A Florida panther kitten who weighed under three pounds when she was rescued in March now weighs more than 20.
The kitten, catalogued as K528 and nicknamed Peppercorn by the staff caring for her, was being monitored by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission panther biologists when they decided at about eight weeks old that she could not be left where she was.
They waited as long as they could
FWC staff checked on her daily and held off intervening in the hope her mother would come back. When it became clear the mother was not returning, they took the kitten and moved her to Naples Zoo on March 9, 2026. She was badly underweight and carrying a heavy parasite load.
“At 8 weeks old, panther kittens still fully rely on mom for their nutrition, and this little kitten had lost almost all body reserves upon arrival at the Glass Animal Hospital,” said Dr. Carson Rehn, a veterinary intern at Naples Zoo. “It can be a tough road to recovery for orphaned animals, but with an intensive re-feeding and treatment plan, this kitten has made huge strides over the past few months.”
What she loses by being rescued
Surviving does not mean going home. A panther kitten spends its first year learning to hunt from its mother, and this one will not get that.
“K528 will unfortunately never gain the invaluable survival skills that kittens learn from mom over their first year, which is why we are grateful for the care provided by Naples Zoo that will set K528 up for success as an ambassador for panther conservation,” said Dr. Peter Sebastian, the FWC panther team veterinarian.
She is the sixth Florida panther Naples Zoo has treated for the FWC. She stays behind the scenes and is not visible to guests, and will move later in the summer to another accredited facility to work as an ambassador animal.
“While she cannot return to the wild, this partnership has given her a second chance at life, and she will play an important role in inspiring people to care about Florida panther conservation for years to come,” said Naples Zoo president and CEO Jack Mulvena.
