# Black panther



## TurkeyGod1977 (May 16, 2006)

I have been laughing at some of you on here for a couple years. I will laugh no more.
My father and I were heading to the woods at 6:45am on Sunday morning. We hunt in Washington County just off highway 88, on the "Duck Roost" We turned a corner of a dirt road and 15 yds ahead of the truck was a huge black cat with a long tail. The cat immediately went up the road imbankment and out of sight. We had a good 2 second count of looking at him. My father was speechless. We were in awe of it./ i said it first that THAT  was a freaking Black Panther. He said he just couldnt bring himself to say those words. We both agreed that it was definately a cat. It moved so fluidly. We also agree that the body size was like a german Shepard. No kidding ya'll.....it was unreal! We have had some bears on the property before but this is just crazy!!!!   I will go to my death bed knowing that I for absolute certainty that we saw a Black panther!.   We were late to the woods so we decided that we would look for the tracks on the way out that morning.  well, it poured all morning and washed the tracks away.


----------



## Dana Young (May 16, 2006)

I told you so.


----------



## dutchman (May 16, 2006)

Dana Young said:
			
		

> I told you so.



So did I.


----------



## bradpatt03 (May 16, 2006)




----------



## ryano (May 16, 2006)

I believe it


----------



## ramsey (May 16, 2006)

welcome to the small but lucky group that have seen the black panther in the Georgia woods.


----------



## TurkeyGod1977 (May 16, 2006)

I NEVER thought that I would be!
It was pretty cool though! Puts a new spin on hunting there...


----------



## Trizey (May 16, 2006)

I believe in Ga panthers or mountain lions, but not black ones.

There has NEVER been a documented black panther ANYWHERE.


----------



## TurkeyGod1977 (May 16, 2006)

Trizey said:
			
		

> I believe in Ga panthers or mountain lions, but not black ones.
> 
> There has NEVER been a documented black panther ANYWHERE.



Man I hear ya!  I know what  I saw though. We both did.  There is ZERO doubt brother!!


----------



## GeauxLSU (May 16, 2006)




----------



## fulldraw74 (May 16, 2006)

So who has a picture but no scanner?


----------



## the HEED! (May 16, 2006)

I saw the pink panther at home depot buying insulation


----------



## Trizey (May 16, 2006)

TurkeyGod1977 said:
			
		

> Man I hear ya!  I know what  I saw though. We both did.  There is ZERO doubt brother!!



I believe you saw something


----------



## TurkeyGod1977 (May 16, 2006)

O.k. 
Maybe a black housecat that escaped from a Military testing site..... (5 feet long)
I would say a black Jaguar but a black panther sub-species seems more correct. 
There is nothing else it could have been in the world. 
Black Panther.....


----------



## TurkeyGod1977 (May 16, 2006)

Trizey said:
			
		

> I believe you saw something


I know I am gonna catch heck for this post but I owe the other guys on here the respect to tell em what we saw.


----------



## Jody Hawk (May 16, 2006)

*I believe it !!!!!!!!!*

............ and here is the proof !!!!! I had this black panther take up at my house. This thing is ferocious !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anybody want it?


----------



## TurkeyGod1977 (May 16, 2006)

Jody Hawk said:
			
		

> I had this black panther take up at my house. This thing is ferocious !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anybody want it?



My parent have MY black cat at there hose down there. When we got home that morning I was laughing everytime he walked thru the room!   Guys, I know how rediculous what i am saying is but we had a GOOD look at him. We are no rookies in the woods either. Between the both of us we have about 75 years hunting expeirence under our belts and have seen just about everything.  We do lease 14,000 acres on the Ogeechee. It has always been primo land.


----------



## dutchman (May 16, 2006)

fulldraw74 said:
			
		

> So who has a picture but no scanner?



That would be our buddy Hintz.


----------



## bradpatt03 (May 16, 2006)

> That would be our buddy Hintz



good ole hintz...what was it...he couldn't figure out the school's crappy scanner


----------



## Trizey (May 16, 2006)

bradpatt03 said:
			
		

> good ole hintz...what was it...he couldn't figure out the school's crappy scanner




No, remember....Hintz couldn't find a scanner anywhere at GSU


----------



## ryanwhit (May 16, 2006)

TurkeyGod1977 said:
			
		

> My parent have MY black cat at there hose down there. When we got home that morning I was laughing everytime he walked thru the room!   Guys, I know how rediculous what i am saying is but we had a GOOD look at him. We are no rookies in the woods either. Between the both of us we have about 75 years hunting expeirence under our belts and have seen just about everything.  We do lease 14,000 acres on the Ogeechee. It has always been primo land.




At least you know what you're saying is crazy. 

I'm not gonna tell you that you didn't see it, but I will tell you again what you already know--there is no black panther known to science AND there is no known populations of mountain lions in GA.

I wish you could have gotten a pic.  I'm sure you wanted to hunt, but the thing to do would have been to call the dnr and have a plaster cast of the tracks made before the rain.


----------



## Huntemall (May 16, 2006)

I know the place.....been there hunting before.  Miles from nowhere.  I am sure there "are" black panthers in that area


----------



## kevincox (May 16, 2006)

Yep, I have seen 3 in the county right next to where you just saw yours! Baldwin county. Just a coincidence?


