Panther Crossing sign. Credit: WINK News. An endangered Florida panther has died after being struck by a vehicle in south Fort Myers. It’s the first panther death reported in the new year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. A total of 22 Florida panther deaths were reported in 2020, with 19 killed by vehicles. The remains of the 3-year-old female panther were found Saturday on Terminal Access Road, a divided highway that leads to Southwest Florida International Airport, wildlife officials said. A second panther was killed by a vehicle Jan. 4 in Collier County on SR-29. 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.