Panthers

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is reporting the death of another Florida panther.

Conservation groups sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wednesday to protect endangered Florida panthers from a new development within the panthers’ occupied breeding habitat in Collier County. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, said the federal agencies violated the Endangered Species Act when they authorized a 10,264-acre residential and commercial development project known as Rural Lands West in important habitat for panthers in Collier County.

The rehabilitation of a young Florida panther injured in a vehicle collision is being recognized as a powerful example of statewide collaboration among wildlife and veterinary partners working together to protect one of Florida’s most iconic endangered animals. ZooTampa at Lowry Park played a key role in the panther’s survival and has now provided him a permanent home as a conservation ambassador. The panther, named "Loper," will remain at the zoo permanently and serve an important purpose in helping guests understand the threats facing Florida panthers and the need to protect the habitat they depend on.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is reporting the death of another panther in Southwest Florida. The remains of an eight-month-old female Florida panther were collected Saturday north of Naples Heritage Golf & Country Club on Collier Boulevard.

The Florida Wildlife Commission has reported the first Florida panther death of 2026, a one-and-a-half to two-year-old female found at a Collier County location.

The seventeenth Florida panther death was reported Friday by the Florida Wildlife Commission. It was the sixteenth big cat death by vehicle impact in 2025.

The Florida Fish Wildlife Conservation Commission is adding to the 2025 panther mortality list with the news that another of the big cats has been killed.The remains of an 11-year-old, female Florida panther (K408) were collected August 29, 2025, next to Jane’s Scenic Memorial Drive in Copeland, Collier County. The suspected cause of death was a vehicle collision.

Environmental groups Friday gave formal notice that they could sue federal and state agencies over alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act at an immigrant-detention center in the Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”The notice was in addition to a lawsuit filed June 27 that alleges violations of the National Environmental Policy Act, a federal law that requires evaluating potential environmental impacts before such a project can move forward.

As 2024 comes to an end, some journalists are having difficulty keeping the official panther death count from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission accurate. Why is unclear.

A new Protect the Panther license plate is now available to Florida motorists. The new design features a striking photograph taken by Carlton Ward in 2018 of the first female panther documented north of the Caloosahatchee River since 1973, along with her kitten.