Cougar in Suburbia?

There is more, albeit questionable, evidence of Bigfoot in the United states than there is of black panthers.

I haven't seen either.

H&Hhunter said:

And a melanistic Bigfoot is even more rare!

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And that begs the question, "Is an albino Bigfoot a Yeti?" Maybe it's one big happy family.

(I'm sorry for contributing to the deteriorating quality of this thread.)

Florida wildlife biologists have for years commented about their worries that the Florida panther population might become too small for species survival.

That idea of species viability has always made me a sceptic about the existence of Bigfoot. How would the required several hundred or so remain hidden?

Art Eatman said:

Florida wildlife biologists have for years commented about their worries that the Florida panther population might become too small for species survival.

That idea of species viability has always made me a sceptic about the existence of Bigfoot. How would the required several hundred or so remain hidden?

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Why they would have wandered into sanctuary cities like Seattle and Portland and fit right in - don't you remember Harry and the Hendersons?

Art Eatman said:

Florida wildlife biologists have for years commented about their worries that the Florida panther population might become too small for species survival.

That idea of species viability has always made me a sceptic about the existence of Bigfoot. How would the required several hundred or so remain hidden?

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We have "skunk-apes" here ... so they say. I saw a video of one taken in a swamp on the outskirts of Tampa. It's funny that no one else can get a picture of one since they're living near a highly-populated area.

At one time, there were a lot of monkeys in the Silver Springs fun park in Ocala where a lot of Tarzan scenes were filmed. Over time, many of the monkeys escaped and have reportedly been seen as as far north as Georgia.

George P said:

Over time, many of the monkeys escaped and have reportedly been seen as as far north as Georgia.

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I don't know about Georgia but somewhere I have a photo taken 4 years ago showing one sitting on top of a cow feeder eating some corn. It was taken about 65 miles south of Silver Springs.
A group of the Rhesus macaques also escaped from a preserve in Polk County so I don't know where this one came from.

However, they are not actual monkeys. They are macaques which are closely related to baboons. The ones around here carry hepatitis B and can be aggressive towards people.





https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...onkeys-roam-florida-silver-springs/103830122/

Looks like the movie "Congo"..............lol

Keeping this relevant to hunting, I would love to shoot a bunch of those monkeys.

Art Eatman said:

Catpop, not arguing but wondering: Is it possible that what you saw as black could have been a very dark brown? Quality of lighting often affects one's perception of colors.

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It’s possible, but back then I had pretty good eyesight. Also the residents in this area I have talked to have never seen a tawny colored cat, only the black ones. And they have seen far more than I have especially back in the early 1900s to 1960s when I started hunting.
But I can only vouch for what I’ve actually seen.
The 1980s sighting was verified by my farm hand. But sorry to say that dear old fellow cannot recall that event as he passed on many years ago.

Fine Figure of a Man said:

Keeping this relevant to hunting, I would love to shoot a bunch of those monkeys.

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They are an exotic species here so if you find one, it's OK to shoot it. I'd suggest a shotgun. They're fast and can be vicious.

Patocazador said:

They are an exotic species here so if you find one, it's OK to shoot it. I'd suggest a shotgun. They're fast and can be vicious.

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Sounds like more fun than hog hunting.
I was thinking an AR with a red dot

Big cats
The reason everyone around here that’s seen one calls them panthers is because they’re black.
Why our new high school even has a black panther for its mascot!
I personally would call a tawny one a puma or mountain lion.
We don’t have no mountains round here, we just have pecosion swamps. We don’t have no red clay, just good rich black farmin dirt! Maybe they eat dirt?
Older people say they sound like a woman screaming. My wife actually heard one at night in 1960 when staying with some friends way back in the tall pine woods.
That’s about all I know!!!!

Not a black panther but don’t leave your Carl’s Jr. in the cab with the windows down, in certain neighborhoods.

Catpop said:

Older people say they sound like a woman screaming.

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Probably either a screech owl or a bobcat

redneck2 said:

Probably either a screech owl or a bobcat

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When hunting in Alabama, a friend came back to camp all flustered. He said he just heard a cougar screaming just before dark. The next day I went with him. Sure enough, just before dark he said, "There, that's the cougar yelling." It was the neighbor's bulls bellowing through the fence at one another over a cow in heat.

Patocazador said:

When hunting in Alabama, a friend came back to camp all flustered. He said he just heard a cougar screaming just before dark. The next day I went with him. Sure enough, just before dark he said, "There, that's the cougar yelling." It was the neighbor's bulls bellowing through the fence at one another over a cow in heat.

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Hah.....! Most folks have no idea what they are listening to.

In wooded areas where fox are present (red or gray fox) it is not unusual for them to make a 'screaming' sound.
Probably what many folks hear and assume (or want to believe it is a Cougar).



Now....if I were way out in New Mexico or Arizona in rocky terrain with a KNOWN population of Cougar, then yes...a call sounding like a 'woman screaming' might very well be a cat. But most other places....(where MANY more fox are present than cats of any persuasion), my money is on anything other than a Cougar.

Jack B. said:

Show me some pic's or trail came pic's and I'll buy the cougar population is growing .But until then I think most peoples imagination is running away with them.

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Here you go, from the news yesterday:
https://abc7news.com/video-mountain-lion-caught-on-camera-in-san-mateo/3909361/
This is in the residential district of a large urban area, three miles away from forested land with a freeway in between.

A few years back, I photographed a mountain lion paw print in Fort Worth city limits. Biggest damned paw print I've ever seen!

Animals can travel long distances, the edges of highways and parkways are perfect for that.

The cougar in CT that got hit on a parkway was tested and shown to have come from ND. There was a moose that got hit on I-684 in Westchester Cty. NY, less than 45 minutes out of NYC. It was thought to have come down from Canada, although there are reports of moose in the Adirondack area. I've seen road kill deer in the Bronx, and there was a family of coyotes some years back living in Central Park.

Used to be quite a few pheasants in NYC also.