Two endangered Florida panthers died in separate vehicle collisions just one day apart, bringing the total number of panther deaths for 2025 to 14. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reported that an 11-year-old female was found dead outside Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park in Collier County on August 29. Vehicle strikes are suspected in all but one of this year’s documented panther fatalities.
The day before, a 2-year-old female panther was killed by a vehicle in Hendry County, according to McClatchy News.
Records from the Panther Pulse database indicate that biologists have monitored the older panther, known as K408, since her birth in 2014. At about three and a half weeks old, K408 was surveyed with two littermates at an undisclosed location. There are no death records for her siblings, suggesting they may still be alive.
“Panthers can live up to 20 years or more in the wild,” according to FWC biologists. “Female kittens have a good chance of living 10 years or more. Males have a tougher time, but if they survive to five or six years old, they are likely to live even longer to 10 or more years.”
FWC data shows that about 70% of vehicle-killed panthers are under three years old. Young panthers typically leave their mothers by age two and begin establishing their own territories, which increases their risk of encountering roads and developed areas.
“As the state grows, suitable habitat for panthers and other wildlife shrinks,” according to the FWC. “Florida panthers normally live in remote, undeveloped areas. But as both the number of panthers and the number of people living and recreating in Florida grows, so does the chance of an encounter with a panther.”
K408’s fatal collision occurred on Janes Memorial Scenic Drive near Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park—a large protected area in southwest Florida—and outside the park boundary near Copeland, as reported by a park employee.
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve is recognized as Florida’s largest state park.
