Florida Panther Spotted In Polk County

A Florida panther, Florida's official state animal, was caught on video in Lake Wales Ridge State Forest this week in Polk County. Credit: ZooTampa / fStop

POLK COUNTY, Florida - A Florida panther, Florida's official state animal, was caught on video in Lake Wales Ridge State Forest this week in Polk County.

The Florida panther has been listed as a federally endangered species since 1967.

"This World Environment Day, we are SO excited to share some AMAZING news from our partnership with fStop," ZooTampa at Lowry Park wrote on Facebook.

"After nearly a year of working with the FStop Foundation on our joint quest to save Florida wildlife, we have finally spotted our first Florida panther!"

ZooTampa monitors six cameras in the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest to track animal movements across the state.

"This particular panther was spotted on one of our cameras in the in Polk County. While he does have a limp, he appears to have a good body condition. He has also been spotted on another fStop camera about 12 miles away from this location," ZooTampa added.