FP-194 (K-304) was born in May 2010 the son of FP-102. He and is brother K-303 were handled at their den on June 6, 2010. Their mother FP-102 was killed by Intraspecific Aggression on October 25, 2010. K-304 was captured at the site 5 days later. He was taken into captivity and raised at the White Oak Conservation Center until he was 18 months old.
He was released back into his mother’s home range on November 29, 2011.
Because he was fitted with a GlobalStar satellite tracking collar, his daily movements were known.
We documented that he killed and consumed adult deer and had traveled a straight-line distance of 24 km from his release site in the 6 weeks he was in the wild. On December 23, 2011 he was with collared adult female, FP-192. He was 1 km from that location on Dec. 27 and 30, 2011. On January 3, 2012 he was located 1.2 km from the December 30, 2011 location. On January 6, 2012 he was 3.8 km from the January 3, 2012 location. These movements indicate that he had not been severely injured by a territorial male at the time he was with the FP-192. He remained, however, at the January 6 location. On January 12, 2012 Big Cypress staff found him alive but in very poor condition with signs of Intraspecific Aggression. He was removed from the field, treated in Naples, and transported to Gainesville where he died of bacterial infection and severe inflammation of the lungs, results of his lacerations and puncture wounds.
