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Hi John,
The remains of a 2-year-old panther were found just weeks ago along I-75 in Collier County, Florida.
He's the eighth endangered panther killed this year by a vehicle collision.
Please support our work to save panthers and other imperiled species with a gift today to the Saving Life on Earth Fund.
Panthers can live longer than 10 years in the wild, but nearly half of the panthers killed this year were less than a year old.
The last few years have been catastrophic for these big cats. Since 2021, 62 have died after being hit on roadways.
These iconic cats once roamed throughout the Southeast, but hunting decimated their population. Panthers were among the first species protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1973.
Today there may be as few as 130 remaining.
Decades of urban sprawl have left Florida panthers eking out a living in less than 5% of their historic range — and it could get worse.
A proposed development would bring thousands of new residents within about a mile of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. This project would cut off key wildlife corridors and threaten these great cats' last sanctuary. It would also leave them vulnerable to more deadly collisions with cars and trucks.
We're fighting that development — just like we're fighting to maintain Florida panthers' status as an endangered species, a designation that gives them lifesaving protections.
It's clear what panthers need to survive and to fully recover: Ample space to follow their natural instincts to roam. By keeping roads and cars from slashing through their habitat, and securing the few remaining areas where panthers still hunt for food and mates, we can pull panthers back from the brink.
These battles are long and difficult but worth every second. From jaguars in the Southwest to mountain lions in Southern California to panthers in southwest Florida, big cats deserve protection — and we'll never stop leading the way to provide it.
We can't imagine a future without them and know you can't either.
Please help today by giving to the Saving Life on Earth Fund.
For the wild,
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