Friday afternoon, approximately 4:00 P:M, a Black Panther was spotted by Hambone and me on what was formerly referred to as "Computer Tutors Trail" or "The Timberlane Bum Trail" off of Timberlane road. This trail, and the drainage ditch to the north will now be known as "Panther Park". For those of you with some history of Circus attendance, you will remember another Friday- October 21, 2005- when I spotted my first Black Panther in the area.
I was not alone this time. Bushy was also with us, but rolled up seconds too late to glimpse the fleeing cat. This one was smaller, I presume because it is early Spring, and we caught it with its pants down, sitting in the trail.
Mind you, there is no recorded proof of panthers, especially black ones, in the area, but they are here.
The South Carolina lowlands country has a similar situation which can be followed at www.cougartracker.blogspot.com I just don't know what else to tell you people. We got big cats running around and that is a certified BigRingCircus fact. If you have anecdotal evidence to support this enigma, please share.
Thanks to Bushy and Doc T, I got a respectable 45 miles in over the weekend, primarily singletrack, so that equals like 400 road miles easy. I am right on schedule to burst from the winter meat sweater like a beautiful butterfly emerging from its cocoon.
Chew on that image with your morning coffee, and I'll catch you later.
-Juancho
12 comments:
for those of us not in the know, are you being euphemistic, or are you really spotting large, wild panthers?
Understandable given the lack of straight answers available at this site, BUT.
I have absolutely 100% seen a medium-large black panther/cougar.puma in the area not once, but twice. The second, being just 3 days ago and with a witness is fresh in my mind.
Weird huh?
They got 'em in Texas too,keep your eyes peeled.
Yeah, I'll pass on the big black cats. Part of me wuvs the big kitties and wants to cuddle them, yet the rest of me knows better.
Several years ago I went hiking alone in Rocky Mtn National park and, despite it being full to the brim of Sunday drivers and families, I read a sign about "what to do if you see a Mountain Lion" and was immediately petrified that I would indeed see a big cat and it would eat me.
Luckily I only saw a bunch of noisy teenagers.
Ha! Most circus fodder i take as the god awful truth but a black panther marking territory behind Computer Tutors? Sure it weren't no saber tooth?
I know. Laugh it up. It's still true. Wait until I report it tomorrow, they will really be supportive. It's still 100% true. (with a 2nd witness biatch).
Oh I Believe that you Believe that you saw a black panther...
Maybe I'm just jealous. Been a life-long dream of mine to see a big cat in the Florida wild. I always wanted to see a wild bear around here too and realized that dream quite recently. Riding my Red Cannondale on a sandy outpost road deep in Bald Point State Park around sunrise. Looked down to see a paw print that was as wide as three of my fists with five razor sharp claw indentions, then I saw a huge pile of bear scat covering my earlier bike track, then I looked up and that a big boy (or girl) was some 40' down an old side road. I stopped, our eyes met, silent "hello dude's" were exchanged, and then the Ursus Americanas sauntered off among the palmettos to eat some more berry laxative.
Yeah, Juancho, I Believe that You Believe you'll be fast someday.
Beat it loser! Talk about your rare sightings.
Sorry AS not you,
I understand the chagrin at missing out. although the "experts" snort and chuckle and go straight for the "escaped from the zoo" theory. The fact remains they can't prove I didn't see it anymore than I can prove I did. If they want to call me a liar, they can pick the Winn Dixie Parking Lot and I'll bring the whoop-ass.
I do plan to post today, I'm just in the weeds work-wise at the moment.
Several eyewitnesses insisted the cat they saw wasn't a cougar or bobcat because they saw it in the middle of the day. They said they got a good look at a dark, long-tailed cat. Bobcats and cougars are chiefly nocturnal while the jaguarundi is a daylight dweller.
Florida has a resident population of jaguarundis that were imported into that state in the 1940s. Since the cats are so secretive it's difficult to gauge their population status, but it is generally believed to be healthy.
http://www.anomalist.com/features/jag.html
This was the primary assertion given to me by Dan, from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI)
I could live with the jaguarundi theory.
His first question request?
"Convince me it wasn't an otter". It almost stumped me. Now I know how witnesses feel getting worked over in court. I'll post some pics for comparison.
Pretty interesting stuff. Known feral population, daylight dweller, medium sized, black, 100% positive sighting by a fairly reputable off-roader..
OK, I Believe there is a good chance that a Jaguarundi is roaming our Maclay-Phipps Greenway and is coming into town to work on his MSCE certification.
I spoke with a Tallahassee resident in Linene Woods neighborhood, near Lake Jackson, who identified a Jaguarundi in 1st week of Oct. 2006. Easy to map a woodsy connection from there to Live Oak Connector. Jaguarundi looks like an otter; short ears and thick long tail; no spots on ears, no spots anywhere. Yes, Munson after rain is mtb equivalent to 6'-And-Glassy.
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