IMMOKALEE, FL (AP) — Two endangered Florida panthers have been struck and killed by vehicles, officials said.
A 4-year-old male panther’s remains were found Sunday in northern Collier County, and a 3-year-old male panther was found dead the same day in northern Hendry County, wildlife officials said.
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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) says panthers can live up to 20 years or more in the wild. The FWC says there have been 12 panther deaths this year that they know of, and all were caused by vehicle collisions.
The panther is Florida’s official state animal and according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has been listed as a federally endangered species since 1967.
Florida panthers once roamed the entire Southeast, but their habitat is now mostly confined to a small region of south Florida mostly along the Gulf of Mexico. Officials believe about 230 Florida panthers remain in the wild.