TAMPA, Fla. — Only 120-230 Florida panthers are remaining in the wild. But that population is cut down yearly by a constant barrage of fatal traffic accidents that continue to claim their lives at an alarming rate.
The stats for 2024 are grim; as of Dec. 27, the FWC Panther Pulse reported a total of 36 panthers were found dead, a majority killed by vehicles, and one panther hit by a train. Shortly after our video broadcast report aired citing 35 panther deaths; the FWC updated their total to 36 panthers killed. A 2-year-old male was found on Dec. 26 dead in Lee County from a vehicle strike.
Compare that number to last year, where a total of 13 Florida panthers were hit and killed by cars on Florida roads.
The Florida panther is listed as an endangered species. Although there are only a couple hundred of them in the wild, deaths are quickly outpacing births.
"The estimate is around 200 (in the wild). Unfortunately, this year, with the mortality rate and the birth rate kind of being lopsided, it's hard to say exactly what those numbers are. We didn't have a great birth year. We had one litter, and only one of the three cubs has made it since that litter," Tiffany Burns, Senior Director of Animal Programs for Zoo Tampa, told ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska.
We interviewed Burns in front of the Florida panther exhibit. A 17-year-old female named Lucy watched our every move.
"She was abandoned by her mom as a cub, we gave her a forever home, and she has lived 17 years, which is pretty impressive for a Florida panther. In the wild, they age 10 to 12 years, an average lifespan for them," Burns said. "If we protect the Florida panther, we protect all of these other animals living in Florida. So they, by protecting them, we're protecting several different species."
Earlier this year, Paluska profiled a new initiative at Zoo Tampa. Burns and her team are now taking their conservation work into the field to check wildlife cameras with the non-profit fStopFoundation.
"There's nothing more fun than going out and seeing a wild Panther on your camera, or a bear, or even a hog. It doesn't matter what the animal is. We always get excited to see something on the camera," Burns said.
As more people move to Florida, conservationists said smart growth must be a priority. This includes more wildlife crossings, like a recent overpass between Orlando and Lakeland on I-4, and adding more land to the wildlife corridor.
Burns says one of their best tools is showing the public these amazing creatures face to face.
"You'll never get this close to a Florida panther in the wild. You should never, but the fact that you can come and get face to face with our bears, our Panthers, and so many of these animals, and really see them for who they are, and build that connection, we hope that that then inspires them to want to do more to find out what it takes to care for these animals, both here and also in the wild," Burns said.
Florida unlicensed contractor faces a bond normally reserved for murderers and violent criminals.
