Florida Panthers – No not the hockey team, Florida Panthers are a critically endangered extant sub-species of Cougars that still inhabit South Florida. With approximately 200 left in the wild they represent a conservation success story that has seen their population rise from around three dozen in the early 1970s. Florida Panthers are also the only confirmed population of Cougars in the Eastern United States although increased sightings in several states including the confirmed sighting of a mother with two cubs in Michigan in 2025 indicate Cougars may be returning to the Eastern United States in a manner that is sustainable.

While Florida Panther sightings at Disney World have been reported occasionally on social media, these encounters are unconfirmed. However, this does not mean you cannot see them on Disney property. This is because there have been occasional sightings at the Disney Wilderness Preserve, Disney’s 11,500-acre nature preserve approximately 20 miles south of Disney World. Located at the headwaters of the Everglades Watershed, the Disney Wilderness Preserve is probably as far north as a Florida Panther is likely to roam from its traditional range further south of Lake Okeechobee.

If you are visiting the Disney Nature Preserve and you are fortunate enough to see a one of these magnificent cats, keep your distance and admire it from afar and consider yourself truly lucky. To learn more about Florida Panthers, you can watch the 2022 National Geographic film Path of the Panther on Disney+.