Florida panther killed on I-75 in Lee County

An endangered Florida panther has died after being struck by a vehicle.

It’s the ninth panther death attributed to fatal collisions, out of 14 total deaths this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The remains of the 1-year-old female panther were found Monday in Lee County on Interstate 75 near Fort Myers, wildlife officials said.

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.