Young Florida panther killed in rural Collier County
More bad news for the Florida panther: A young cat was found dead in rural Collier County on Friday.
The 4-year-old male had no collar. Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission suspect a vehicle hit and killed him.
His body was found on Oil Well Road, south of Ave Maria and the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, in an area considered prime panther habitat and facing increasing development pressure.
Panther death numbers are strangely off this year
Though collisions are usually the primary cause of Florida panther mortality, this year, far fewer have been killed that way: four to date.
The last dead panther listed on the agency’s Panther Pulse page, which tracks their deaths and predation on domestic animals, was killed February 26 on Josie Billie Highway in Hendry County. In comparison, 17 had died by the end of May last year, 16 in 2021 and 15 in 2020.
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Why are Florida panthers getting sick?
Researchers blame the steep decline in hit cats a mysterious neurological disease: feline leukomyelopathy, abbreviated FLM.
In video captured by trail cameras, cats with the disease look drunk, weaving, wobbling and stumbling, with hind legs sometimes giving out. Post-mortem exams have shown that the sick cats have damaged myelin, an insulating sheath that protects nerve cells. As occurs in some human neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, FLM causes the myelin to break down, garbling the signals between brain and body.
Though scientists still haven’t found clear cause for the vehicle death decline, ” I think we can probably include FLM among the culprits,” FWC panther biologist Mar Lotz told The News-Press in an email earlier this month.
Most cases have turned up in Southwest Florida, but bobcats as far away as the Jacksonville area have gotten FLM.
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Though bobcats are abundant in Florida, panthers have long been in deep trouble. As recently as the 1990s, there were likely only a few dozen cats left in the state, but the population had begun regaining ground. There are likely between 120 and 230 in South Florida today, according to the FWC.
How to help
The FWC encourages motorists to slow down and observe all posted speed limits, especially in panther zones, which are in place in several counties across South Florida in areas where panthers are known to cross. These panther speed zones help ensure the species’ survival ]and protect motorists from personal injury.
Report injured or dead panthers to the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.
Florida residents can support panther conservation efforts by purchasing a “Protect the Panther” license plate. Fees from license plate sales are the primary funding source for the FWC’s research and management of Florida panthers. You can purchase a plate on the Florida Specialty License Plate website.
