2-year-old endangered Florida predator killed by vehicle in 13th death this year
A juvenile Florida panther was was dead from a vehicle strike on a rural road.
The death of the 2-year-old female panther marks the 13th this year for the endangered species, whose population only numbers a couple hundred, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The panther was found after a fatal vehicle strike on Keri Road west of Twin Mills Grade in Hendry County on Aug. 28, the Panther Pulse database shows.
Another panther was killed on the same road in May.
Vehicle strikes are the leading cause of death for Florida panthers, but juveniles are at even higher risk of getting hit, according to the FWC. Data shows panthers under the age of 3 make up roughly two-thirds of panther mortalities from vehicles.
The species has rebounded from historic lows in the 1990s, when inbreeding and health issues caused the population to drop to 20 to 30 panthers, according to the FWC. But the species faces a different set of issues now.
“Concurrent with increasing panther population numbers, the number of Florida panthers killed by collisions with vehicles has been on the increase since 2000,” FWC biologists said.
By the age of 2, most panthers have typically left their mothers to establish their own large home ranges, biologists say. Females typically stick to territory of about 60 to 75 square miles, while males have a home range of approximately 160 to 200 square miles, experts estimate.
In 2024, the state documented 36 Florida panther deaths, the most since 2016, McClatchy News previously reported. But 2025 is shaping up to be a much better year for the species in comparison. For reference, by around this time last year, 21 panthers had died, Panther Pulse records show.
Not far from where the 13th panther of this year was found dead, two panther kittens were spotted with their mother in Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed, McClatchy News reported in July.
This story was originally published September 2, 2025 at 1:51 PM with the headline "2-year-old endangered Florida predator killed by vehicle in 13th death this year."