As we enter 2018 we're taking a look back at how the endangered Florida panther population fared last year. Biologists say the panther population is growing, and that the number of overall documented panther deaths was down in 2017 for the first time in years. Thirty panthers died last year, with 25 killed by motor vehicles. That's down from 2016's record number of 42 overall deaths with 34 vehicle kills.