Officials: Florida panther struck and killed by vehicle

FORT MYERS, Fla. – An endangered Florida panther has died after being struck by a vehicle.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says it’s the third panther death attributed to fatal collisions, out of four total deaths this year.

Wildlife officials say the remains of the 2-year-old male panther were found Thursday in Lee County on a rural road near Wild Turkey Strand Preserve.

Florida panthers once roamed the entire Southeast, but now their habitat mostly is confined to a small region of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico.

Up to 230 Florida panthers remain in the wild.