Poor Genetic Health Threatens Many Species—but It's Fixable

Poor genetic health threatens many species—but it's fixable

By the early 1990s, there were only around 20 Florida panthers left on the planet.

Poor genetic health threatens many species – but it’s fixable

Stuart Westmorland/GettyBy the early 1990s, there were only around 20 Florida Panthers left on the planet. A distinct and isolated population of the widespread Puma (Puma concolor), the Florida Panther was pushed to the edge of extinction by a range of threats. One major issue was their poor genetic health, a measure of how diverse an individual or population’s genes are and how related everyone is. In 1995, researchers performed a daring “genet…