1-year-old Florida panther struck, killed by vehicle

An endangered Florida panther has died after being struck by a vehicle.

It’s the third panther death attributed to fatal collisions, out of three total deaths this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The remains of the 1-year-old male panther were found Sunday along a rural road in the Big Cypress Reservation in Hendry County, wildlife officials said.

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.

READ: 2-year-old Florida panther struck, killed by car is first reported death of 2023

In 2022, a total of 27 Florida panthers were reported killed, with 25 of those being from vehicle strikes. One of those was a 2-year-old that was struck by a car in rural Hillsborough County. It's been at least eight years since one was found dead in that county, where panther sightings are rare.

In the 1970s, only about 20 Florida panthers remained in the wild, but now experts believe there are around 200. They believe the panther killed in Hillsborough County may be evidence the big cats are reproducing and reclaiming parts of the state they occupied decades ago.

The Associated Press contributed to this report