Two endangered Florida predators hit and killed by vehicles one day apart

Two rare Florida panthers were found dead from vehicle collisions a day apart, marking 14 deaths for the species this year.

An 11-year-old female found dead outside Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park in Collier County on Aug. 29 is the latest death from a vehicle strike, which is the suspected cause of death for all but one of the panther fatalities documented this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

A day earlier, a 2-year-old female Florida panther was killed in Hendry County, McClatchy News reported.

Biologists have been following the 11-year-old panther, known as K408, since she was born in 2014, records from the Panther Pulse database show.

K408 was about 3 1/2 weeks old when biologists surveyed her, along with a brother and sister, in an undisclosed location.

Neither of K408’s two littermates have shown up in Panther Pulse death records, suggesting they may still be alive.

“Panthers can live up to 20 years or more in the wild,” according to FWC biologists. “Female kittens have a good chance of living 10 years or more. Males have a tougher time, but if they survive to five or six years old, they are likely to live even longer to 10 or more years.”

Roughly 70% of panthers killed by vehicles are under 3 years old, according to FWC data.

Panthers typically leave their mothers by age 2 and begin to establish their own home ranges, which can bring them into contact with roads and other development, biologists say.

“As the state grows, suitable habitat for panthers and other wildlife shrinks,” according to the FWC. “Florida panthers normally live in remote, undeveloped areas. But as both the number of panthers and the number of people living and recreating in Florida grows, so does the chance of an encounter with a panther.”

K408 was hit and killed on Janes Memorial Scenic Drive, a narrow, tree-lined road that runs through Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park.

A park employee told McClatchy News the collision happened outside the state park in Copeland.

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve, located in the southwest area of the state, is Florida’s largest state park.

This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Two endangered Florida predators hit and killed by vehicles one day apart."