Comments on: New Mystery Panther Photo

By: John A. Lutz

John A. Lutz — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:08:30 +0000

We submitted this photograph to our Eastern Puma Research Network Scientific Advisory Specialists, who responded “although this cat appears to be black, the color appears distorted by background hues. Its believed the coat color is more of a charcoal, than black.

By: judd

judd — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 06:17:11 +0000

The block in the photo appears to be mineral block with block topper poured over it. Usual mineral blocks are around 12-18 inches cubed and the cat’s head is pretty narrow and pointed unlike a cougar or panther.

By: mafabo

mafabo — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:52:02 +0000

I live on the out skirts of a small Mississippi town that has less that 500 people living in it and my neighborhood is surrounded by Holly Springs National Forest. There are around 14 homes on a this old long country road and its quite here so we are used to seeing deer and turkey roam at will out here. Not far is a huge lake also. Anyway I have seen a huge black cat and so have a few of my neighbors. I happen to be the first to see this beautiful cat one summer morning around 6 am about 12-15 years ago. At first I didn’t believe my eyes as I looked out my kitchen window at the animal. But this was indeed a huge cat I believe looking out my window that I could have been no futher than 150 yards from the cat. As it passed a telephone pole in that field I got a guess of how big it was and how much it weighed,my guess was 100-110 pounds. Its tail was almost as long as its body,its body all black except it looked to have a small white patch under the neck. I watched the cat and later when my husband got up I told him about this and he and another neighbor and I went to the spot I saw it disappear,sure enough there were tracks by the creek bank. I wish I could have gotten a video or photo. None of our dogs barked now that I think back about it.
The bale of hay in the photo looks like a huge rotting tree stump or a block of salt to me.

By: ajdogg

ajdogg — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:32:16 +0000

Ah, the Black Panther has returned! This is something almost everyone in the Southeast hears about from time to time, sightings of a large, black cat, usually alone, prowling the woods. While I myself have yet to see, or hear one, some of my friends claim to have seen them while out hunting, usually around dusk. Some of the stories I really wonder about, especially when it’s from a hardcore hunter that generally isn’t scared by anything they might come across in the woods. Anyways, on to the Mystery Panther.

While at first glance this really looks genuine, it’s too hard to tell based solely on the surrounding environment. It seems that everything is in miniature here. Not saying it’s all an elaborate set, created by someone with way too much time on their hands, just saying that those trees don’t look to be large, and the salt lick, well, looks like a salt lick sized object.

The cat itself is just that, a cat. Check this out…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_panther
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Jaguar.jpg

And quoted from an article on Wiki:

“Despite anecdotes to the contrary, all-black coloring (melanism) has never been documented in cougars.[18] The term “black panther” is used colloquially to refer to melanistic individuals of other species, particularly jaguars and leopards.”

The article can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar

While I do think there could be some sort of rather large, black feline in the Southeast, I just can’t agree with this being one of those rare cats that we all drool over. And for my final thesis on the matter, I think I’ll go take some pics of my kitty in a similarly wooded area, and compare. Sure, I’ll share!

By: ETxArtist

ETxArtist — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:15:59 +0000

Bobcat, from a field biologist living in the swamps of ETx. Seen a lot of them out in the woods, they walk like that, have variable patterns and tails shaped just like that, which they flick around when they’re curious or nervous. Saltlick, too, on a deer lease. Would be just the sort of picture someone would take to see what size deer are in the area, espcially within the last few months. Just my impressions.

By: Zebster

Zebster — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:39:55 +0000

That “salt lick” looks pretty wooden to me. Definitely a “domestic” cat, but most likely feral. Most domestics that size are toms, and that’s clearly a female. Judging from the leaf litter, it looks like it’s about the size of a fox - we have populations of ferals in central VA that routinely grow that big.

By: zoom8

zoom8 — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 03:58:39 +0000

This ‘panther’ does not look much like the one I’ve seen here in St. Helena Parish at 6:45 in the morning (late January) at less than 90 ft. from up in my deerstand. I saw the big cat, tip of nose to base of tail, broad-side, he was a good 5-1/2 ft. and thick velvety solid black fur. He looked directly at me for about 4 seconds before slinking into the trees. His tail was thick and went on FOREVER (approx. the length of his body). His head was thick and puma shaped but just a bit longer with rounded ears. His eyes were gold. Yes, I got THAT GOOD OF A LOOK AT HIM. When his tail disappeared into the treeline, I kept asking myself if I had really just seen what I thought I did, but my heart was pounding, so I know i did. Well, I pondered this and decided to light a cigarette, knowing I wouldn’t see any deer that morning. Ha! - as I took the 2nd draw, a doe came from the same direction but half the distance closer to me. She had her head high smelling all directions and never checked up as she went into the woods. Missed that shot, what a weird morning!

By: Rillo777

Rillo777 — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 01:57:20 +0000

That’s NOT a bale of hay. Believe me, I’ve seen plenty of them and handled many. That’s a salt lick, which hunters often put out to attract deer. And what’s behind it is a big old housecat. Please notice the shape of the head and ears. Domestic feline.

By: giantchaser

giantchaser — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:17:20 +0000

Well, I think we have all established now that this is no more than an fat house cat, but is it superimposed over the scenery? I zoomed in to about 6400% and looked where you would think its leg would be, there was an apparent blur there.

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 07:46:42 +0000

It’s an otter.