Panthers in the Big Bend?

[Juan]

I swear I saw one cross Lighthouse road today... Huge cat...The car in front of us saw it too and stopped...
I only had one beer!!!

[Nathan]

Bobcats get pretty big. They look big for their weight also.

Nathan

[Juan]

This thing had a long tail like a big cat and was light brown...

[Juan]

Found this on the web:

Endangered Species at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge:

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge currently provides habitat for seven federally-listed endangered species. These species are:


Bald Eagle
Red-cockaded Woodpecker
Wood Stork
West Indian Manatee
Atlantic Green Turtle
Atlantic Loggerhead Turtle
Leatherback Turtle

Two additional federally-listed endangered species, the Florida Panther and Ivory-billed Woodpecker, formally inhabited refuge lands but have not been documented in the area for several decades.

"several decades" is over... there's at least one out there

[bman]

Very Cool! I've seen Bobcats but never a Panther in the wild....

I know folks who say they have seen them in the national forest near the coast.

[Barhopr]

I've seen two between Mx.Bch and Parker. I had two others with me on the boat to witness. the cats were working along the bank we were fishing less than 100 yards. pretty cool

[littlejohn]

I wae rasisd between Leon and Bay counties and back then we had a good poupulation of panthers. I don't why there shouldn't still be some around.

[Jumptrout51]

I saw one crossing the SM Lighthouse road about 15 years ago.

[FUTCHCAIRO]

MY OLD FISHIN PARTNER, CARL BROWN, AND I SAW A BLACK PANTHER OVER AT THE OCHLOCKNEE RIVER ABOUT 7-8 YEARS AGO. THE FWC HAD LET SEVERAL BLACK CATS OUT OVER AROUND GAINESVILLE SOMEWHERE ABOUT SIX MONTHS BEFORE WE SAW THE ONE OVER HERE. THEY WANTED ALL THE PARTICULARS ABOUT THE ONE WE SAW, IF SHE STILL HAD A COLLAR, HOW HIGH, HOW LONG IF SHE WAS SHINNY OR DULL IN HAIR AND ON AND ON. BACK IN THE LATE 70'S WE HAD ONE THAT KILLED SEVERAL PIGS AT OUR HOG FARM UP IN NASSAU COUNTY BUT HE IS NO MORE.
PA THE OLD MAN OF THE SEA SEMPER FI

[SS-342]

I live near the Withlachoochee River in Madison County Florida. Several years back, my neighbor saw one on the river. I called the Game Commission to ask them to come over and trap it because I raise cattle, was calving and didn't want to have some calves killed by a panther. They said there were no panthers in North Florida at that time and needed proof.

You would have thought the World came to an end when I ask if they wanted me to kill it and bring it to them as proof!

Best thing to do is to say nothing but I believe you saw a panther.

[Terrier]

Could easily have been a panther - they had a confirmed Florida panther in Troup county, Georgia:
http://www.fws.gov/news/newsreleases/sh ... B42F9E60DF

[Sea Sea Rider]

My hunting partner and I saw a track while archery hunting in the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge the first week in November. I was not going to say anything about it for fear of them closing the land for hunting. I love to archery hunt the refuge. I never saw the animal though. I did distinguish the print from a Black Bear print and what else has that large of a paw print?

[Sun Daze]

MY OLD FISHIN PARTNER, CARL BROWN, AND I SAW A BLACK PANTHER OVER AT THE OCHLOCKNEE RIVER ABOUT 7-8 YEARS AGO. THE FWC HAD LET SEVERAL BLACK CATS OUT OVER AROUND GAINESVILLE SOMEWHERE ABOUT SIX MONTHS BEFORE WE SAW THE ONE OVER HERE. THEY WANTED ALL THE PARTICULARS ABOUT THE ONE WE SAW, IF SHE STILL HAD A COLLAR, HOW HIGH, HOW LONG IF SHE WAS SHINNY OR DULL IN HAIR AND ON AND ON. BACK IN THE LATE 70'S WE HAD ONE THAT KILLED SEVERAL PIGS AT OUR HOG FARM UP IN NASSAU COUNTY BUT HE IS NO MORE.
PA THE OLD MAN OF THE SEA SEMPER FI

PA, there no such thing. If you saw a black cat, it WAS NOT A PANTHER!! It could have been a jaguarundi or some other species of cat. This is per Bob Brantly, former Executive director of Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commision, now known as FWC.

There are Panthers and black cats here in the area, the black ones are a different species, but there are some true Florida Panthers, which are a light color cat. When I was a kid, there were several close to Fanlew, way out Natural Bridge Rd.

http://www.agarman.dial.pipex.com/bco/fact2.htm

[Juan]

Well I'm just glad to know I'm not losing my mind (what's left of it)... After looking at pictures of a Florida panther online, I'm convinced it was a panther...I know it wasn't a bobcat, it was way too big and had a long tail... I'm just surprised they haven't seen one on the Refuge in decades cuz they're obviously out there.

[Jumptrout51]

It seems the "official" response is to deny the existence in certain areas.