Florida panther struck and killed by vehicle

FORT MYERS, Fla. – An endangered Florida panther has died after being struck by a vehicle.

It’s the fifth panther death attributed to fatal collisions, out of seven total deaths this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The remains of the panther were found last Wednesday in Hardee County on a rural road near Wauchula, 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.