CLEWISTON, Fla. (AP) — Two endangered Florida panthers have been struck and killed by vehicles.
They’re the 10th and 11th fatal collisions this year, out of 11 total panther deaths.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the remains of a 5-year-old female were collected from Collier County road between Alligator Alley and Everglades City, and a 3-year-old female was found dead in the same county near Dinner Island Ranch Wildlife Management Area.
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.