Any black panther sightings???

Ncgundogs

Spike
Every year I get a large amount of reports about a Black panther in eastern NC just wondering if anyone has seen or heard of any sightings recently
 

Ncgundogs

Spike
I'm sorry I was asking a question since I get several calls about panthers a year didn't realize there were this many people just sitting around trying to hijack my thread
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Not a black panther...but my wife got a scare yesterday when she went to investigate why our chickens were raising a ruckus.
She went out to the back yard and went up the hill to where one chicken was frozen in fear but still hollering her head off, and a "large" animal jumped over a log about 20 yards from her, then jumped back over the log and sat and looked at her. She clapped her hands and hollered and the "large" animal just sat and stared at her.
She herded the chicken down the hill to the rest of the noisy flock and ran back into the house and got her .410 which she proceeded to discharge in the general direction of the "large" critter's last known location :D
I got home a few hours later and had to go do a complete forensic investigation at the site, which surprisingly resulted in a guard hair being found on the log the critter was peeking over watching her. I figured the culprit was a grey fox just being curious, so I compared the hair we found to the hair of a grey that I have mounted using a jewelers loop and it turned out to be almost identical even though the mounted animal came from Alabama. Kind of a neat thing, so I thought I'd share. Sorry it wasn't a black panther story..I think they are all at the inauguration anyway.
 

ABolt

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Every year I get a large amount of reports about a Black panther in eastern NC just wondering if anyone has seen or heard of any sightings recently

From whom do you receive "a large amount of reports about a Black panther"? Are you with the NCWRC, or are you a guide, or are you just a guy to whom lots of people simply feel led to recount their panther sightings?

Just asking, as nobody provides me with reports of panthers they've seen. I just chalk it up to the fact that there aren't any panthers in NC, or one of the zillions of trail cameras placed over every square mile of our woods in our state would have provided evidence of their existence...
 

Ncgundogs

Spike
I'm a researcher with the USDA and since there are so many facetious people on this thread the USDA does more than stamp the meat at the grocery store I have been with the USDA for 17 years and in that time I have seen many non native species in places they should not have been I was simply asking for anyone's account didn't realize that I needed to post my resume to post a thread oh yes and by the way I am licensed by the NCWRC
 
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Buxndiverdux

Old Mossy Horns
I'm a researcher with the USDA and since there are so many facetious people on this thread the USDA does more than stamp the meat at the grocery store I have been with the USDA for 17 years and in that time I have seen many non native species in places they should not have been I was simply asking for anyone's account didn't realize that I needed to post my resume to post a thread oh yes and by the way I am licensed by the NCWRC

There are a bunch of members(myself included) on this forum that enjoy having a little fun. Don't take it personal. I just goes with the territory around here.
 

Wildlifer

Old Mossy Horns
I'm a researcher with the USDA and since there are so many facetious people on this thread the USDA does more than stamp the meat at the grocery store I have been with the USDA for 17 years and in that time I have seen many non native species in places they should not have been I was simply asking for anyone's account didn't realize that I needed to post my resume to post a thread oh yes and by the way I am licensed by the NCWRC

A little searching of old threads might help rationalize the responses you are getting. Panthers, cougars, mountain lions, wompus cats, ect have a somewhat conspiracy theory attitude around here. Plus the fact of no hard evidence of on being around here.
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
Don't know about black panthers, something about a black gene not existing in large cats. However, it is very possible that large cats have at least visited NC. I have heard one and seen tracks on a different occasion, same area several years apart. I do believe these may have been young cats passing through.
 

Ncgundogs

Spike
Cougars were once native to NC but now thought to be extinct on the east coast with the exception of the Everglades and I have seen plenty of game cameras with large cats on them but never been able to positively identify what it actually was I just put black panther in the title really talking about large cats in general black has never been a color of cougars in North America but there was a black panther killed in hillsville Virginia in the early 1900's it escaped from a carnival so to say never any evidence may not be the best statement
 
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bb1970

Six Pointer
I know a few years back I hunted a friends land down near the coast near belhaven that some folks seen (Black cats ) a few times.... Buddy of mine seen one said he didnt know exactly what it was....
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
My comment was more that a Panther/Cougar thread leads to talk of the other definition of a Cougar. ;) It wouldn't surprise me if one might wander through the western part of the state. The young ones have a very large potential range. I will say that I've known people that have gone out to see a wild panther in South Florida for decades and never managed to see one despite them being there. They like their privacy.
 

