Another Panther Sighting in Central Alabama

[kynardsj]

This one was last Tuesday morning by my wife. She was heading south on 231 and was just north of Wetumpka, Al when she saw a big cat cross the road, she showed me with her hands and what she described was about 20- 24 inches high at the back. Said she couldn't tell if it was dark brown or black, body about 3 ft long with a tail as long as the body. Sounds like what my friend and his son saw last year in Montgomery. Matches the ones I saw in southwest Alabama back in the 70's.

[Tom W.]

Now how many times must the Game & Fish people tell you that there are NO big cats in Alabama?


My Fiancee and her parents saw one some years back near the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge as they were on their way to Florida.
Several years ago I saw a photo taken by a game camera of one that was near Abbeville...

[kynardsj]

Yeah I hear you Tom W. Fish and Game know all, see all. 

[Oldshooter]

Now how many times must the Game & Fish people tell you that there are NO big cats in Alabama?

They say the same about panthers here(Texas). I watched one walk out into a pipeline right of way one evening. At first I thought it was a black lab. But the tail was too long......and swishing not wagging. If My 17 year old son had not been with me I wouldn't even repeat that but he saw it and we watched it walk away from us down the pipeline and into the woods 500 yards away. I only had a black powder rifle so I didn't even raise it. This is southeast Texas, real close to La. and they are here, is all I can say.

[pastorp]

Those big cats do roam. When I lived in New Mexico right on the Mexican border I saw a jaguar one night. It was heading north crossing I-10 just west of las crusus. Back then F&G denied any being in the state but we knew better. They cross the border along with all the other illegals. 

Regards,

[mechanic]

Fella killed on in Ga. just across the river from Ala. a few years ago.  He wound up with a big fine, as the cougar was a Fla. panther, on the federal endangered species list. 
Ben

[saltshaker]

Back in the fifties in southwest mississippi near the la. border.  They were pretty common.........Now days people don't believe they existed.  They scream just like you hear a woman scream in the hollywood movies.  Dogs I used for hunting coon and bobcat were scared to death of them...But they are black and they are not the same as a cougar...One came by the house one night about 50 feet away, screaming his head off......Your hair stands straight up and you get chills all over you.  I measured 16 feet on jumps he made going across plowed ground and 4 1/2 inch width on his feet...I had experiences with bear and wolves and something I can't explain in those days..Seen cougar here in Ca. (zoos) where I have lived since the early 60s...This was in remote areas of Ms., swampy and thick ..They stayed in the swamps, except when they were moving....Saltshaker

[kynardsj]

I did some research and believe the black ones are Jaguarundi. Kinda like a Jaguar but smaller.

[Bugflipper]

I believe the game and fish is importing them and lying about it. In the Northeast portion of the state we have some. A couple years ago a fellow was attacked by one. His wounds were indicative of a big cat riding his back and trying to take him down. He was walking from one house to another in an area were there had been several sightings of a black cat. The game wardens denied it was a big cat. Their official take was he was attacked by a dog. The hospital indicated that his lacerations hooked inward and weren't scrapes or scratches, but punctures

2 or 3 years ago a fellow had a clear image of one on a trail cam. The wardens couldn't deny it was a big cat. Instead they disputed the location. He told them I can take you up there and match the trees to the picture, they declined.

It's kind of like the several thousand rattlesnakes they restocked for vermin control. TN did the same thing and it was found out that the reason was for Turkey population control. It wasn't for overpopulation of turkeys. It was to minimize the population so the bird would be more ellusive, so revenue would be higher. We wouldn't want an abundance of game for most hunters to be succesful. A bagged turkey needs to be a challenge so more people will try to obtain the feat of harvesting one. Jeesh!