It wasn’t so long ago when a lot of people thought the Florida panther was extinct. They were very nearly right. That the panther still exists at all is a miracle—the result of a desperate experiment that led to the most remarkable comeback in the history of the Endangered Species Act.

Award-winning journalist and author Craig Pittman will be in Sarasota on Wednesday, Feb. 12, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Gulf Gate Library, 7112 Curtiss Ave., to tell the whole story in his latest book, Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther. To read an excerpt of the book, go to Sarasota Magazine’s story, “Cat Fight.” The event, sponsored by Sarasota Magazine, is free and no registration is necessary. For more information, click here.