Historical Black Panther Sighting, a Lesson Learned, and a Photo

As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, I will be making an effort to get caught up on several black panther sightings that were sent in to me over the last year or so. I was neck deep in trying to finish my book, Valley of the Apes: The Search for Sasquatch in Area X, and struggled to find the time to update all of you on these sightings. I am making the effort to correct that now. Following are a few sighting reports and one photo that I found interesting.

 

Reported November 20, 2022

“My name is Greg XXXXXX and I live in Lexington Tx. Around 1987 I was leaving the Alcoa aluminum plant through the contractor construction gate approximately 5:00 pm. Can’t remember the exact date. I started driving north on Hwy 1786 towards Hwy 79 beside the Alcoa hot lake as it was called where the water from the power plant was released into. Right in front of me approximately 100 feet was a large black panther crossing the road. I got a real good look at him. He was as big as a full-grown mountain lion but appeared to a little thinner in build. I have seen a large mountain lion from my tree stand before while hunting near Milano so I can make the comparison accurately. I would have to guess the panther weighed between 130 and 150 lbs.”

 

TCH Comment: This is a very believable and matter-of-fact report. The witness saw the cat clearly at close range and is familiar with what a mountain lion looks like. There are no signs of hyperbole in the report and I have ruled out mistaken identity. I believe this witness saw what he claims to have seen. 

 

The location of the sighting is rural and there are sufficient resources for a big cat to survive in the area. If one takes the time to zoom in on the sighting location, it becomes obvious water resources are plentiful. This is something that would be absolutely critical for any predator trying to survive in Central Texas. I find the report credible and will be adding it to my Black Panther Sightings Distribution Map.

 

Reported 6/22/22

"I saw a dead black panther on the right shoulder of the westbound lanes of I44E approximately 5 miles east of the Stroud sign on the Turner turnpike about 6:50pm Sunday, 6/5/2022. 

 

A cat is so obvious it cannot be mistaken. I saw the large paws, long legs, square head. It was in a dead pose, legs toward the street and back towards the grass, head facing west. I considered pulling off the road, essentially to gawk, but decided the safety considerations weren't worth the reasons. Had I known then that people don't believe big cat sightings, I would have pulled over. My 10-year-old son saw it too. My step daughter was in the car and she didn't see it, she was looking at her phone. 

 

With so many pick-up trucks in Oklahoma, I wonder if someone took it home, or if wildlife management can document it. I wonder if the toll pass cameras record what is in people's truck beds? 

 

I haven't followed up with wildlife management, but I am curious if there are others to corroborate.” 

 

Kathleen XXXXXX

Edmond, Oklahoma

 

 

TCH Comment: I will not be placing this sighting on my distribution map, but it isn’t because I do not believe the witness; rather, it is because she was traveling along the highway at a substantial rate of speed (likely 70-80 mph based on my experience on the Turnpike in question). While her description matches up well with historical reports of black panthers, the chance of misidentification while moving at such a clip is simply too great for me to feel totally confident.

 

The lesson here is to pull that vehicle over and pick that carcass up. If you aren’t comfortable with that, take lots of photos.

 

Reported: 6/2/22

“Hi, my name is Caleb I live in south east Missouri. I just listened to an Expanded Perspectives episode about the black cats in Texas, or something like that, and I just wanted to share my story with you because I’ve had a very close encounter with a panther, a buddy of mine - his dad actually - killed a panther due to it messing with livestock. He actually had the head and pelt for a while. I’ve had other encounters with them while hunting and such but that was the closest that I’ve ever been to one. During the podcast you stated some people say that they have leopard-like spots on them. I can say that I do remember the spots on the pelt of this particular pelt. Let me know if you have any questions. I will try to answer them the best I can. 

 

Thanks for reading." 

 

TCH Comments: This is another account that I will not be mapping. I have heard multiple accounts of people killing a panther and keeping the pelt. Yet, there are absolutely no photos. Without a picture, this is just hearsay and I don’t feel good about placing the incident on my map. The witness claims other encounters but does not share any details regarding them. This doesn’t mean the witness is being untruthful, just that I don’t have enough details to feel good about adding it to my map.

 

I will wrap up this post with a photo sent to me from Mr. Brandon Darr. Brandon felt that the photo illustrated the different shading/coloration individual cougars can exhibit nicely and I agree with him. The only information on the photo itself is that it was allegedly “taken in Northern Mexico.” Since I’m posting it here only to show how different cougars can vary in the shade of their coats, it isn’t really relevant where it was taken.

