SARASOTA COUNTY - While the Florida Panther is our state animal, seeing one of these cats is unusual.  A Florida Panther is elusive, and most stay in Southwest Florida in the protected state and federal lands.  But a rare sighting has county officials growling with excitement.

Her job puts her up close to all the different wildlife on the reserve.  "We get whitetail deer, lots of feral hogs, wild turkey, bobcats...coyotes are becoming more and more prevalent."

But while these animals might be a common occurrence out there, there has been one animal that makes everyone pounce.  "Only once before do we have a documented sighting of a Florida Panther."

A few weeks ago, an employee was driving down a trail when something on the side of the road caught her eye.  "She couldn't find any signs of tracks, but she was pretty positive it was a panther by the look...long tail, long tawny body, no spots."

But after the rare sighting, workers are paying extra-close attention to every movement in the bushes.  "If he stays, I'm thinking we're probably doing some right...some good things with land management as far as our prescribed burning, improving wildlife habitat and in general just trying to manage the ecosystem as a whole," says Blanco.