COLLIER COUNTY, Fla — So far in 2022, there have been a total of 19 endangered Florida panther deaths, with two recently happening in the month of July out of Collier County.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported two female panthers were killed by a car hitting them on Immokalee Road within days of each other.
On Saturday, July 9, a 4-year-old female panther was hit by a car off of Immokalee Road, a little more than a mile south of Wild Turkey Drive. The other female panther, 8, was hit and killed Tuesday, July 12, also off of Immokalee Road near Bethune Avenue.
Seeing deaths back to back for the feline within a month isn't new — the FWC reported a total of six panther deaths just in the month of May, four of which were also by a car crash.
Back in January of this year, there were a whopping five back-to-back deaths caused by a car as well, FWC reports.
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.
Panthers are the larger of two native species of cats that are found across the Sunshine State. Bobcats live here too.
According to the National Wildlife Federation, the panthers are a subspecies of the mountain lion. The Florida panther is distinguished by black marks on the tips of its ears, around the snout and on its tail, the NWF says.
They are generally 6 to 7-feet-long. The NWF says panthers are carnivorous and hunt a wide variety of prey, eating anything from deer and hogs to raccoons and even birds.
Biologists gain valuable information by examining panther remains. The FWC asks that you please report injured or dead panthers to the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.
