NAPLES, Fla. - Officials say a Florida panther was found dead near a southwest Florida subdivision, raising the state's total count to 9.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports that the 2-year-old cat's body was found Thursday at the Lely Resort community in Collier County. The cause of death wasn't immediately known. The remains will be taken to a Gainesville facility for a necropsy.
A total of nine Florida panthers have been found dead in 2016, with seven road fatalities, including the death reported last week.
Florida panthers once roamed the entire southeastern U.S., but only around 180 remain in the wild.