----------



## Jorge (May 16, 2006)

Trizey said:
			
		

> No, remember....Hintz couldn't find a scanner anywhere at GSU



He also couldn't find any punctuation keys on his keyboard either.


----------



## dutchman (May 16, 2006)

Hintz will go down in Woody's history for that entire episode.


----------



## BuckinFish (May 16, 2006)

I hunt off of 272 in washington co. and we have had 2 of our hunting buddies see what looked like a black panther on one of the roads...and no joke this past season in a swamp I heard VERY loud growling and hissing...needless to say i got down and burnt dirt with the 4wheeler!


----------



## Researcher31726 (May 17, 2006)

I'm a believer.
Sue


----------



## dutchman (May 17, 2006)

BuckinFish said:
			
		

> I hunt off of 272 in washington co. and we have had 2 of our hunting buddies see what looked like a black panther on one of the roads...and no joke this past season in a swamp I heard VERY loud growling and hissing...needless to say i got down and burnt dirt with the 4wheeler!



Did you smell rotten eggs at the time you heard all of that hissing. Could have been ol' Wendigo.

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=41437


----------



## stev (May 17, 2006)

I to have seen them .awsome for a quick review.Only a few seconds


----------



## roadkill (May 17, 2006)

I believe you.


----------



## 11P&YBOWHUNTER (May 17, 2006)

If you see my cousin, Yeti out there...tell him i am sleeping with his wife...


----------



## flattbottomfisher (May 17, 2006)

IN the woods i fear no evil for thou 270 weatherby mag art there with me!


----------



## FX Jenkins (May 17, 2006)

There is a season for everything under the sun...

I want to believe you, so therefore I do...

4th deminsion


----------



## dixie (May 17, 2006)

*anybody wannta*

go dragon and unicorn hunting this weekend, those young dragons are easy, they haven't learned to hold their breath yet!


----------



## BuckinFish (May 17, 2006)

dutchman said:
			
		

> Did you smell rotten eggs at the time you heard all of that hissing. Could have been ol' Wendigo.
> 
> http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=41437


I think i smelt somethin else...and it was comin from my pants


----------



## NOYDB (May 17, 2006)

I saw a S American Ocelot on the side of the road...... in Mississippi. There's an aweful lot of escaped (or released) exotics out there. Just my belief, they may not have a breeding population, but just one living out a normal life span could create quite a string of "sightings".


----------



## marknga (May 17, 2006)

I believe.


----------



## mikey (May 17, 2006)

Let me get this straight, if they are not Cougars or Panthers any in GA that would make them fair game to shoot or not???


----------



## Goat (May 17, 2006)

*here is a pic*

here is a pic


----------



## Randy (May 17, 2006)

6:30 in the morning is a little early to be drinking, don't you think?


----------



## MoeBirds (May 17, 2006)

Okay,
..Next person that sees one, please shoot it  and get this thing over with once-and-for-all !!! 



Besides, what's the fine for shooting something _not classified as existing_ by the DNR ???


----------



## GeauxLSU (May 17, 2006)

Bound2Ramble said:
			
		

> Besides, what's the fine for shooting something _not classified as existing_ by the DNR ???


Probably prison or at least a big FAT fine.  http://georgiawildlife.dnr.state.ga.us/content/protectedmammals.asp


----------



## huntfish (May 17, 2006)

Randy said:
			
		

> 6:30 in the morning is a little early to be drinking, don't you think?


It's 5 o'clock somewhere.


----------



## MoeBirds (May 17, 2006)

GeauxLSU said:
			
		

> Probably prison or at least a big FAT fine.  http://georgiawildlife.dnr.state.ga.us/content/protectedmammals.asp




I saw _Eastern Cougar _and _Florida Panther _but nothin about any Georgia Black Panther ??!!


----------



## GeauxLSU (May 17, 2006)

Bound2Ramble said:
			
		

> I saw _Eastern Cougar _and _Florida Panther _but nothin about any Georgia Black Panther ??!!


Oh OK.  Good point.  Shoot one then.  

For the record.  I saw, without a doubt, a cougar in my backyard last year.   I'm telling you I am POSITIVE it was a cougar and I would have bet the keys to my house on it.  Seconds later it miraculously turned into a coyote.    I'm telling you, I KNOW FOR A FACT it WAS a cougar.   
I also saw a black doberman pincher two years ago in Wilkes county walking towards me on an old logging road I was hunting.  Seconds later it turned into an 8 point buck.  

Both of these shape shifters picked the wrong second shape because they got shot but the first shape was safe.


----------



## DYI hunting (May 17, 2006)

Come on now, I know for SURE *without a doubt* there was a panther in Georgia.  My grandfather said his father had killed one.  Must have been back around the 1910's to 1930's?


----------



## LJay (May 17, 2006)

Hey Phil, you need to get that hallucination problem checked!!!


----------



## GeauxLSU (May 17, 2006)

LJay said:
			
		

> Hey Phil, you need to get that hallucination problem checked!!!


   My point is, I've been there, seen that, rubbed my eyes.   

