Four endangered Florida panthers are killed by vehicle impacts in one week, according to the wildlife agency.

It was a young male panther, no more than three years old, at first. On November 6, a car in Hendry County struck and killed him.

Then, it was a girl, not older than five. In Glades County, she was struck and died one day later.

Sunday then arrived.

On County Road 833 in Hendry County, a 3-year-old boy was once more struck by a car and later passed away from his injuries. In nearby Collier County, a 4-year-old boy passed away later that day. Murdered by a car as well.

In all, four critically endangered Florida panthers have perished in the last week, making it one of the deadliest weeks since September 2021, the day three panthers were struck and killed.

Based on Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission mortality data, one-third of this year’s total panther deaths happened in a single week.

Thus far this year, twelve panthers have lost their lives due to collisions with vehicles. This is in contrast to 27 panther deaths in 2020 (77% dead from vehicles) and 27 previous years (92% dead from vehicle collisions).

According to Fish and Wildlife Research Institute panther research scientist Dave Onorato, “Any road mortality is something that we don’t like to see for panthers. It goes without saying that losing any animal when it belongs to an endangered species hinders the process of recovery.”

Since he was the one who picked up both of the dead panthers on Sunday, Onorato would know. He claimed to have been in bed when he got the first phone at two in the morning. After bringing that panther home and sending it to a lab in Naples, he slept for a couple of hours until he received another phone about 8:30 p.m. regarding a dead panther from Collier County.

In an interview, Onorato stated to the Tampa Bay Times, “It’s been busy.”

According to Onorato, it’s challenging to determine a specific reason why a spike in road deaths can happen consecutively without doing a more thorough, extended scientific investigation. However, one idea suggests that during the winter months, there are more people on the roads. According to Onorato, this is the situation with the busy Immokalee Road, where the year’s 12th panther was struck and killed on Sunday.

The Florida Wildlife Agency states that car crashes are the main way that Florida panthers pass away.

Onorato advised, “Slow down your speed, especially at night and in panther range. Everyone is in a rush. You could possibly avoid running into a panther, and you won’t lose that much time traveling to your destination.”

There are an estimated 120 to 230 adult panthers remaining, according to the government. The majority of panthers–nearly 98%–live south of the Caloosahatchee River, while they have historically been discovered as far north as Georgia. For the first time in many years, Florida wildlife researchers confirmed in 2017 that they had discovered Florida panther kittens north of the Caloosahatchee.

Despite better conservation tactics, there is still a growing loss of suitable habitat for panthers in Florida due to the state’s growing human population. The Florida panther was originally found throughout the Southeast, but according to a 2015 review by experts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it is currently limited to fewer than 5% of its historic habitat.

Since 1967, the Florida panther has been included on the federal list of endangered species. In 1982, students cast ballots to designate the Florida panther as the state animal.

A automobile hit a 2-year-old male panther in Hillsborough County in December, and the driver reported the incident to the authorities. The panther’s death occurred.

According to Onorato, the animal lived on the side of the road for almost fifteen minutes before passing away from internal injuries sustained in the crash. Since 2003, this was the first time a panther had died in Hillsborough County.

The group Defenders of Wildlife notes on its website that although panthers are one of the most endangered species in the nation, they are nonetheless acknowledged as Florida’s official state animal.

“As an umbrella species, panthers safeguard a wide range of other plants and animals that call their vast, pristine, wild habitat home, which is 200 square miles on average for a single male,” the foundation stated.

The article can originally be found on the Tampa Bay Times.

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