COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — There is very sad news to report about the endangered Florida panther.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission reports that two panther cubs were hit and killed by a car near Naples on Monday.
The FWC said the panthers that were killed were female cubs believed to be just three and a half months old, and were found not far from each other on Davis Boulevard.
That is just west of the Picayune Strand State Forest, which is home to many Florida Panthers.
They were the 11th and 12th panthers found dead in Florida 2025.
Over the last decade the federal government has teamed with the state to install crossings under I-75 in Collier County. Wildlife experts have said that little cubs learn from their mothers at a very early age that the crossings under busy crossings like I-75 are safe.
Sometimes the animals stray off the routine and deadly accidents happen.
Florida panthers are protected as an endangered animal under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
According to FWC, there are only 120-230 adult panthers in the entire southeastern United States.
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