HOWEVER, for the record, I have no doubt there are some wild cougars/panthers in Georgia.  I also have no doubt they have been seen.  I'm equally sure that only a fraction of the reported sightings are in fact big cats.  Low light is a funny thing.   I also don't think 99% of the people who report seeing them are 'lying or crazy'.  I believe they believe they saw what they say they saw and a few are probably accurate.


----------



## FX Jenkins (May 17, 2006)

A buddy of mine shot one in Louisiana, had it mounted...


----------



## letsgohuntin (May 17, 2006)

Thats proof enough for me...I believe!


----------



## Greg (May 17, 2006)

Last year in Lincoln Co. the guy whose farm I hunt son was by the creek food plot and saw a large black cat with a long tail. It was the size of a good sized dog. It ran into the woods and climbed a tree. He looked at it for several minutes. He then went to get his buddy and it was gone when he got back.
Two months ago I was in my truck driving to the food plot to check things out and rounded the curve to the food plot and my wife and I saw it again. We only got a couple of seconds look at it. 
She did some research and concluded it was a black jaguar. I think there has been some documented evidence of jaguars in the past in Georgia.
Just my two cents.
Greg


----------



## OconeeJim (May 17, 2006)

*I saw a.......*

.........bulldog with antlers a while back


----------



## 11P&YBOWHUNTER (May 17, 2006)

Yeti!!!!!!


----------



## BgDadyBeardBustr (May 17, 2006)

I have seen a very large black cat that I believe to have been a black panther. The ex-brother-in-law I was hunting with said that the panther stayed in the area he sat me in. It had jumped out of the tree I had climbed when I first seen it. It left and then came back 10 minutes later. Saw me in the tree and ran back up the road. Before I climbed down I asked them to look at the tracks and they said it was the panther. I have seen bobcats and house cats leave tracks and these were identical to them just larger. This was in Crawford County about 18 years ago near Knoxville. My wife saw one on the road that we live on about 7 years ago. I have inquired to several game bioligist and they say that these are some of the Florida Panthers that are not extinct but have survived without being seen. Just like the Ivorybilled Wood Pecker that has been extinct since the early 1900's. They got one on film just a couple of years ago. You ask me I believe. You ask my wife and she cringes thinking about her sighting. There has been several objects captured on game cameras that are yet to be believed or explained. There was a picture in this weeks Monroe County Reporter Newspaper here that shows an object that appears to be an Angel flying horizonally across the picture of a cemetary that was taken by an Investigator where I work. I know I did not see it when I was there and he was taking the photos of the damaged tombstones. Does that mean that Angels don't exsist? I believe in both. Angels and Panthers. I have experienced both. I am here alive after four heart attacks. Why wouldn't the Panther be alive and well away from everyone moving into their habitat? You wouldn't think that a perfectly normal Coyote would go into a grocery store full of people either but I was there to help remove it. No rabies or despimper. Just being pushed out of its habitat. What about an Axis Deer being shot (poached) in Spalding County? I saw it. North Walkers Mill Road north of Jackson Road. Anything is possible and I believe. Tim


----------



## Inatree (May 17, 2006)

I dont think Georgia has ever had Jaguars, even in pre columbian times. A Jaguar is the oddball of the cat world, it lives in tropical rain forests and flood plains where it is very at home in the water. The last hope for an American breeding population of Jaguars is in the Atachafalaya Basin (the old mississippi river delta before the river was controled)which is most of S. Louisiana. This is the only tropical rain forest in N.America and also the area where the last Red Wolves were found.


----------



## Nicodemus (May 17, 2006)

Hernando De Soto chronicled jaguars in Florida in the 
1530s. He knew what they were as he had seen them in Southern Mexico durin` his years of conquest down there, so there is no doubt that there were at least some rangin` the Lower South 500 years ago although I doubt there were ever many. Jaguars are sometimes born with the melanistic gene and they also have the hyoid bone in their throat that permits them to roar. Cougars do not have this feature so they "scream".


----------



## Dub (May 17, 2006)

nicodemus said:
			
		

> Hernando De Soto chronicled jaguars in Florida in the
> 1530s. He knew what they were as he had seen them in Southern Mexico durin` his years of conquest down there, so there is no doubt that there were at least some rangin` the Lower South 500 years ago although I doubt there were ever many. Jaguars are sometimes born with the melanistic gene and they also have the hyoid bone in their throat that permits them to roar. Cougars do not have this feature so they "scream".




Ah....yeah....what he said.


----------



## Hintz (May 17, 2006)

dutchman said:
			
		

> Hintz will go down in Woody's history for that entire episode.


thank you, thank you. i actually just found a scanner wait a mintue ill go post the pic


----------



## Hintz (May 17, 2006)

Jorge said:
			
		

> He also couldn't find any punctuation keys on his keyboard either.


sorry bud didnt realize you took grammar use so serious


----------



## Bruz (May 17, 2006)

ryanwhit said:
			
		

> At least you know what you're saying is crazy.
> 
> I'm not gonna tell you that you didn't see it, but I will tell you again what you already know--there is no black panther known to science AND there is no known populations of mountain lions in GA.



Maybe not a "Black Panther" but a Black Leopard or Jaguar most certainly.

What is a Black Panther?
The term ‘Black Panther’ is quite often used in connection with large black cats - however there is no one distinct species of wild cat called a Black Panther. Over the years it has become used as a common name which can be applied to any large black coated cat. When you see a picture of a Black Panther it is most likely that you are looking at either a Leopard or possibly a Jaguar with Melanistic coloration.


