Black Panther

[greenriver]

I am from Louisiana, been hunting and outdoors most of my 56 years there. In Louisiana most of the male adult population hunts and uses game cams.

IMHO, there is no way a viable population of anything could be there without physical evidence.

 

[groundpecker]

If that is a domesticated house cat, it is a very large one. Maybe an off colored bobcat....

 

[lethldragon]

I think the main reason people don't see mtn lions, cougars, whatever you want to call them, is because a pair usually has a range of about 100 miles and once that territory is established there isn't very much overlapping of territories. Also, the big cats stay away from humans and will always see you before you see it. They are beautiful animals though.

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
FYI--mt lions are solitary animals and do not pair up. Females are more than likely to have an established territory while males wander more, especially during breeding season. A female allows a male in her territory only when she's ready to mate, otherwise the male would be a threat to her kittens. Also the size of an individual's territory would depend on the amount of prey available but 50 to 100 sq mi would be a good average. This is one thing that precludes them from repopulating the east--there just isn't room for them especially once they produce offspring. Unlike coyotes, foxes, and bobcats, they haven't adapted to coexist with human populations.

 

[ColbyNTX]

Quote:
I live in Texas and we have our share of Mt lions. I have seen 2 in my 40 years, both while deer hunting. They were alone and BIG! It was the coolest sight just to watch them walk along. The males have a range of about 110 miles and a female of about 70 miles. They don't hang arount the area too long but they will be back if they feel safe there.

I do agree that the picture is a house cat.

 

[yinepu]

Quote:
I live in Texas and we have our share of Mt lions. I have seen 2 in my 40 years, both while deer hunting. They were alone and BIG! It was the coolest sight just to watch them walk along. The males have a range of about 110 miles and a female of about 70 miles. They don't hang arount the area too long but they will be back if they feel safe there.

I do agree that the picture is a house cat.

we have a puma that hangs out around our place.. well.. he wanders through about twice a month or so.. have seen him three times this summer the rest of the time I have just found his tracks.. he never bothers the poultry or the mini equines. He was up on our roof one night not long after we moved in.. that's been the closest he's been to the house

 

[Tylt33]

The first ever documentation of a melanistic mountain lion, right here on backyardchickens

 

[Tylt33]

Quote:
This is right on.

 

[rufus]

I beg to differ with Woodmort on the issue of mountain lions becoming accustomed to living in settled areas. I have seen them.

Big cats wander around. Some have established territories, but if there is unoccupied territory, they move in. Thus we have the cat from South Dakota showing up on the east coast.

And now, we seem to have jaguars in Arizona. I had always heard tales of them, but now it seems as if the proof is in.

A couple of years ago, people from Game and Fish snared one. It ended up in the Phoenix zoo, where for some reason, they put it down.

http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/jaguar/MachoB.shtml

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/article_5e60f68e-06e3-11df-96ff-001cc4c002e0.html

This hunting season, some good jaguar pictures were taken. Hopefully someone will eventually put them on the internet.

As to the cat in the picture, in my mind's eye, the tail is wrong, the body is wrong, the stance is wrong and the shape of the head is wrong. I don't know what it is, but I don't think it is a cougar.

Rufus

 

[woodmort]

Mt lions need big prey to survive--they can't make it on rats, cats, mice, garbage and road-kill like coyotes, etc. Also they need a lot of room to hunt. So unless there are a lot of deer and big livestock around they won't stay. That combination is not found in the NE any more. That one poor male that wandered in from Dakota is proof of what happens--it got hit and kill by a car. If there were more in the NE there would be more of those type accidents.