The cats on the left and in the middle are clearly much darker in coloration that the cat on the right. I would guess the cat on the right is displaying the normal tawny-colored coat we are all used to seeing. The two on the left are much darker, especially on their dorsal surfaces. They are not, however, chocolate-colored or black. We can be sure of this by looking at the contrast in darkness between their backs/the ends of their tails and the rest of their bodies. If they were all black or dark brown, their bodies would be much more uniform in color, like the lighter-colored cougar on the right. Seeing darker-colored cougars in low light conditions could very well explain some black panther sightings.

If you would like to dig deeper into the black panther phenomenon, you might consider picking up a copy of my book, Shadow Cats: The Black Panthers of North America. In it, you get a thorough overview of the phenomenon, my thoughts on what these animals might be, interviews with big cat experts, and more. You can pick up a copy at the link above or, if you would like a signed copy, you can contact me at Texascryptidhunter@yahoo.com. 

Catching Up: Black Panther Reports

For the last few years, I have been deeply involved in several writing projects. Hopefully, you are familiar with the result of at least one of those projects (Valley of the Apes: The Search for Sasquatch in Area X). The process of writing that book was a true labor of love and seeing it published and well received was immensely gratifying. It did, along with other lower profile projects, take a LOT of time. When combined with my regular job of teaching middle school history, my responsibilities as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the North American Wood Ape Conservancy (NAWAC), and the general stress that comes from life itself, there simply wasn’t much time left over to keep up with the blog (or much of anything else).

 

I have taken steps to simplify my life and create more time to do the things I really enjoy, like writing this blog. The results have been tangible as I have published three posts this month alone (this will be the fourth). I won’t have quite as much time once school starts in the fall but hope to average two posts per month going forward. I still have a lot to say and there are still an awful lot of strange stories to tell. In that vein, let’s move on to the real topic of this post: black panthers.

 

Disclaimer: according to mainstream science, there is no such animal as a “black panther.” The panthers of the movies and television are either melanistic leopards or jaguars. Wildlife authorities do not believe either of these species currently inhabit Texas, the American South, or any other region of the United States or Canada (the exceptions being the states of Arizona and New Mexico, in which a few transient male jaguars have been documented). Still, the reports of large, black, long-tailed cats have continued. Documenting and charting the location of the most credible reports is part of my ongoing effort to answer one simple question: what are the black panthers of North America?

 

The following is a report that I have had in my files for a while. Now that I have some time, I am going to attempt to catch all of you up on the backlog of reports that have come in to me. This account is a long one, so it will be the only report featured in this post. I have edited the report a bit for length in order to make it a better fit for this blog.  Wherever you see an elipse (…) some extra material was omitted for the sake of brevity. I do not believe my having done so changes the critical details of the report. The words you do see are those of the gentleman who forwarded the account to me.

 

Reported January 27, 2022

 

“Hello, Mr. Mayes.

 

“I recently visited the North American Bigfoot Center/Museum in Boring, Oregon. While there, I had the opportunity to purchase a number of books, one of which was your Shadow Cats. I specifically bought this book due to its topic on black panthers in North America…

 

“…I felt compelled to tell you an accurate and true sighting of a black panther in Idaho. The sighting was at a very close range. The witnesses were my mom and dad. I’ve heard the story a number of times and the facts never change, nor would I expect them to as both of my parents are of the highest ethical standards…

 

“…The sighting took place in west central Idaho around 2012. The closest town would be Cascade, located of highway 55. My dad retired as a captain with the Payette, Idaho Fire Department and my mom was a long-time real estate agent and later worked in the nursing field… When my parents retired, they spent a great deal of time in a side-by-side ATV taking trips deep into the Idaho back country…One trip…they accessed a road off of highway 55 and headed east on a dirt road…Mom and Dad were in no rush, just sightseeing, having a nice lunch, and enjoying the day…They were traveling west back toward highway 55 when Dad’s attention was drawn to the right side of the road where a black cat was lying…This cat then stood and walked across the road in front of their ATV and slunk into the heavy timber…both of them were essentially speechless…My dad recalled saying that was a black panther and that someone’s pet had to have escaped its enclosure…My dad was well-versed in mountain lions and, in fact, we’ve both had the good fortune to see them in the wild. Both of my parents were positive and adamant that this was not a color phase or a hybrid of a mountain lion but a real black panther. 

