Panthers in the Big Bend?

[lunkerbrother]

JAQUARUNDI, or otter cat...someone let them loose in the 20's in the Perry area from what I have read. There are reports of them critters in St Marks...lots have seen them and footprints but no road kills or photos.

[wevans]

I don't know about Panthers, but their are cougars everywhere

[RayMalloy]

I saw a big tawny Panther (120 pounds or so)crossing the Lighthouse Road before the Mounds pool last June. The dykes there go for miles to the east. There are also 2 Bob Cats around there, a big one and smaller one, but they dont look like panthers and they walk funny and have those ears.
I saw a medium Panther (female about 80 pounds)that was walking down Wakulla beach road last fall around Halloween. I have never seen a black one aka Jaguar around here.
You need a really good camera to catch those shots. I took a picture of 3 deer standing along side the Road near the deer sign heading to the Lighthouse and you could only see the one on this side of the ditch in the photo the other 2 were 5 to 6 feet behind her and they were invisible to the lens. They blend and so do the Cats.

[DEMON]

Saw one cross dirt road 126 in apalach forest about ten years ago. It wasn't 10 yards from me, stopped looked at me and continued on. Not a doubt in my mind then or now that it was a full grown panther.

[MudDucker]

I have seen several traveling along the coast over the years. A neighbor had something messing with his livestock and he thought he saw a big cat. Calls to Ga. DNR got the response that no cats in this area. Last year, a fellow about a mile from my place found a radio collar. It was damaged, but he fiddled with it and the power came back on. Within 4 hours, he had a fed, Fl game warden and a Ga game warden knocking on his door looking for the collar. The Ga guy said he was just along for the ride, but that the other two told him that it was from a cat released in the Okefenokee about a year ago. Said it was a male, because they had found a big male cat dead the year before and thought the 6 or 8 recorded females in the area needed a stud. Evidently, those 6 or 8 were not enough for the big boy.

[RayMalloy]

Or the 6 to 8 ladies already had a big boy, LOL! I love that Cougars poster!

So I get home last night and I am flipping past the Animal Planet and there are 2 black panthers. Not Jags but black panthers. They are pets of a lady named Gisele Zerbib along with a Puma. For some reason I cant get the episode or photos of them to come up on the Discovery site yet, but it would seem that black panthers do exist!

[Sun Daze]

Or the 6 to 8 ladies already had a big boy, LOL! I love that Cougars poster!

So I get home last night and I am flipping past the Animal Planet and there are 2 black panthers. Not Jags but black panthers. They are pets of a lady named Gisele Zerbib along with a Puma. For some reason I cant get the episode or photos of them to come up on the Discovery site yet, but it would seem that black panthers do exist!

Again... There is not a species of cat that is a "Black Panther" If the cats were black, it was some other species!

Link to article below.... http://www.agarman.dial.pipex.com/bco/fact2.htm


What is a Black Panther?
The term ‘Black Panther’ is quite often used in connection with large black cats - however there is no one distinct species of wild cat called a Black Panther. Over the years it has become used as a common name which can be applied to any large black coated cat. When you see a picture of a Black Panther it is most likely that you are looking at either a Leopard or possibly a Jaguar with Melanistic coloration.

The term Melanistic is derived from the word ‘melanin’, a dark coloured skin and hair pigment.

In cats, melanism results in the fur of the animal being very dark or black in colour. In many cases the usual markings of the animal can be faintly seen through the dark fur, especially at certain angles in bright sunlight. Melanism occurs because of a mutation or abnormality of one of the cats genes which is associated with coat coloration and markings. Melanism is hereditary, but is not necessarily passed directly from one generation to the next - it is therefore common to see ‘mixed’ litters with one black cub along side normally coloured brothers and sisters. Melanisim can also occur in other species of wild cat - black coated caracal, Geoffrey’s cat, margay, bobcat, ocelot, jaguarundi and serval have been noted in the smaller cats as well as occasional mention of the coloration in the larger lion, tiger and cougar.

Melanistic leopards are more commonly found in dense tropical rain forest of S.E Asia - here it is thought that the dark coloration acts as better camouflage in the low sun light conditions of the forest floor, giving the cat an advantage in hunting. If this is the case, it is also possible that a black leopard will also be at an advantage in being able to provide more food for its young and as a result the probability of the melanistic gene being transferred through the population will be greater.

[Redfin]

Again... There is not a species of cat that is a "Black Panther" If the cats were black, it was some other species!

[Gulf Coast]

[Sun Daze]

Again... There is not a species of cat that is a "Black Panther" If the cats were black, it was some other species!

Dooohhh!!

[Redfin]

Yep - pictures don't lie- Black Panthers walk among us

[Jumptrout51]

And carry big sticks at voting polls.