Two Florida panthers have been found dead just days apart.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports that an uncollared male was found dead Monday near Lake Placid in Highlands County. The cause of death is believed to be a vehicle collision.
Another panther death was recorded Friday after a hiker found a carcass in Picayune Strand State Forest near Naples. Biologists estimate it was between 8 and 10 months old, but its sex and cause of death weren't immediately known.
The News-Press reports these are the 11th and 12th Florida panther deaths of 2014. At least seven of the cats have been killed by vehicles.
Florida panthers once roamed the entire southeastern U.S., but only around 160 remain in the wild.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