----------



## bubbafowler (May 17, 2006)

heres yall some reading
http://www.paranormalresearchonline.com/crypto_4.html


----------



## Inatree (May 17, 2006)

nicodemus said:
			
		

> Hernando De Soto chronicled jaguars in Florida in the
> 1530s. He knew what they were as he had seen them in Southern Mexico durin` his years of conquest down there, so there is no doubt that there were at least some rangin` the Lower South 500 years ago although I doubt there were ever many. Jaguars are sometimes born with the melanistic gene and they also have the hyoid bone in their throat that permits them to roar. Cougars do not have this feature so they "scream".



Come to think of it,  the Okefenokee is probably perfect Jaguar habitat.

I always thought roaring was a form of communication, I didnt know they had a bone stuck in their throat .


----------



## GeauxLSU (May 18, 2006)

Inatree said:
			
		

> The last hope for an American breeding population of Jaguars is in the Atachafalaya Basin (the old mississippi river delta before the river was controled)which is most of S. Louisiana. This is the only tropical rain forest in N.America and also the area where the last Red Wolves were found.


No more jaguars there (other than the Southern University).  They were all eaten by the Loup Garou!


----------



## GA DAWG (May 18, 2006)

I'll believe it when I see one.Thousands of cameras in the woods.Millions of cars driven up and down rds everyday!! Hundreds of thousands of hunters in the woods!! Still we have no proof. A few pictures of them or a dead carcass would help!!!!


----------



## Killdee (May 18, 2006)

Black Puma
There are no authenticated cases of truly melanistic pumas. Black pumas have been reported in Kentucky, one of which had a paler belly. There have also been reports of glossy black pumas from Kansas and eastern Nebraska. These are known as the North American Black Panther (NABP) and are cryptozoological animals. However no one has ever taken a picture of a black puma, no breeder in the world has ever been able to produce one, and no hunter has ever shot one. All breeders of pumas in the world agree that the 'Black Puma' is nothing more than a myth. This is probably due to most people being inexperienced in what different breeds of cats actually look like and mistaking one breed for another.

In his "Histoire Naturelle" (1749), Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, wrote of the "Black Cougar": "M. de la Borde, King’s physician at Cayenne, informs me, that in the [South American] Continent there are three species of rapacious animals; that the first is the jaguar, which is called the tiger; that the second is the couguar [sic], called the red tiger, on account of the uniform redness of his hair; that the jaguar is of the size of a large bull-dog, and weighs about 200 pounds (90 kg); that the couguar is smaller, less dangerous, and not so frequent in the neighbourhood of Cayenne as the jaguar; and that both these animals take six years in acquiring their full growth. He adds, that there is a third species in these countries, called the black tiger, of which we have given a figure under the appellation of the black couguar."

"The head," says M. de la Borde, "is pretty similar to that of the common couguar; but the animal has long black hair, and likewise a long tail, with strong whiskers. He weighs not above forty pounds. The female brings forth her young in the hollows of old trees." This black couguar is most likely a margay or ocelot, which are under forty pounds, live in trees, and do occur in a melanistic phase.

Another description of a black cougar was provided by Mr Pennant: "Black tiger, or cat, with the head black, sides, fore part of the legs, and the tail, covered with short and very glossy hairs, of a dusky colour, sometimes spotted with black, but generally plain: Upper lips white: At the corner of the mouth a black spot: Long hairs above each eye, and long whiskers on the upper lip: Lower lip, throat, belly, and the inside of the legs, whitish, or very pale ash-colour: Paws white: Ears pointed: Grows to the size of a heifer of a year old: Has vast strength in its limbs.-- Inhabits Brasil and Guiana: Is a cruel and fierce beast; much dreaded by the Indians; but happily is a scarce species;" (Pennant's Synops. of quad., p 180). According to his translator Smellie (1781), the description was taken from two black cougars exhibited in London some years previously.

And heres what one would look like If................?
You would think with photography being around for over a 100 years somebody would have a pic of a hunter posing with his black cat from the late 1800s to now.


----------



## kudzumotorsports (May 18, 2006)

I knew a fella that USED to hunt. He came face to face with one in washington county. That must be the hot spot.


----------



## kudzumotorsports (May 18, 2006)

I think I would wet my pants if I ran across one.!


----------



## kevincox (May 20, 2006)

I just camped out with my son last night on a mans property in Baldwin County that has seen a black panther. He and his wife both told me they saw it cross their driveway two different times in broad daylight over the past several years. They said without a doubt it was a BLACK PANTHER! Folks there is no way all these sightings are false!  He called DNR and once again they stated there are no black panthers! (Only because they have never seen one!)


----------



## GA DAWG (May 20, 2006)

I think some folks minds play tricks on em.If all these people see them and so many are running around.Why dont we have footage of them pics or videos.How do they avoid being hit on the highway.Every other creature in GA I've seen ran over at some time or another.


----------



## Gobblergetter (May 20, 2006)

I've never seen one but I know enough people that say they've seen one that don't just lie about that kind of thing


----------



## gsubo (May 20, 2006)

Heres a picture of a black panther I found.. 

