yves Cousteau to Jeb Bush to Jimmy Buffett, from a popular children's book author to a federal lawman who dressed in a gorilla suit for the ultimate undercover assignment.

It has marked its territory...now it's time for the kill. On the edge of the North American wilderness, eight-year-old Imogen, guided by a vision she doesn't understand, leads the rescue searchers to the drowned body of her brother while his best friend, Connla, looks on. Nearly thirty years later, in the Scottish Highlands, the tragic mystery of her brother's death haunts her. Living alone, painting the heart-stopping beauty of the landscape around her, she fills the void with precious glimpses of wild creatures. Four thousand miles away, Connla sees newspaper reports of sightings of a rare animal, setting him off on a trail that ultimately leads to Imogen. But it is not until the truth about their childhood tragedy is revealed that their wounded hearts can heal. And not before another mysterious vision has called up the distant past and averted tragedy once more.

Words and pictures describe a night in the life of a female Florida panther and her three kittens.