Officials: Florida panthers struck and killed by vehicles
IMMOKALEE, Fla. - Two endangered Florida panthers have died after being struck by vehicles in separate incidents.
They’re the sixth and seventh panther deaths attributed to fatal collisions, out of eight total deaths this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The remains of an adult male were collected Wednesday on a rural road east of Immokalee in Collier County. That same day, the remains of an adult female were collected on another rural road to the southeast of Immokalee.
Florida panthers once roamed the entire Southeast, but now their habitat mostly is confined to a small region of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. Up to 230 Florida panthers remain in the wild.