Collier County, FL

An 8 to 10-week-old female Florida panther was killed by a vehicle on State Route 29 at Owl Hammock curve just south of Immokalee in Collier County, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The news comes only months after Governor DeSantis signed a bill authorizing the construction of three new toll highways, one of which would stretch through some of the endangered panther’s last remaining habitats in Collier County. This latest panther death brings the yearly total up to 24. Three other panthers were found dead last week—two of them due to vehicle collisions—in nearby Hendry County and in Martin County. 

Elizabeth Fleming, Senior Florida Representative at Defenders of Wildlife, issued the following statement: 

“This is the sad—but unsurprising—result of building roads through the heart of panther country. Now, given that Governor DeSantis recently approved a new toll highway through a major panther habitat, these mortalities will only increase. The state must adopt new, risk-mitigating strategies to prevent panther-vehicle collisions to ensure that the panther can continue to expand its range and escape extinction.”  

Background

  • Tracks near the side of the road indicate that the deceased panther was travelling with her family when she was run down.
  • Only 120 to 230 adult and subadult panthers remain in south Florida.
  • Eight panthers have been killed around the Owl Hammock curve since 2004. 
  • Due to the number of deaths, the Florida Department of Transportation has previously identified the Owl Hammock curve as needing a wildlife crossing. 
  • Landowners in eastern Collier County have developed a landscape-level habitat conservation plan that could generate funding that could be used to design and construct wildlife crossings in areas where panthers are getting killed when crossing roads, such as this dangerous area at Owl Hammock. 
  • Defenders has collaborated with landowners and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a list of priority sites such as Owl Hammock for which HCP funding could be directed.

For nearly 80 years, Defenders of Wildlife has worked to protect and restore America’s wildlife at risk of extinction, advancing a vision of a future in which wildlife thrives, sustained by broad public support and a resilient network of healthy lands and waters. With a network of more than 2 million supporters, Defenders is an advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on Instagram @defendersofwildlife.  

 

Media Contact

News

2019.08.07 - Florida Panther looking straight at camera - MS 45 - fStop Foundation
WASHINGTON, D.C.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Memo Underscores Trump Administration’s All-Fronts War on Wildlife

Brian Nesvik, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, issued a memorandum explaining to FWS staff that the Endangered Species Act’s prohibition on unauthorized “take” applies only to affirmative acts intentionally and purposefully directed at a particular animal. This follows the Trump administration’s rescission of the regulatory definitions of “harm” under the ESA, which took effect this week.
A close up of the face of a Sierra Nevada Red Fox at the edge of a forest in Deschutes County, Oregon.
Washington, D.C.

Court Rules Habitat Must Be Protected After FWS Attempts to Waive Protections for Less Than 40 Sierra Nevada Red Fox

Defenders of Wildlife earned a significant victory for the Endangered Species Act today when a federal district court found that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to not designate critical habitat for the endangered Sierra Nevada red fox was a violation of the law.
Visit the newsroom