Black Panther

[mississippifarmboy]

I personally think it looks like a house cat. But the only way to determine size would be to have something in the picture for perspective. It could be 6" tall or 6' tall, with nothing to compare to there is no way to know.

However, even if it is a house cat, that doesn't mean there aren't large cats there too.

 

[LiLRedCV]

There are no native population of cougars in Connecticut according to their Dept of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the eastern mountain lion has been declared extinct by federal authorities, but a cougar was hit and killed by a car there just this past June (2011). Best they could figure was that this particular big cat traveled 1,500 miles to get there.... There's a suspect secondary cougar roaming around that state too as there's been sightings since this first one was killed.

Mountain lion killed in Connecticut prowled east from S. Dakota

Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if someone didn't have an exotic cat they decided they just couldn't take care of any more and they let it go. Happens more times than we'd care to admit or even imagine. So I wouldn't be so quick to say "no" myself.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Quote:
I'm inclined to agree.

 

[leonphelps]

photo looks real to me. a domestic cat would have a different body size ratio to the plants. I am willing to bet more than one of the DER people did the same look over and said, yep real one here.

 

[benjoycei]

Definitely a black panther. I saw one in West Virginia. looked to be about 6 feet long including the tail- got a picture -looked just like that one.

A black panther IS a black mountain lion...same species only melanistic
black jaguars are melanistic spotted jaguars
puma, cougar, mountain lion, panther=same species

 

[FarmGirl01]

D'Angelo N Va. :

Quote:
I'm inclined to agree.

I'm with these ppl. But, I just keep going back to it. Just can't tell.​

 

[FlaRocky]

I say black panther. When I was a little girl my dad shot and killed one in the backyard near the hog pen. It was around 80to 90lbs. Young male. What got me was its scream, sounded like a woman being killed. I remembe that scream like it was yesterday. This was in central Florida in the early 70's. It woke us up around midnight, after one of the young pigs. Dad turned out the hounds and treed it.


Maye

 

[theFox]

If that picture is a fake someone at the Sheriff's office is going to be in trouble. Look at the credit that was given St. Tammary Parish Sheriff's Office (STPSO).

 

[PDurkin]

Quote:
I am from about 10 miles east of the cougar accident. Folks have been losing horses to what the state says is coyotes. I'm pretty darn sure a coyote can't take down several horses per month. I think we got a population of cougars here.

 

[laseterlass]

We moved to OK when I was 11. My mom had bought 40 acres on Blackfork river along the Ouachita National Forest. We kids rode horse back in that forest for miles and miles. We saw mountain lion. But the forestry service that rode in trucks and on 3 wheelers said that they were not there.......... I just realized that adults could be idiots at a very young age.