Captain Save-A-Panther

State legislators want Obama to step up to the plate for the Florida panther

Here's a sneak look at the presidential to do list:

Solve the world economic crisis. Check.

End the war in Afghanistan. Check.

Save the Florida panther? Well, we're still waiting on that one.

Several prominent state legislators recently wrote President Barack Obama a heartfelt letter asking him to come to the rescue of the 100 panthers still terrorizing forest mammals in the wild.

The group, led by Democrat Rep. Alcee Hastings, wants Obama to designate parts of Florida "critical habitat," which would make it difficult for developers to snap up land for shopping malls that would otherwise be the panther's hunting grounds.

The federal help has become a more pressing need since state wildlife agencies announced they might have to sacrifice some of the programs monitoring the progress of the big cats because of budget constraints.

Obama has yet to respond to the letter, sent earlier this week. That probably had to do with some Europe vacation he was taking with his wife called the G-20 Summit.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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