Seriously though, he fits the profile...the size of a large dog, long black tail.  I think if this thing crossed the road 75 to 100 yards in front of anyone in their hunting club thats a reasonable distance away from houses or neighborhoods , they would think it was a black panther.  I think most of the sighting are simple cases of mistaken identity. I have had very reliable people swear to me that they've seen em, but i just dont know.


----------



## kevincox (May 20, 2006)

Yep, The only major difference from that lab and what I saw was the head. The animal I saw had a cat shaped head with pointed ears and a much longer straight tail. The puma picture shown earlier looks more like what I saw.


----------



## Researcher31726 (May 20, 2006)

I don't have a photo...I don't have casts of tracks found...But I believe because of what my family and I have seen on our place.
Sue


----------



## duckhead2 (Sep 4, 2006)

Turkeygod1977.  

It took a lot of guts to stand up and say you saw a panther.  I know.  For those who have never seen one, it is impossible to believe.  I can't convince our local GW that I have seen on eight different occassions a panther over the past 25 yr.  (never black though)  

Had my cross hairs on him once, my bino's twice and once while bow hunting I used a fawn bleet call and he charged up to withing twenty five yards of me looking for an easy kill.  But as soon as he realized what I was, he was gone in a flash.  The most unbelievable occurrance was one time one was just sitting on the edge of the R/W of a frequently used state route as we approached.  When me and my companion saw it, I started breaking fast; meanwhile, it just got up and meandered into the woods like it could not care less.  I jumped out of the truck and ran into the woods hoping to get another look.  never did though and my coworker thought I was an idiot for doing it but I knew It would not mess w/ me.  All I have ever seen were what I would call "mink Brown".  

You guys go ahead and joke but I know what i saw -and have seen.  I have two hunting buddies who will testify to the same thing.  Three of my sightings were within three months of when they saw theirs and once, one of them was with me when we saw it together.  I'm in deep south georgia


----------



## walukabuck (Sep 4, 2006)

I believe. We had a guy on our Talbot county lease claim to see one last year. There is a guy who hunts some land next to us. He is a forester and a knowledgable woodsmen who has lived there his entire life. When I asked him about this, he said they are definitely out there. He also said that he has one on video. He did say however, that they are not actually black, but a very dark brown. He says that he has had several sightings.


----------



## LJay (Sep 4, 2006)

We, the ones who have seen, believe. The rest of you can.................. welllllllll, NOT!


----------



## Mojo^ (Sep 10, 2006)

Yep, it's hard to believe until you actually see one and then it becomes something that you will never forget. Despite what the DNR and others will say, black panthers do exist in GA. I've been fortunate enough to see one twice, both times in Jones county. My wife has also seen one in Peach county.


----------



## mikel (Sep 10, 2006)

There has NEVER been a documented black panther ANYWHERE.[/QUOTE]



if you and i were to bet money on this.....













you'd lose


----------



## RackNBeardOutdoors (Sep 10, 2006)

I don't doubt that there are some out there, I hunt in the west part of Pike County where some farmers have some cows, and they say that they have seen them down there. MY QUESTION is, if I am walking to my stand, are they harmful or will they try to run a person down, or are they afraid of people?


----------



## Hawkeye (Sep 10, 2006)

My son and I have seen one in Alapaha GA.

Having been in the taxidermy business 40 years I can certainly said ,this is a leopard and not a Panther(Puma).

There is a slight difference on the tail and body shape, which can be distinct from puma to leopard.
Jaguars have a broader head.

People that live around our property have also seen it, including the land care taker ,who lost 2 dogs to it.

He thinks it was a pet that got away years ago, there is a lot of road kills on that road so it will be easy for it to survive and also hunt, with the great amount of deer in that area.


----------



## Gahyperone (Sep 10, 2006)

I saw a mountain lion in Pickens Co. when I worked with the Sheriffs Office, I have NO doubt what it was. And I had a friend tell me that he had one "stalk" him to his stand some where in S. Ga. He said a couple hours after he was in his stand, that the mtn. lion followed his exact trail to his stand, and eventually left the area.


----------



## bull0ne (Sep 10, 2006)

They do exist out side of Florida..........check out this one captured on tape in Mississippi....


http://www.thejump.net/multimedia/cougar/cougar.htm


----------



## matthewsman (Sep 10, 2006)

*Hey Bull*



bull0ne said:


> They do exist out side of Florida..........check out this one captured on tape in Mississippi....
> 
> 
> http://www.thejump.net/multimedia/cougar/cougar.htm



I know panthers exist in the Southeast.In the early 90's there was a sign at the check station on Di-Lane wma warning hunters not to shoot a radio collared panther that was part of a relocation program from Fla.that had migrated north and was using the WMA as part of his home range....

The "black panther is malarkey though....

the animal in that video you linked to is distinctly canine to me.It doesn't have the"roll"in the shoulders cats possess,and the tail is definitely wagging,rather than swishing back and forth like that of a cat....the "still"of the video looks like a yellow lab with his head up...


