"Shootings of Florida's state animal are likely to increase as both the human and panther populations expand, he predicted."

"Mark Cunningham found another one in February.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission veterinarian X-rayed the carcass of a Florida panther that had recently been killed by another panther in Hendry County. The X-ray showed a bullet fragment in the dead cat, indicating that yet again someone had shot Florida's state animal.

Since 1978, 36 Florida panthers have been shot by people wielding pistols, shotguns or rifles, Cunningham told a conference on veterinary forensics meeting at a St. Pete Beach resort earlier this month. Of that number, 13 panthers have been killed, he said, and another two were so severely injured they had to be permanently removed from the wild and kept in captivity."

Craig Pittman reports for the Tampa Bay Times May 20, 2019. [2]