16th Florida panther death of 2024, struck by vehicle in Collier County

Writer: Carolina Guzman
Published: Updated:
Florida panther
CREDIT: FWC

A 2-year-old Florida Panther is the sixteenth to die this year in South Florida, and once again occurred as a result of a vehicle strike in Collier County.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Panther Pulse, a vehicle hit and killed the male cat on Friday.

The car hit the endangered animal northeast of the intersection of Lost Lane and Corkscrew Road.

This is the second of these endangered felines to be killed on Corkscrew Road in a row this year.

Last month, the first recorded death of the endangered animal in Lee County happened on the same road.

However, the cause of that creature’s death remains unknown.

panther
Florida panther. CREDIT: NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION

FWC reports vehicle strikes are the most common cause of death for Florida panthers.

Twelve of the 16 panthers found dead in 2024 were due to vehicles; one was struck by a train, and three died from unknown causes.

For 2024, all but one panther death in Broward County happened in Southwest Florida.

Wildlife officials found 13 dead panthers in 2023. However, 17 had been found by June 17, 2022. By June 17, 2021, 18 had been found. By June 17, 2020, 15 dead panthers were found.



The number of deaths of the State animal of Florida reported in 2023 was shockingly low, and the reason for this was unclear, but some had feared it was a bad sign.

The numbers seem to trend back to the average number of deaths reported in a year. In 2022 and 2021, 27 dead panthers were reported, while 22 were reported in 2020.

Driving the posted speed limits, especially in Panther Crossing zones, can help keep Florida’s state animals safe. Click here to learn more about Panther Crossing zones. 

FWC believes approximately 120-230 adult Florida panthers are left in the population.

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