----------



## bull0ne (Sep 10, 2006)

matthewsman said:


> I know panthers exist in the Southeast.In the early 90's there was a sign at the check station on Di-Lane wma warning hunters not to shoot a radio collared panther that was part of a relocation program from Fla.that had migrated north and was using the WMA as part of his home range....
> 
> The "black panther is malarkey though....
> 
> the animal in that video you linked to is distinctly canine to me.It doesn't have the"roll"in the shoulders cats possess,and the tail is definitely wagging,rather than swishing back and forth like that of a cat....the "still"of the video looks like a yellow lab with his head up...



I see a feline in the video, in my eyes it's a mountain lion.

Maybe some our PC/photo gurus can take a still from the footage and blow it up?


----------



## doc (Sep 11, 2006)

This is always my favorite thread of the year.  By the way, what is Despimper?  Is that Looty's french name?


----------



## SWbowhunter (Sep 11, 2006)

I do not think anyone in DNR would argue the possibility of captive escapes of any species in georgia is possible. 

the sheer volume of calls about large cats would indicated an enormous population in every single region of the state.  

You say they go unnoticed.

When the radio cats came to s georgia from florida. The phones lit up immediately and you could the track the cats along the south georgia drainages by sightings. 

They get noticed. 

I think its possible to have some escaped cats from the numerous "permitted facilities" in the state, but their survival would be low and the chance there is a breeding population is nil. 

I do think people see thing they can't explain. How many times have you watched that deer in a distance turn back into a stump? 

This is not a unique georgia thing. You have to extrapolate all of the lack of evidence in georgia to every other southeastern state. This the story is the same everywhere you go.


----------



## Bruz (Sep 11, 2006)

SWbowhunter said:


> , but their survival would be low and the chance there is a breeding population is nil.



Didn't Jurassic Park teach you anything?

"Nature will find a way"


----------



## chuck14 (Sep 12, 2006)

Some interesting reading on the panther relocation project. Most wandered into Georgia at one point or another. Do a search on Georgia in the document  and see how close some of these came to your stomping grounds. They weren't black panthers, but still.......

http://www.panthersociety.org/sum.html


----------



## Tiger Rag (Sep 12, 2006)

Good link Chuck


----------



## SWbowhunter (Sep 12, 2006)

chuck14 said:


> Some interesting reading on the panther relocation project. Most wandered into Georgia at one point or another. Do a search on Georgia in the document  and see how close some of these came to your stomping grounds. They weren't black panthers, but still.......
> 
> http://www.panthersociety.org/sum.html



I have seen this in other posts and I think its interesting. I think people make the assumption that if those transmittered cats move into georgia, then other florida panthers probably do as well. However, the study was a feasability study. They released mountain lions, in an area of N. Florida where the Florida Panther can't be found. They wanted to see how these cats fared before moving Florida panthers.  Florida Panthers are fround more central to south floirda.


----------



## devolve (Sep 14, 2006)

Trizey said:


> I believe in Ga panthers or mountain lions, but not black ones.
> 
> There has NEVER been a documented black panther ANYWHERE.



Call the Florida fresh water fish and game commision and ask about the black florida panther trapped on the Charles and Winston Clayton property in Chuluota FL off of CR419 in november of 1997. It was a female. I know because it was my hunting lease. We were the ones that called about it to begin with.

--cjc--


----------



## cball917 (Sep 17, 2006)

I will say i have to believe you. i have some freinds that have some pics that i will have to steal or something. My buddies were stayin at a cabin up in ne georgia and were having a problem with somethin in the trash. They thought it was a bear. So they set up a trail cam. Needless to say they have 2 pictures that were clear enough to tell what it is. one pic was of a body of an animal built like a mtn lion about 5 ft from shoulders back, its head was in the dupster. the other one was it comin back out of the dumpster and its a face shot, i saw the pic and am now a believer, guys it had to be i have never seen a black kitty cat with a head that size in my life, i will try my best to locate those pics so yall can judge yourself


----------



## sumterhunter (Sep 17, 2006)

*Pictures?*

i have seen trail cam pictures of almost everything...bears, hawks, owls, squirrels, deer, turkeys, an emu, a llama, game wardens, poachers, a turtle, etc etc etc. Maybe some of these guys who claim several sightings in the same area should put trail cams over a few cans of Fancy Feast and see if we can get a picture of this "CAT"!!!


----------



## GA DAWG (Sep 18, 2006)

cball917 said:


> I will say i have to believe you. i have some freinds that have some pics that i will have to steal or something. My buddies were stayin at a cabin up in ne georgia and were having a problem with somethin in the trash. They thought it was a bear. So they set up a trail cam. Needless to say they have 2 pictures that were clear enough to tell what it is. one pic was of a body of an animal built like a mtn lion about 5 ft from shoulders back, its head was in the dupster. the other one was it comin back out of the dumpster and its a face shot, i saw the pic and am now a believer, guys it had to be i have never seen a black kitty cat with a head that size in my life, i will try my best to locate those pics so yall can judge yourself


 You need to get those pics ASAP!!!!!!


----------



## Madsnooker (Sep 18, 2006)

There are people that will go to their grave saying they saw Big Foot. Does that mean we have Big feets running around somewhere.


