Officials: Florida panther struck and killed by vehicle, 14th this year

An endangered Florida panther was killed after being struck by a vehicle.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, this is the 14th panther death attributed to fatal collisions. There have been 16 total deaths this year.

Officials found the remains of the 3-year-old female panther on Wednesday in Hendry County on a rural road near the Okaloacoochee Slough Wildlife Management Area.

Florida panthers once roamed the entire Southeast, but now their habitat mostly is confined to a small region of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. Up to 230 Florida panthers remain in the wild.