These are the "El Chupacabra" of east Texas to me! Lots believe they are here but I've never seen one and never seen a trail cam pic. I know a lot of folks that say they have seen them but who knows.
It always cracks me up how many black panther sightings there are. A mountain lion is a rare enough sighting no matter where you are. It is stated that the melanistic color phase does not exist in mountain lions. So for arguments sake lets say that it is possible for a mountain lion to have a black phase. What would the percentage of mountain lions that had this active gene be? Very Very Very miniscule, it is even incredibly rare in animals that CAN be black. So lets say again that mountain lions could be black, How many of them would actually exist AND be in Texas? VERY few. In fact I bet you would be talking about one of the rarest creatures on the planet. Yet people seem to believe they are running around rampant. There are probably more Black Panther "sightings" than mountain lions which is funny to think about. Now lets say its a lost jaguar from Mexico, way out of its range and black which again is still very very rare even for a cat with the melanistic ability. How could there be so many of these incredibly rare creatures that all got so lost that they are just running around East Texas being seen by everyone? Now lets say that someone let out a pet or it escaped from a big cat rescue or zoo etc. Same redicilous logic as the two scenarios above. As for it being a entirely independant species of black cat? Come on people with all the people in the woods and everywhere else, hunting, working etc. All of the trailcameras and survelliance equipment out there, high powered rifles, cameras and traps. Yet no one can seem to kill one or get a picture? The story is always " well Jim Bob saw one but didnt have one in the chamber". If one gets killed or a definitive picture comes out, I will eat crow. Until then, its time to stop believing in fairy tales guys.
I have seen three lions in Texas over the years. One was between Woodville and Chester that crossed the highway in front of me one Christmas. My wife also saw it, the kids did not as they were asleep in the back of the van.
The second one was while looking for a lost cow for a friend of mine. I was flying a supercub down on the Brazos river and there was a two track going down thru the woods and he was lying in the road just resting.
The third was while varment calling, again down on the Brazos river. I was up in a deer stand and calling, it came out of the brush line on a fence line, but did not come to the call but went the other way.
I have never seen any color other than the tawny type. I would not discount that there could be other color phases though. My son says that he saw a dark one while calling one time. I was not with him at the time, however a friend of mine was and he also saw it, so I guess there is something out there other than the normal color phases.
I can understand how it could look black. The second lion I have seen was on the Lincoln Ranch and I, at first, would have sworn it was black. It crossed a 70 yard wide pipe line clearing. The sun was going down and it was toward the sunset. It looked black as the ace of spades. After crossing the clearing it worked it's way toward me and eventually past me. It wasn't only tan but it was a very light tan.
I can understand how it could look black. The second lion I have seen was on the Lincoln Ranch and I, at first, would have sworn it was black. It crossed a 70 yard wide pipe line clearing. The sun was going down and it was toward the sunset. It looked black as the ace of spades. After crossing the clearing it worked it's way toward me and eventually past me. It wasn't only tan but it was a very light tan.
I think this is the culprit behind most "black panther" sightings..
I agree with the "look black to me from a distance" theory
I've seen the majority of those photos on big blankets hanging from wire sold out of vans on intersections. Along with dogs playing poker on a velvet canvas
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