‘Holy Meow’: FL Panther Found Napping At Country Club, Sheriff Says

BONITA SPRINGS, FL — It was a “holy meow” moment Monday morning when a Florida panther was found sleeping at a country club, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post.

When deputies got to the Bonita Springs National Golf Course & Country Club just before 10 a.m., they found the large cat napping near a stairwell behind shrubs.

After confirming it was a panther, they called in the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission to help, the sheriff’s office said.

FWC officers humanely captured the panther, which will undergo a health evaluation and eventually be released in its natural habitat.

The Florida panther has been on the endangered species list since 1973, according to the National Wildlife Foundation.

Today, there are a little more than 200 left in the wild, the organization said, while the FWC estimates there are anywhere from 120 to 230 adult panthers left.

They’re typically found in southern Florida swamplands, including Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve.

Threats to the species’ existence include habitat loss, dangers on roads and highways, mercury pollution and diseases, NWF said.

Under the Endangered Species Act, it’s illegal to harm or harass panthers, FWC said.

So far this year, 13 panthers have been found dead across Southwest Florida after being hit by a vehicle, according to the agency’s Panther Pulse.

• 27 in 2021
• 22 in 2020
• 27 in 2019
• 30 in 2018
• 30 in 2017

Most deaths were caused by vehicle collisions, FWC data shows.