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© FILE by Andrew West/The News-Press, FILE by Andrew West/The News-Pre A rehabilitated panther sprints through a field after being released by state biologists.
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Two Florida panthers were found dead in Southwest Florida this week.
One was a 4-year-old female struck and killed by a vehicle Friday in Collier County and the other was a 10-year-old male, also on Friday, on the Immokalee Ranch in Hendry County whose cause of death is unknown.
This makes the 28th and 29th overall documented deaths of 2016, and the 22nd road kill, according to records from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Florida panthers are considered by biologists to be one of the most endangered mammals on the planet, and the estimated number found in Florida is 100 to 180.
This big cat has rebounded from a population that was likely as small as 25 several decades ago. A batch of female Texas cougars was introduced here about 20 years ago, and the fresh genetics have helped the cat largely recover south of Lake Okeechobee.