Path of the Panther

Path of the Panther is now streaming on @disneyplus ! Watch the award-winning film @PathofthePanther - a thrilling tale of the endangered Florida panther, the last big cat surviving in the eastern United States, and the fight to save its Everglades home. Please help us share Path of the Panther’s story and its message for protecting wildlife corridors in Florida and throughout the world. From executive producers @LeonardoDiCaprio , Jennifer Davisson, Howard G. Buffett, Ted Haddock, Janet Vissering, and Sigrid Tiedtke. A FILM BY: @wildpath @grizzlycreekfilms DIRECTED BY: @bendicci PRODUCED BY: @carltonward @thomaswinston_gcf @torilinder @bendicci #PathofthePanther #FloridaPanthers #KeepFLWild #FloridaWildlifeCorridor #Wildlife #CameraTrap #ProtectWildPlaces #WildFlorida

It’s Save the Florida Panther Day! This is one of our favorite moments from the Path of the Panther film. Back in 2017, @carltonward documented the first female north of the Caloosahatchee River since 1973 with his camera trap. To watch Path of the Panther, stream now on Disney+ and Hulu. Visit our take action button through our link in bio for ways to help Florida panthers.

Blood, sweat, and tears—in service of a connected future. We are honored to see Carlton Ward Jr. receive the Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling from the National Geographic Society @insidenatgeo . This recognition reflects years of dedication to documenting the Florida Wildlife Corridor and inspiring its protection through the power of storytelling. At Wildpath, we believe storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have to help people see what’s at stake—and what’s still possible. The mission continues.

This National Florida Day, we are celebrating through a carousel of photos from our @PathofthePanther Project. The photos were taken with camera trap systems, which take a photo using a sensor that triggers when wildlife passes through. This carousel of photos features a Florida panther, deer, Florida black bear, and bobcat. Comment below your favorite part of wild Florida 🐾 🌿 Photos by @carltonward #KeepFLWild #NationalFloridaDay #WildFlorida

Rescheduled due to weather for October 24th at 7pm - Path of the Panther is screening outdoors at Flora of Miami on October 24 at 7pm. See our link in bio for free tickets! About the Film: Drawn in by the haunting specter of the Florida panther, a wildlife photographer, veterinarians, ranchers, conservationists, and indigenous people find themselves on the front lines of an accelerating battle between forces of renewal and destruction that have pushed the Everglades to the brink of ecological collapse. In a struggle resonating across the globe, the panther’s habitat has become an island. Its lush territory transformed into subdivisions. A paradise vanishing into thin air. Perched on the edge of extinction, the panther is an emblem of our once connected world. A vision of what could be again. Or else, a harbinger, of what could befall our planet, if the ‘Path of the Panther’ becomes a dead end. For more information reach out at [email protected] Photo by @carltonward

I first met Walter in 2018 at ZooTampa. He was recovering from surgery after being rescued from a snare that had maimed his left paw. Like other panthers rescued by zoos around Florida, mostly from losing mothers to vehicle strikes, Walter could not be returned to the wild. For 8 years, Walter served as an ambassador for his species. Signs by his habitat informed thousands of visitors about the importance of protecting the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Last week, I was saddened to learn that Walter had died. He is survived by Lucy and Micanopy at Zoo Tampa, and by nearly 200 or their extended family surviving in the wild. I share this post about Walter representing Florida panthers on Endangered Species Day. I dedicated seven years to photographing and filming panthers because they are an emblem for why we must act now to protect the Florida Wildlife Corridor. The breeding population of panthers is still isolated to southern Florida. Because each panther needs up to 200 mi² of undeveloped land for its home range, the only way for the panther population to grow (it needs to triple in size to be genetically sustainable) is to protect more land in the Florida Wildlife Corridor, so panthers have a path to reclaim historic territory throughout the Florida and beyond. Wild panthers are extremely elusive. In all of my time pursuing panthers, I have only ever photographed two in the wild holding a camera in my hands (a mother and kitten). Most of the images of wild panthers in my book and film Path of the Panther film were captured using camera traps Please take the rare opportunity to see a Florida panther by visiting ZooTampa, Naples Zoo, Zoo Miami, Palm Beach Zoo, Homosassa Springs State Park or White Oak Conservation. These organizations are all caring for rescued panthers and doing much more behind the scenes to care for the species. I serve as a trustee of Zoo Tampa and am proud of the conservation work done there.