----------



## doenightmare (Sep 18, 2006)

I have no reason to beleive they don't exist in small numbers here. Some guys I hunt with have seen a black one and a tan one near the Ben Hill - CoffeeCounty line. Our friend who lives down there said the game warden told him they follow major river drainages up from FL. This is 1/2 mile from the Ocmulgee. No one thought bears lived in middle GA but they are definitely there now. There is plenty of game and cover for big cats and with all the growth in FL, maybe they are getting forced to look for new territories. Maybe the black ones are seen more often because their black and stand out more. As for pics and road kill, the point was made that a bobcat pic is rare and cougars are a lot rarer than bobcats. I remember reading in the paper or maybe GON about 7 years ago about one being hit on I-75 near Valdosta. DNR came and everything. Hope one day I get to see one - from a distance.


----------



## Emmersom Biggens (Sep 19, 2006)

Somebody shoot one, If they don't exist you can't be poaching , right?


----------



## Mojo^ (Sep 19, 2006)

Like I said in an earlier post, I've seen one on two seperate occasions. However, this is the most likely explination for what myself and many others have seen: http://www.bigcatrescue.org/jaguarundi.htm.

I think it's entirely feasible that on rare occasions, these cats (jaguarundi) may have roamed to this part of the country.


----------



## White Stag (Sep 19, 2006)

My dad farms back home in southeast GA. Years ago my brother and I were driving the corn truck back from the field one night when a deer darted across the road, guess what was on its heels? A panther. We told my dad about it and he thought we must have seen a bobcat but our grandpa belived us. He said he saw one about five years before around the same area.  I haven't seen one since but I have heard one while deer hunting...if you ever hear one scream in the night it is enough to chill your blood.


----------



## ugabowhunter (Sep 19, 2006)

i saw a tan panther/mountain lion/big cat/something along rocky comfort creek in jefferson county about 10 years ago coming out of a tree in the morning.. i had a deer rifle, but shooting it never really occured to me.  i really remember the tail  very long and unlike a dog's, it seemed independent of the body and didn't move when the cat did. with me, the verdict is still out on black panthers. guess i need some proof.


----------



## GA DAWG (Sep 20, 2006)

It would be nice if anybody had any proof.One little picture is all it would take.Youd think with all the folks that seen one.SOMEBODY would have alittle proof!!


----------



## GT-40 GUY (Sep 20, 2006)

Maybe it was one of the escapees from the New Orleans zoo after Katrina. They had Panthers, tigers, lions and many other animals there.


----------



## GT-40 GUY (Sep 20, 2006)

ttt


----------



## meriwether john (Sep 21, 2006)

I wouldn't call them black. Dark would be a better description especially in low light conditions. Was told be a VERY reputable person in the hunting industry that DNR has released Fla. panthers along the Chattahoochee River corridor somewhere in Ga. Supposedly they are trying to bring back animal species here before the dreaded Europeans arrived.


----------



## herren2006 (Sep 21, 2006)

TurkeyGod1977 said:


> I have been laughing at some of you on here for a couple years. I will laugh no more.
> My father and I were heading to the woods at 6:45am on Sunday morning. We hunt in Washington County just off highway 88, on the "Duck Roost" We turned a corner of a dirt road and 15 yds ahead of the truck was a huge black cat with a long tail. The cat immediately went up the road imbankment and out of sight. We had a good 2 second count of looking at him. My father was speechless. We were in awe of it./ i said it first that THAT  was a freaking Black Panther. He said he just couldnt bring himself to say those words. We both agreed that it was definately a cat. It moved so fluidly. We also agree that the body size was like a german Shepard. No kidding ya'll.....it was unreal! We have had some bears on the property before but this is just crazy!!!!   I will go to my death bed knowing that I for absolute certainty that we saw a Black panther!.   We were late to the woods so we decided that we would look for the tracks on the way out that morning.  well, it poured all morning and washed the tracks away.



im from randolph county alabama near woodland and there has been numerous sitings around here especially from chicken farmers. we have seen a couple around in pastures crossing. u just think a bobcat sounds creepy when it screams.


----------



## RackNBeardOutdoors (Sep 21, 2006)

*bigfoor*

Hey, I have really seen bigfoot's tracks in Pike County after I walk in the woods in the morning and all around my back yard.....wait a minute, those are mine, I wear a size 16 shoe.........sorry ya'll, had to do it....I'm sure there are panthers in GA somewhere.........


----------



## cpowel10 (Sep 21, 2006)

i'll honestly believe in a BLACK panther when i see one dead, im sure a florida panther (tan colored) can wander up here....but black? i'll have to see one


----------



## Tulip (Sep 25, 2006)

I believe you. My dad and i saw a florida panther in Georgia in the swamps of the satilla river in camden county in 1978. Crossed the road bout 100-150 yards in front of us. Drove down to where he/she crossed and saw tracks large tracks no claw marks like a dog. Also had a LONG tail almost as long as the body that curved down to ground and back up. Was no dog, coyote etc. was a panther. This critter was very dark so you probably saw one of these not a black panther. Looked black/dark brown from distance. Anyway i still believe you cause I have seen one myself.


