2 endangered Florida panthers struck and killed by vehicles
IMMOKALEE - Two endangered Florida panthers struck by vehicles in the same area have died.
They're the fifth and sixth panther deaths attributed to fatal collisions, out of six total deaths this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The remains of a 5-month-old female panther were found last Friday along a rural road in Collier County, and then a 3-year-old female panther was found dead on Monday, less than a mile away from the first, wildlife officials said. Officials won't know whether the cats are related until genetic analysis is performed.
Florida panthers once roamed the entire southeast, but now their habitat is mostly confined to a small region of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico.
Up to 230 Florida panthers remain in the wild.