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ELLENTON (WSNN) – Some Manatee County residents are taking a stand against new development, which they believe could put Florida panthers at risk. 

A group of Ellenton residents hopes to ‘Save the Panthers.’

“They’re looking for a place to be, but they’re going to get killed if their habitat is destroyed,” Protest leader, Katherine Nelson, said. “They’re not going to survive.”

Pulte Group plans to develop about 70 homes in a wildlife growth area of about 19 acres in East Manatee County at 60th Ave East and 29th Street East

“I understand that people need a place to live, but we also can coexist with the animals,” Nelson said. “That’s the only motive I to save this area for this wildlife that’s there.”

Nelson is concerned because she says there have been sightings in her neighborhood.

“As I go around the neighborhood getting petitions signed, a number of people say, ‘Oh yea, I see a panther,'” Nelson said. “And they actually attested to it and wrote it down.’”

About 125 have signed it.

“All of us know the difference between a bobcat and a panther,” Protester Victoria Shaffer said. “We bobcats a lot. They’re out in the day, you’ll see them with a squirrel walking.”

And there are no pictures because of how difficult it is to capture them.

“Carlton Ward, who is world-famous for taking photos, waited 5 years to get the iconic photo of this elusive Florida panther,” Nelson said. 

The development plan is not set to be approved until June 3rd.

“And I have seen, they have cleared out an area inside with trucks that are already there,” Shaffer said. “My understanding is they haven’t even purchased the property yet.”

“This is one of the way stations on the critical panther path,” Nelson said.

Panthers are an Endangered Species; it’s illegal to harm or harass them in any way.  There are about 120-230 adult panthers in the population.

“I’d like people to take a stand, rather than sit by and say that development is natural,” Shaffer said. “The real natural part is the habitat.”

Some residents are protesting tonight at 60th Ave East and 29th Street East in Ellenton. When SNN reached out to the developers, we never heard back from them.