----------



## crowe1187 (Sep 25, 2006)

there are deffinately "cougars" in georgia. im not talkin about the black ones b/c i have no clue about that. but what everyone calls a cougar or panther that is tan is a mountain lion. yall say kill them, i would love to but then the dnr will take it and you will go to jail. i know of someone who killed one in south georgia and is gettin in a lot of trouble for it


----------



## doenightmare (Sep 25, 2006)

http://georgiawildlife.dnr.state.ga.us/content/protectedmammals.asp Both the Eastern cougar and Florida cougar are on GA's endangered species list. I agree that the black ones probably don't exist anywhere. People that say they saw one probably saw a dark brown one or were just mistaken.


----------



## crowe1187 (Sep 25, 2006)

endangered list means they do exist and you caint kill them, the tan ones that is


----------



## 10point (Sep 25, 2006)

I have seen a black one in our club. Seen two tans last year.Last year I was watching a doe.She got a little nervous.I thought she seen me.But there was a panther in the ditch ready to pounce.That would of made great footage.Let em' live houses kill more deer than cats.


----------



## Ol' Buckmaster (Sep 26, 2006)

crowe1187 said:


> endangered list means they do exist and you caint kill them, the tan ones that is



The state just took the eastern cougar off the endangered species list because they "don't exist in Georgia". 

No such thing as a "black panther", but I know there are some cougars here. How they got here is another question. I have to believe they're  pets that people have released. Although cougars do roam the Georgia woods, I don't believe there's a breeding population here.


----------



## doenightmare (Sep 26, 2006)

Ol' Buckmaster said:


> The state just took the eastern cougar off the endangered species list because they "don't exist in Georgia".


Where did you get that info?


----------



## Ol' Buckmaster (Sep 26, 2006)

doenightmare said:


> Where did you get that info?



AJC from Sunday.


----------



## TeamBrowning (Sep 26, 2006)

I think the world is a more interesting place when you believe that things like this panther exist. Do I believe? Sure I believe there are big cats out there like this one. Course I also believe a man died 2,000 years ago and rose up three-days later so I must be a kook.


----------



## letsgohuntin (Sep 26, 2006)

Ol' Buckmaster said:


> AJC from Sunday.



here it is...  

http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/stories/2006/09/24/0925lvendangered.html


New list of Georgia's protected species gives snapshot of how critters are doing

By BO EMERSON

Published on: 09/25/06

The Eastern cougar is off the list.

Updated for the first time since 1992, Georgia's list of protected species has gained some names and lost some others.

The cougar? It was extremely rare in Georgia during most of the previous century, and it's being taken off the roster now not because its fortunes have improved, but because it seems pretty clear that the cougar is gone from the state.

The protected species list identifies 318 other indigenous plants and animals that are at risk of going the way of the Eastern cougar. And a few whose hopes have improved. It's a snapshot of the health of Georgia's wildlife, an image that changes due to the push and pull of development and conservation.

"People have been looking for Eastern cougars for a long time, and they haven't shown up," said Jon Ambrose of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. People often send in reports of big felines with long tails, "but every picture I see is some kind of house cat," said state wildlife biologist Jim Ozier.


----------



## doenightmare (Sep 27, 2006)

I beleive the FLorida panther remains on the list. I think that's the cat folks have been seeing, especially in S. GA.


----------



## DDD (Sep 27, 2006)

Here is my 2 cents, you take it for what it is worth.

When I was 10, this would be 1987 for those of you scoring at home, my dad and I drove into camp on Friday before opening day of gun season on Saturday.  My Uncle along with about 12 club members were outside listening to my other Uncle talk.

He had been bow hunting, when he had 2 Panthers walk up on him.  Now mind you, my Oldest Uncle (who saw the cats) has lived in Florida for 30 years, and is one of the best hunters I know.. coons, foxes, deer, bear... you name it.

Anywho, he had an arrow in his hand and it was covered in blood... he said the cats came in on the same trail that he walked in on, and yes he was hunting near a HUGE swamp that was on our property and ajoining properties.  He said the cats were "stalking" and that they closed to within 10 yards, and he decided he did not want to be kitty food.  

Of course you had club members who were saying stuff like, it was probably a bob cat.... you had guys who just flat out did not believe him... so....

About midnight, and I can remember this like it was yesterday, everyone was sleeping in the club house and way down back behind camp towards the swamp it sounded like a woman screaming for her life at the top of her lungs with a P.A. system hooked up.  Flashlights came on, people sat straight up in bed, I at 10 years old freaked out.  For 3 hours that cat screamed.

After the initial jitters wore off, people were making jokes like, "Bill, would you please go feed your cat so we can get some sleep?"  "Bill, please go sleep with your cat so the rest of us can get some sleep!"  

Did I see it?  NO.  Did I hear it?  YES!  Black Panther? No clue.  Big Cat?  Had to be.

My uncle did not want to shoot it, but he felt like it was coming to get in the stand with him.  No one ever saw either cat again.


----------



## doenightmare (Sep 27, 2006)

Great story - was that in FL?


----------



## DDD (Sep 28, 2006)

No sir, that was in the state of GA.

My uncle told the game warden about it 2 weeks later, and the GW said he did not doubt it, that he thought it was totally possible, but again that was in '87.


----------



## letsgohuntin (Sep 28, 2006)

*I have a pic !!*

I have a trail cam pic of a black panther... he's camo'd pretty good though so you have to look real hard.


----------



## letsgohuntin (Sep 28, 2006)

Just kidding guys... don't strain your eyes to bad!!


----------

