FWS Employees Check Alligator

Although it was established to protect the endangered Florida Panther, many plants and animals inhabit the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. Protecting the ecosystem that the Florida Panther calls home requires Service employees to understand how all the different elements of that ecosystem work together. Survival of the Florida Panther also requires protection of all the species that live in south Florida’s swamp ecosystem, including the alligator shown here.