As the number of deaths among endangered Florida panthers increases, three kittens have been spotted in the state forest

As conservationists worry about the fate of the critically endangered Florida panther, state authorities confirmed that three kittens were born and are currently living in the Okaloacoochie Slough State Forest.

All three kittens are part of a litter, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said, and were born in early August. The litter includes one male and two female kittens.

These are the only births the commission has documented this year, its website says. The commission tracks all kitten births to adult female panthers wearing radio collars, so it is possible that more unrecorded kittens were born in 2024.

Florida panthers are considered critically endangered. According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, there are only 120 to 230 adult panthers left in the state. The animals once lived in the southeast, but now live mainly in Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. According to the National Wildlife Federation, the species' population has been decimated primarily by hunting and remains vulnerable to low genetic diversity, disease and habitat loss.

In Florida, cars and other vehicles are one of the biggest threats. So far in 2024, 18 Florida panthers have been killed, 14 of which were vehicles. Another panther was killed by a train. The other three causes of death are listed as “unknown.”

“We have a growing population and the infrastructure, the roads, the buildings, the increased traffic, the increased speeds … all of this is happening right in the heart of the last remaining habitat of the Florida panther,” said Elise Bennett, the Florida and Caribbean director at the Center for Biological Diversity, in an interview with CBS News. Beginning of the year“They were cornered in this small area of ​​southwest Florida, and that's where we see the majority of these roadkill.”