Once Upon A Time, In Everglades National Park...

There lived a mother Florida panther and her two cubs. The mom was named Trisha, the brown cub was Al, and the red cub was Ed. Though more commonly found in upland forests, the three panthers lived in the wetlands.

In our park, there are plenty of fish and raccoons to keep us fed. We normally eat deer and hogs, but those animals can be hard to find in the wetlands!

One day, the panther cubs were hungry and asked their mom what there was to eat.

What about plants?

Trisha thought about that for a moment.

"We can't eat the plants, Ed, because we are carnivores. To be a carnivore means we are limited to eating meat, which means we have to work hard to catch prey!"

"But Mom." Al asked. "What about the other panthers? Why don't we see them catching any prey?"

"Well, you have to understand that panthers don't normally get along well with each other. Most of the time, we fly solo. One of the only exceptions being when a mother is with her cubs, like I am now. Getting together would just mean fighting, which would take down our population numbers."

Trisha looked over at the forest.

"Plus, more panthers in the area means less food to go around."

"But we could still see panthers!" Ed protested. Trisha shook her head.

"Sadly, due to genetic problems, inbreeding, human pollution, and things like a lack of habitat, there are not as many panthers as there should be."

"That's sad." Al pouted. "I wanted to meet a friend."

One day, Ed and Al decide to go exploring. They came across a strange path that cut right through the trees. What could it be?

Here the two cubs met a rabbit. "What is this thing?" They asked.

"It's a road." The bunny replied. "Panthers like you are an umbrella species. Because you need room to roam, the humans don't build around here."

"Umbrella?"

"Panthers indirectly help our ecosystem, so humans try extra hard to help you out by giving you more space. This allows for the rest of us to live in harmony. Plants are food to birds, insects, and oysters. These creatures feed the rats, fish, manatee, which in turn feed raccoons, crocodiles, and birds. Without a balance, none of us would survive!"

Unknown to the panther family, their lives would soon change...

Elsewhere in the park, mercury from factory fumes and wastes were leaking into the water and air. One by one, fish became contaminated. Next came the raccoons...

A few weeks later, the panthers weren't feeling very well. All around, they had noticed fewer and fewer animals. The forest grew quiet, and the panthers became worried. The concern grew when they saw birds running into trees and mice disappearing.

"Moma, what's doing this?" The two cubs asked.

"What do we have in common?"

Birds had excessive mercury in their feathers, fish were dying from mercury poisoning, and raccoons were just as toxic if not more.

"Mercury." Trisha breathed. "My old nemesis. I should have known you would return."

"Moma?" The cubs asked, scared. "What are you talking about?"