REAL Black Panther

Most zoologists claim that black panthers (cougar, mt. lion) aren't real. There pics were snapped by my game cam at my deer lease back in Dec.



and here...........



I had to resize the first pic so the whole panther would be in the shot.

[edit on 09/19/2005 by swampcricket]

That is killer! I want to set up night camera and see what I can catch. Is there a set up that is cheap? I have seen a mountain lion in Northeastern New England but most people laugh when I tell them. It's like telling them you saw a ghost or a UFO.

Anyway, great action shots!!! You didn't photoshop that did you?

reply to post by swampcricket


There was a show on the History Channel called Monsterquest that was arguing whether or not the Black Panther or any black big cat existed in North America.

The study found there have been numerous reports in many states from the East to Midwest and Southwest. The majority of sightings happen in the Southwest, where they lived up until a few hundred years ago (or so).

Nope no photoshop here... I bought the cam at Academy Sports for about $150. I guess black cats aren't so "mythical" now

Mt. Lions range all over the US. Here in Texas we have the typical colored ones all over. People always say they saw a black panther and most are wrong. This is photographic proof. They are out there, but there just aren't that many.

[edit on 09/19/2005 by swampcricket]

reply to post by swampcricket


Wow that's a great photo swampcricket! My guess it's a cougar with the black, around the mouth area. They call them panthers and mountain lions too.

I actually had a run in with a black panther when I was a child. I was probably seven or eight at the time. I live in Florida and though they are endangered it isn't entirely unusual to spot a Florida panther. A black panther however is quite strange, but there it was hanging out in the woods near my school. Scared the hell out of me. Great post and pictures.

reply to post by swampcricket


Well, it is possible that it was somebody's pet or something. It is also possible that there are just not that many of them, but they still live up here. Neither seems like something a logical thinking person would passionately deny.

Ive never heard of anyone denying the exsistance of black panthers or jaguars.
They are for the most part extinct ths far north, but it is possible a few still are around.
I would peg most large black cat sightings to a very dark mountain lion, that sure looks like a jaguar in those photos.

They used to range well up into the great basin. The mountain lion has the most widely varied environment of any large predatory mammal.

While in a remote part of mexico, last year, my friend and I saw what i am sure was a red mexican wolf.
It came by camp the first night and got into the food.
It came back by the second night a we played a game of hide and seek.
I was sitting by the fire on the beach, when I saw it on top of the bluff, backlit by the moon. It was like a common western theme.
It tried to sneek down the hill into camp, and and I would turn to it and sit up. Then it would stop dead in its tracks, and slink backwards back up the hill. Ut would then go back over the top and come around from another side, but each time it would be back lit and I would see it and sit and turn to it and the whole thing would repeat. We did this for about 1/2-3/4 of an hr. It gave up and sat up on the bluff, for another half hr, before slinking back off.
I went to bed and left a few pieces of meat out for it.

The secluded cove we were at was called Punta Lobo, wolf point.

having looked at the two pictures provided by the OP , I am affraid my initial response has to be a argument from personal incredulity

the two animals are acting extremly strangely [ to put it mildly ] to remain in such proximity for 4 minuites

one can easly argue that the cat is sated and has no inclaination to make a kill

but for the deer to remain oblivious to the cat for so long or to ` stand its ground ` is highly abberant

just my opinion - but the " interaction " over a 4 minuite period is every bit as intrigiung / interesting as a melanistic example of a north american cat

reply to post by ignorant_ape



Well, a cat of that size would only attack a healthy full grown buck, like that one, out of desperation.
Two things are obvious, the cat IS well fed and the deer is doing anything but ignoring the cat.
Its stance in the second shot is one of obvious alert, Its actually about to make a leap, the rear legs are cocked and loaded.
The deer was certainly drawn to the clearing by the bait, and as a former avid hunter, hunting only with a bow or shot gun , got to get CLOSE, I really have issues with baiting.
I knew people who would haul a salt lick out into the wilderness months ahead of the hunting season, so they were garaunteed a kill, kinda like shooting fish in a barrel, most certanly not cool.

There is no shortage of deer in the hill country of texas, and baiting them is not needed.


So, the deer could be out of his familiar area, drawn by the bait, and in that case were a route of escape is not clearly defined a buck that size will stand its ground.
The cat wasnt starving so it wasnt going to risk its life to attack a full grown healthy fully horned buck like that.

But I could also be "staged" at a private game ranch, where the cat is well fed, and the deer are used to its presence.

But there is no denying that sure looks like a north american black panther.





[edit on 18-3-2008 by punkinworks]

I didn't notice the times before. Four minutes a quite a stretch. Perhaps the buck was keeping its business end (antlers) aimed at the cat for if it tried to outrun it it would surely be injured if not killed. That buck has a decent rack on it so I would assume it had probably had some practice fighting with other bucks and drew upon that knowledge to defend itself.

During the rut Whitetail Bucks are extremely aggressive and this one most certainly looks like it's standing it's ground. The only issue I have is the date on the picture would put it past rutting although it still doesn't surprise me. The deer can certainly sense the cat's intentions by posture.

The cat itself doesn't look truly black but rather just dark. I am quite impressed though and don't see where this scene is that hard to believe.

I'll give the OP the BOTD for now.

On edit: After reviewing the pics again I do see some issues. In the first pic the cat looks to be moving in on the deer in an aggressive manner. I just don't see how it could possibly get that close without the deer noticing.

Hmmm, not so convinced now.

[edit on 18-3-2008 by jbondo]

La la la la la la........just here eatin' my corn.........WHOA WTF???!!!!!

Definitely looks more like a mountain lion to me. Nice pic.

Peace

where these the only 2 pics available from your cam? is there any chance i can see the rest?

Originally posted by Dr Love
La la la la la la........just here eatin' my corn.........WHOA WTF???!!!!!

Haha, made my day!

Extremely nice shot OP, starred!

Awesome shots... it would have been doubly awesome to see that cat take down the deer on your camera.

Oh well... we got some cake... can't always eat it.

Quite the interesting pics. Could you tell us more about the camera? Is it a motion censor camera or time-laps?

On a related scale, do americans really think mountain lion/cougar when one says panther?

Over here (Denmark, Europe) we automatically think male leopard, when one says panther...

From the Mighty Wiki of Pedia:

The black panther is the common name for a black (melanistic) color variant of any of several species of cat. Zoologically speaking, the term panther is synonymous with "large cat". The genus name Panthera is a taxonomic category that includes several species of felids including the lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar. However, in North America, the term panther is commonly used for the cougar (genus Puma) while in Latin America it is most often used to mean a jaguar. Elsewhere in the world it refers to the leopard.

My first impression is healthy female mountain lion, 6 to 7 feet around 90 pounds. Sunset was 5:34 pm. You should be able to see the muscle definition in the photos better on the lion (as you can see on the deer). Did you sharpen the photo? I have done some tagging and unfortunately disposal and their coats varied, but I have not seen a clean, healthy cat that dark.

Your photo is so much better then mine I was shaking so bad that I got the blur when it turned. I really need to get a game cam. Great catch!

Looks like some serious but kickin took place during those couple minutes. Would have been good to get all the pics between.