Ncgundogs

Spike
I have studied predators for years and there could easily be a few big cats that we never see sign of just think we have a pretty good population of bobcats in North Carolina how many tracks do see really not all that many I don't know if we have big cats in nc or not I'm just saying it's not as far fetched as some would think
 
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woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
I see bobcat tracks near everyday,,,,,,,and have gotten plenty on game camera

now cougars (whether mt lion, panther, or trolling a bar),,,,,nary a picture or track,,,,,,,

the hunting center at Avon park bombing range (central florida) had a picture of a Florida strain cougar crossing the road there,,,,,,,,

and funny how most (nearly all?) large cat sightings in NC are "black panthers",,,,,,,,,,,,but of course no evidence other than "I've been hunting all my life so I know what I saw",,,,,,,
 

Dolfan21

Ten Pointer
Again, Id bet there are more than 100,000 game cameras in the woods in NC....if there is a pic out there, I haven't seen it.
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
I see a fair amount of bobcat tracks, I think I have trail cam pics of one. I have also seen quite a few will hunting and have heard more. I have seen one extremely large bobcat, it had to be in the 50 lb. range. I honestly thought I was looking a young deer (60 lb or so) when I saw the silhouette of the cat. I was at least twice the size of any other bobcat I have seen, the largest one of those being a 30 pounder. The head was close to 3' high. I have also seen large bobcat track close to 2" in diameter. That was nothing compared to the other 3 1/2" x 4" cat tracks I saw. I detoured away from the thick stuff that night, while on the way back to the truck.
 

Justin

Old Mossy Horns
If you've been studying large predators that long then you should know that only one dark, actually blueish Cougar has ever been documented, and I believe that was Costa Rica?

I bet Dustin Reece USDA's better than you do... ;)
 

wturkey01

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Ncdogs.........Don't be insulted by some of the Forum Fools posting pictures and making comments about "cougars"! It's a long-held tradition on this Forum and it sometimes gets out of hand!:p

Also the fact is that some people just cannot maintain concentration more than a couple minutes without their brains turning to sex! :rolleyes:

wow4.jpg


4thFishing.jpg



We are well aware that the Eastern Cougar once inhabited almost the entire East Coast but was more or less exterminated several weeks ago!! (tongue in cheek) :(

There are those who swear that they've seen one and so have I, but I'm the only one who actually has the picture to prove it!:cool:

black_panther_1.jpg
 

tarheelshooter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Ncdogs.........Don't be insulted by some of the Forum Fools posting pictures and making comments about "cougars"! It's a long-held tradition on this Forum and it sometimes gets out of hand!:p

Also the fact is that some people just cannot maintain concentration more than a couple minutes without their brains turning to sex! :rolleyes:

wow4.jpg


4thFishing.jpg



We are well aware that the Eastern Cougar once inhabited almost the entire East Coast but was more or less exterminated several weeks ago!! (tongue in cheek) :(

There are those who swear that they've seen one and so have I, but I'm the only one who actually has the picture to prove it!:cool:

black_panther_1.jpg

The last one is a Pitt Panther:p

The others need further investigation. Please send GPS coordinates for field study:D
 

nchunter

Twelve Pointer
Cougars were once native to NC but now thought to be extinct on the east coast with the exception of the Everglades and I have seen plenty of game cameras with large cats on them but never been able to positively identify what it actually was I just put black panther in the title really talking about large cats in general black has never been a color of cougars in North America but there was a black panther killed in hillsville Virginia in the early 1900's it escaped from a carnival so to say never any evidence may not be the best statement

They also have been documented in Dare county. 64 hwy near the landfill, can't remember if hit by car or shot. Want to say hit by car. Mid 80s I think, might have been two of them.
They were also escaped or released pets, had tattoos in lip.
 
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