LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - Officials say a two Florida panthers were found dead in separate incidents in southwest Florida earlier this month.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports that a 2-year-old male cat's body was found dead from an apparent vehicle strike on State Route 29 in Collier County on May 3, and an 11-year-old female was found dead from a fight with another panther in Big Cypress National Preserve on May 6.
The remains will be taken to a Gainesville facility for a necropsy.
A total of 23 Florida panthers have been found dead in 2016, with 18 road fatalities.
Florida panthers once roamed the entire southeastern U.S., but only around 180 remain in the wild.
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