Reporter: Paul Dolan
•7/1/2026
COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — Two female Florida panthers were hit and killed by vehicles in Collier County in one week, and wildlife advocates say those deaths carry more weight than the number alone shows.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Panther Pulse, a 3-year-old female panther was found dead on June 19 on CR846, about 2.7 miles west of County Line Road. One week later, on June 26, a 2-year-old female panther was found dead on SR29, about 0.9 miles south of Oil Well Park Road.
Both deaths were listed as vehicle-related.
So far this year, FWC has documented 10 Florida panther deaths. All 10 were caused by vehicles. Six of the 10 panthers killed were female.
That matters because the Florida panther is still endangered, and female panthers are essential to the species’ recovery.
FWC says female panthers reach sexual maturity at about 1.5 to 2.5 years old. Litters usually include one to four kittens, and the adult female is responsible for raising them alone. FWC also says females do not breed again until their kittens are about 1.5 to 2 years old and able to survive on their own, unless the kittens are lost.
That means the two most recent panthers killed in Collier County were not just young animals. They were also old enough, or near old enough, to contribute to the next generation of the endangered species.
For Cissy Ramey, a Naples resident and business owner, that is what makes the losses hurt.
“Our female panthers, they have the cubs, so we need that,” Ramey said.
Ramey said she thinks about extinction in simple terms.
“Forever gone forever,” Ramey said. “We will never get them back.”
FWC says about 120 to 230 adult and subadult Florida panthers remain, primarily in Southwest Florida. The agency also says most of the breeding population remains south of the Caloosahatchee River, making Collier County and surrounding areas critical to the species’ future.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says vehicles kill more Florida panthers than anything else. FWC’s panther biology page says vehicle collisions account for 59% of all known panther mortalities. Since 2000, annual panther roadkill totals have ranged from six to 34.
FWC also says male panthers historically make up most vehicle mortalities, in part because males have larger home ranges and young males searching for territory cross roads more often. That makes this year’s female-heavy death count stand out: 60% of the documented panther deaths in 2026 are female.
Ramey said she believes drivers have become too used to seeing panther crossing signs.
“We are panther sign blind,” Ramey said. “We’re so used to them. We’re tunnel vision. We’re on our way to our destination. We don’t know what we’re passing. It’s not enough. The signs are not enough.”
Another Naples resident, Judith Telford, said drivers need to take panther crossing areas seriously.
“First thing, you have to slow down,” Telford said.
Telford said female panthers are especially important because they can help rebuild the population.
The deaths also come as one female panther kitten, K528, is recovering at the Naples Zoo. The kitten, also called Peppercorn, was documented in FWC’s 2026 Panther Pulse as a female born to FP277 at the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.
According to reporting from FWC and the Naples Zoo, the kitten was rescued after biologists learned her mother was no longer returning to the den. K528 was underweight and needed medical care. She was taken to the Naples Zoo, where she has been recovering.
For Ramey, Peppercorn represents the other side of the panther story: the possibility of recovery.
“She’s precious,” Ramey said. “We need more Peppercorns.”
The contrast is hard to miss. One female kitten is being saved in Naples while multiple female panthers old enough to help rebuild the population are being killed on Southwest Florida roads.
“The panthers are running out of places to go and call home without being in someone’s backyard,” Ramey said.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says development and new roads fragment panther habitat in Southwest Florida. Wildlife crossings, including bridges, underpasses, culverts and fencing, are used to help guide panthers and other wildlife away from traffic and into safer crossing areas.
WINK News reached out to FWC to ask how significant the recent female panther deaths are from a recovery standpoint, whether the agency is tracking whether road deaths are disproportionately affecting females or breeding-age panthers, and how many breeding-age female panthers are believed to remain in the wild.
WINK News also asked whether FWC is taking any specific steps to monitor the female panther population after this year’s deaths.
FWC asks anyone who finds a sick, injured or dead panther to call the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC.
