LABELLE, Fla. (AP) - Officials say a Florida panther has been found dead from an apparent vehicle strike in southwest Florida.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports that the 2-year-old female cat's body was found Saturday on State Road 82, about 1.7 miles west of Corkscrew Road, near the Hendry/Collier county line. The remains will be taken to a Gainesville facility for a necropsy.
A total of six Florida panthers have been found dead in 2017, with four road fatalities.
Florida panthers once roamed the entire southeastern U.S., but only around 230 remain in the wild.
Report injured or dead panthers to the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).
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