Florida Panthers, including mother panther, killed in Collier County.
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010The weekend of panther deaths in May began on a Friday, when a 4-year-old male was found run over on a stretch of U.S. 41 that cuts through Big Cypress National Preserve. On Saturday, a 5-year-old female was killed on U.S. 41 about a half-mile east of San Marco Road. On Sunday morning, an 8-month-old male kitten was run over on U.S. 41 near Manatee Road. The female killed this weekend had two 8-week-old kittens. Wildlife officials rate their chance of survival at “zero” unless they are found. So far this year, eight panthers have been run down.
U.S. 41 in Collier County is a road that has no special wildlife underpass passes through several state and national parks.
State transportation officials had planned to put in a special wildlife crossing on U.S. 41 to help panthers avoid cars on that stretch. The overall estimated cost of building the underpass would have been $8 million. Construction would include 2 miles of fencing to make sure the panthers used the underpass instead of crossing the pavement.
At public hearings on the plan in the fall, hunters and anglers who drive off-road vehicles to their wilderness camps via U.S. 41 objected to the fences because they would block easy access to the Big Cypress National Preserve.
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