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Nation IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Genetic Trail May Put Panthers at Risk

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From Times Staff and Wire Reports

A new genetic study shows most of the 30 to 50 endangered panthers in the Everglades are not purebred Florida panthers at all, but hybrids that may not be entitled to protection under the Endangered Species Act. Scientists compared the panthers’ cells and found two distinct families. One was apparently descended from South American pumas set free in the 1950s.

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