“Florida panthers are recovering from the brink of extinction, thanks to a genetic boost from a group of panthers from Texas.

These Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) are a subspecies of mountain lion (also known as the puma or cougar) that now occupy less than 5% of their original territory due to hunting and habitat loss.

In the 1990s, fewer than 30 Florida panthers remained, and inbreeding threatened their survival. So to bolster the population’s genetic diversity, scientists brought eight female panthers from Texas into Florida in 1995. Thirty years later, inbreeding has decreased, and the Florida panther population has risen to about 200. Importantly, despite the introduction of new genes, the genetic ancestry that makes Florida panthers their own subspecies hasn’t been wiped out, according to a study published July 28 in the journal PNAS.”

From Live Science.