A new exhibition at Florida International University's Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, Path of the Panther, celebrates the Florida panther as a symbol of resilience, hope, and a call to action for the preservation of Florida’s natural heritage. Explore the striking work of National Geographic explorer and conservation photographer Carlton Ward Jr. Path of the Panther is now on view through August 24, 2025. For more information on the exhibition, please visit The Frost Art Museum’s website (link in bio). Courtesy Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum. Photography by Michael R Lopez #pathofthepanther

March 15 was Florida Panther Day. I photographed this cub back in 2017 with scientists studying a panther den in a stretch of the Florida Wildlife Corridor near Immokalee. For the Florida panther to recover as a species and continue inspiring us to save wild Florida, more panthers need to be born than are killed each year (primarily on highways). And most importantly, more panthers need to be born north of the Caloosahatchee River to give the species a chance to reclaim historic throughout the state. It is vital to keep protecting more of Florida from development and supporting the people who are working every day to give Florida’s and wild places their best chances. If you haven’t seen the Path of the Panther film, please check it out. Learn more at pathofthepanther.com.

"The past year was deadly for endangered Florida panthers. Why aren’t there more wildlife crossings?" Check out the new article by Bill Kearney in the South Florida Sun Sentinel (link in bio). Photo by @carltonward

This Giving Tuesday, donate to support our work to protect the Path of the Panther. Visit wildpath.com/donate (link in bio). Your donation helps us share the story of Florida panthers and the land they need to survive, the Florida Wildlife Corridor.  We have had an incredible year of impact for the Path of the Panther Project, with many moments including the Path of the Panther film winning an Emmy in Outstanding Nature Documentary! Through your continued support, our team strives to bring the panther's story across many communities. Donate today to help us inspire policies needed to protect wildlife and the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Photo by @carltonward #pathofthepanther #givingtuesday

As Thanksgiving draws near, we’re flashing back to September, when Path of the Panther won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Nature Documentary! Catch a glimpse of the moment when the award was announced at the 45th News and Documentary Emmy Awards in New York City. Immense gratitude for this team including National Geographic, Disney+, our producers, production and post-production teams, and all those who walked this path alongside us. We are grateful to share this story across the globe. Most of all, we want to thank you, our community, for the many stories of inspiration, hope, and connection you’ve shared during this journey. Our work continues. The mission to protect wild Florida and beyond is still underway. Thanks for your support.   Watch @PathofthePanther , now streaming on @DisneyPlus and @Hulu .   Film by director Eric Bendick (@bendicci ), @grizzlycreekfilms , @wildpath , Appian Way, and Common Pictures. Produced by: @Carltonward @thomaswinston_gcf @torilinder @bendicci   Executive Producers: @leonardodicaprio Jennifer Davisson Phillip Watson Howard G. Buffett Ted Haddock Janet Vissering and Sigrid Tiedtke.   Video by National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences #PathofthePanther #FloridaPanthers #KeepFLWild #FloridaWildlifeCorridor

Tree islands once provided substantial habitat for terrestrial wildlife like panthers, as well as dwellings and ceremonial grounds for the Miccosukee people. But since the construction of the Tamiami Trail across the Everglades in the 1940’s stopped the natural flow of water; the area of tree islands has been reduced by 70 percent. Environmentalist and Miccosukee airboat captain, Betty Osceola, has dedicated her life to Everglades restoration for her people and the animals that rely on this landscape. Watch @PathofthePanther , now streaming on @DisneyPlus and @Hulu .   A film by: @grizzlycreekfilms  @wildpath  Appian Way Common Pictures, Directed by: @bendicci  Produced by: @carltonward  @thomaswinston_gcf  @torilinder  @bendicci #keepflwild #floridawildlifecorridor #pathofthepanther  #indigenouspeoplesday