Big black cats in ga.

[hickorynutk@win]

About a month and a half ago my wife and I were on the way over to a friends house about 12 miles from our house in Marion Co. about an hour before sunset. As we were driving down a dirt rode I saw something jump the road about 70 yards. in front of us. Being a deer hunter I've always got an eye out for furry stuff as I drive. When I saw it the first thing my mind said was deer, but as the eye image was prossesed I realized I was looking at a large black cat. No not a fat house cat cuz it cleared the road from bank to bank in a single bound, never touching the roadbed. The next day I called DNR to report it and was told that Ga. dosen't have any population of panthers although my call was the second call that day, the other coming from far SE Ga. and they get calls all the time, but without a picture or some kind of positive ID they don't count.
After telling the story to a number of people I heard stories from at least 4 others that had sightings in our area over the last 10 years or so. Any body else see any of these non-existing cats?

[White Rook]

I was watching Monster Quest a couple of weeks ago and they had a show about Big Black Cats here in North America. They even had a guy in North or South Carolina that video taped one. It will take someone shooting one or one getting hit by a car to confirm that they do exist.

[PAPA G]

some of my neighbors have seen the big black cats too.

about 5 years ago early a.m. the wife was getting a cup of coffee, looking out the kitchen window she saw a puma crossing the back yard with one of our ducks in its mouth!!!

so i called KY Wildlife to report it, the brain on the other end said Ky has no big cats, and if it was it was an illegal pet that escaped or turned loose

i did ask if we see it again can i shoot it? he say only if its threatening livestock or people. well the ducks disappeared that year...one at a time.

[jimkim]

There are plenty of them in Dodge County. The local game wardens will tell you they "aren't here", but "if you kill one you will be prosecuted". My question was, "how can you be prosecuted for killing something that doesn't exist". They laughed and said "do it and you'll find out".

[ArkansasHunter]

Just shoot them anyway if there a threat. I surely would !!! If I had a Duck and one of them Panthers got it I'd be gitting even !!!! Ain't NO dang Panther gonna be eat'in my pet Duck and get away with it !!! KA-BOOM NO CAT...A.H

[Annie Oakleaf]

There's been a good many people down here in Brooks Co. that's seen them. I've also heard that folks have gotten em on game cameras too.

[2dogs]

I just heard of some guys down in Talbot county in middle georgia who captured several pictures of a large cat on one of their trail cameras....SEMPER FI

[Archetype_wyo]

Originally Posted by hickorynutk@win

About a month and a half ago my wife and I were on the way over to a friends house about 12 miles from our house in Marion Co. about an hour before sunset. As we were driving down a dirt rode I saw something jump the road about 70 yards. in front of us. Being a deer hunter I've always got an eye out for furry stuff as I drive. When I saw it the first thing my mind said was deer, but as the eye image was prossesed I realized I was looking at a large black cat. No not a fat house cat cuz it cleared the road from bank to bank in a single bound, never touching the roadbed. The next day I called DNR to report it and was told that Ga. dosen't have any population of panthers although my call was the second call that day, the other coming from far SE Ga. and they get calls all the time, but without a picture or some kind of positive ID they don't count.
After telling the story to a number of people I heard stories from at least 4 others that had sightings in our area over the last 10 years or so. Any body else see any of these non-existing cats?

They're cougers, mountain lions all the same to me and you but black. As my dad says "there used to be tons of the things around before the damned pilgrims got here and shot anything that moved." I would suppose that in the more rural areas back east they would be making a comeback and just like in every other case in animals changing their diet to suit the environment they inhabit. I was watching it on the History Channel and about half of the biologists studying these "rare black cats" are saying that they are genetic rarities like what would happen with two chocolate labs having one or 2 of their pups be a yellow colored puppy. My opinion? I'm sure its either a comeback of the almost extinct "Nitney Lions" or Black Panthers or a genetic rarity what would now be a genetic 50/50.

[mdj696]

We got em in Murphy N.C. Wife saw f/male with cubs at our spring. One launched me out of the tub about 2:00 am with a scream outside.

[Clyde]

The big Black cats are chasing the over sized pigs that are running around in Ga.

[Clyde]

Are razorbacks consider PIGS?

[G. Green]

Don't know about black ones, but big cats are out there in more places than people realize. Official response to a reported sighting is usually about the same as if you'd reported a UFO. (had a big cat hit by a train here in Oklahoma a few years ago, yes a train)

[Thrawn]

Seen 'em twice, once back in '97 going down HWY.32 around the Thalman area with my parents and the second time while I was driving along the same highway in '04 a few miles east of Hortense. Both times @ night. Ive seen the monsterquest show too, and until then I never really put much thought into the sightings except as "interesting".

[jimkim]

Wild Panther Confirmed in Georgia Troup County cougar was a Florida panther, not an escaped captive as assumed by DNR. By DNR Press Release Posted Wednesday August 5 2009, 4:45 PM Genetic testing by the National Cancer Institute, Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, has indicated the panther shot by a hunter in Troup County last year came from the resident southern Florida panther population.

On Sunday, November 16, a sportsman observed a mature panther or cougar while he was hunting deer in the woods of Troup County. The hunter shot the cat from his stand, then reported the incident to DNR. He has not been charged in the case.

The animal was taken to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens for examination. A necropsy revealed the animal to be in excellent nutritional condition. No evidence of microchips or other common identification methods were found on the animal.
Because Florida panthers had not been documented in Georgia in years, it was initially thought that this animal might have escaped or have been intentionally released from captivity. With the genetic confirmation that the animal is a Florida panther, it is possible that this animal traveled from south Florida to Georgia.

"We have had evidence (road kill) of Florida panthers as far north as the Florida panhandle," said Tim Breault, with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Young males, in an attempt to develop their own territory, will often wander far from their home range. We think this may have been the case in this situation."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Office of Law Enforcement is investigating this incident since the Florida panther is a federally protected endangered species.

"Finding a Florida panther that far from southwest Florida is out of the ordinary, but male panthers, particularly younger ones, can travel great distances," said Paul Souza, field supervisor of the South Florida Ecological Services Office. "While it's unusual for panthers to be seen that far north, it is not impossible for a young male to travel so far."

The Florida panther is the last subspecies of Puma (also known as mountain lion, cougar, puma, or catamount) still surviving in the eastern United States. Historically occurring throughout the southeastern United States, the estimated 100 to 120 panthers are found in south Florida, in less than 5 percent of their historic range.

GON.com - Wild Panther Confirmed in Georgia - Georgia Outdoor News I wonder how many more times this will happen before they decide it isn't a fluke.

[blueice]

Please do not shoot the big cats....

Just tell them you are from PETA...

Click image to enlarge.....

[twtalbot]

Odd that we keep hearing about black ones while all the known mountain lions/cougars are tan. Black jaguars are fairly common and those big cats have been known to wander from Mexico up into the border states and as far east as SW Louisiana. Maybe they might be more widespread than has been proven.