re: Mountain Lions/ Black Panthers

Ive never seen one but when I was 15 or 16 my neighbor who is the same age said he was spotlighting coons and saw eyes in a tree across a field. When he got closer he first thought a deer was in a tree and instead it was a big cat and it climbed down and ran off. We all thought he was full of shite and he had a tendency to lie a lot. The old man that farmed all that property confirmed that he would see one in that area about every 15 years

I know several people that have said they have heard them. Some I believe and others I know are lying.

LDWF statement on cougar hoaxes

From the article. Note the bold print

quote:

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“But cougars exist in the United States!” While the mountain lion/cougar/panther is native to the United States, Louisiana does not have a population of these large felines. There are some claims of mountain lions that, after investigation, turn out to be legitimate cougars. Individual sightings were verified in 2002, 2008 and 2011. These are likely young individuals dispersing from existing populations or escaped ‘pets’. Cougars from populations in surrounding states can travel hundreds of miles and may visit Louisiana on rare occasions. As for the black cat variety, no claim has ever been authenticated. Black jaguars and black leopards are not native to the United States. Jaguars are from Central and South America and leopards are from Africa. Jaguars have been reported crossing the Mexican border into southern Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, yet are the spotted variety and are found in the dense chaparral and brush lands. This is not to say that individuals may never escape from a zoo or be purposefully released by someone whose exotic pet has gotten too big, but the odds are the same as seeing a zebra in your food plot. Possible, but not probable.

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Exactly right, transitory animals only, almost all young males.

None black.

The only peculiar cat i've seen was about 10 years ago sitting at my camp shooting the shite with everybody. Someone spotted a large cat in the middle of our road about 75 yards away.

It was larger than a bobcat and shaped much different. The coloring LOOKED like a medium grey, but it could have been brown as well. BIL shot him but never recovered, think it was a clean miss.

I assume it was a cougar. But it was large. We all had our head on a swivel for the rest of that hunting season.

Yes, I have without a doubt seen a big cat in Bienville parish on 3 different occasions. Twice while I was turkey hunting and the other time during deer season. These 3 sightings were over a span of about 15 years. There were a couple of other guys on our lease that claim they have seen one too. The first time I saw one I notified LDWF and they told me big cats don't exist in LA. Not the case.

Cousin and I saw a mountain lion in Evangeline Parish several yrs ago. It wasn't in the woods or long grass. We saw it clear as day on the edge of the woods in a cut hay patch.

Anyone that has ever heard a real big cat scream knows what I am talking about that when it happens it flips a dormant switch in your brain from the cave man days. It's instant adrenaline, your goosebumps pop and all you wanna do is run. It was 30 years ago and I can hear it like it was yesterday. Didn't matter to me at all that I had a shotgun in my hand.

I was walking a dry creek bed when I heard it and I instantly did a full sprint all the way back to my house and didn't slow down until I was in the house.

As was discussed earlier in the thread, most people are hearing foxes.

You have to take most of it with a grain of salt but they are here, if only passing through.

Strangely, the only other person I know that claims to have seen one or heard one is my wife. She was driving home from work a couple of years ago and there was a car behind her. One ran across the road in front of her and she had to brake to keep from hitting it. The car behind her braked as well when she did and then pulled up along side her to ask if she saw what they saw.

I saw a black panther when I was a child in LaSalle Parish. Deer Hunter bagged one and had it in the back his truck. It was in 1966.

I'm going to have to stop reading these threads. I'm losing hope in the human race.