Special to the Lake Okeechobee News/FWC
This image of a panther was taken by a remote camera on a trail north of the Caloosahatchee River.

TALLAHASSEE — An adult female Florida panther has been spotted north of the Caloosahatchee River, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported Tuesday, Jan. 7.

FWC said the sighting of Florida’s state animal north of the Caloosahatchee River is a good sign, as the river has appeared to be a major obstacle to northward movement of female panthers for years.

Four years ago, the FWC documented the first female north of the river in nearly 50 years.

A wildlife underpass on State Road 80 was recently completed by the Florida Department of Transportation, and it is not known whether that might have been the route taken by this particular animal. A trail camera did capture a night image, however. An FWC spokeswoman at the agency’s South Region office in West Palm Beach could not provide any more information.