“After several minutes…they were able to re-start down the road. A short distance later, they came upon a couple of…ranch hands. My dad explained to them what they had seen and asked the men if they had any knowledge of panther activity on or around their spread. Dad said the older man’s body language changed and he seemed concerned, leading my mom and dad to think this guy had seen the panther himself or had experienced some livestock loss…prior to my parents leaving, one of the men radioed to the homestead to make sure the women were aware of the sighting and to make sure all of the children were accounted for…

 

“…I can testify under any oath…that this story is true and correct, a class-A legitimate sighting….my parents did not know there was a following on the topic or that there were even any books written about it. If you are ever inclined to go into this area or even chat up my mom, please feel free to reach out…

 

L.A. Dove”

 

TCH Comment: While the report lacks much in the way of detail regarding the appearance of the cat itself (approximate weight, length, etc.) the circumstances would seem to rule out a case of misidentification. Both witnesses were adamant that they saw a black panther and not a dark mountain lion. The fact that the male witness had seen cougars in the wild before, lends credibility to his claim that this was no mountain lion. I must say, the behavior attributed to the ranch hands is interesting. If true - and I have no reason to believe it isn’t – one stiffened up and clammed up while the other quickly radioed home to give the family there a heads up regarding the sighting. It is speculation of course, but these seem to be the behaviors of two men who are familiar with the animal that was described. I guess we’ll never know for sure.

 

As I mentioned above, due to the length of this submission, I am going to feature it alone on this post. Others will soon follow.

 

One other thing, I am going to start adding compelling sighting reports from other states on my Black Panther Distribution Map. I think I have accomplished my original goal of trying to pinpoint the most likely places to encounter these cryptid cats in the Lone Star State. Now, I am hoping to identify other patterns on a larger scale by including all of North America. I will be going back through my records and adding some reports that reached me from outside of Texas.

 

If you are interested and would like to know more about the black panther mystery, check out my book, Shadow Cats: The Black Panthers of North America. Click the book link in the right margin or here for more information.

Historical Jaguar Sightings in Texas

My wife’s birthday was this week. She did not want a traditional gift; instead, she wanted to start redecorating our home (I blame Chip and Joanna of Fixer Upper and Ben and Erin of Hometown for infecting her with this renovation fever). I realized that this was going to cost me a lot more than a pair of earrings and an Olive Garden dinner but I love my wife and, begrudgingly, had to admit that a bit of “modernizing” was probably in order. The work started today with the arrival of a crew who were charged with painting the kitchen, dining room, bedrooms, and living room. I, of course, said that there was no need to hire painters as I could do the work myself. My lovely wife replied, “Honey, I don’t want you to spend your summer off working on the house. Why don’t you go get some writing done at the library?” Translated, this means, “I don’t want this job to cost twice as much as it should have after you mess it up and we have to hire these guys anyway. Now, make yourself scarce.”

 

Though deeply wounded (not really, but still…), I was glad to have blundered into a free afternoon and did, indeed, make my way to the Townsend Memorial Library on the campus of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. While not a large library, Townsend does have a robust folklore section and I am nowhere close to having gone through it all. As I sat down with a copy of From Hell to Breakfast, a collection of old Texas tales published in 1944, I came across a chapter titled “Panther Yarns.” Intrigued, I dug in and started reading. For the most part, I did not come across anything I was not already familiar with in regard to historical Texas panther sightings. I did some pretty exhaustive digging into this topic while researching my book Shadow Cats: The Black Panthers of North America several years ago. Still, I read on hoping to come across something new. Luck was with me as I came across two accounts with which I was not familiar. While not true black panther accounts, the two news articles do document the killing of two very large spotted cats that I suspect were jaguars (one of the suspects in the black panther mystery since they carry the genetics for melanism). 

The first tale comes from an 1854 newspaper account detailing an encounter with a “Mexican Lion,” one of the terms Texans in the 1800s used to describe jaguars (“Mexican Tiger” or “Mexican Tigre” were also used periodically). Following is an excerpt from the article:

MEXICAN LION - We wish to inform you of a varmint of awful size, that was taken in camps, or killed, as I should say, at the above named place (Hays County), on the night of the 15^th. It came down in the settlements of Blackwell’s Valley, and surprised the natives by taking a two-year-old hog out of the pen, (fat at that) and carrying it off. Its pursuers were Mrs. Stockman, Mrs. Thomas, and Miss Winters, who, with the aid of some dogs, caused it to take a tree; after which Mrs. Stockman procured a gun, and made an attempt to shoot it. When in the act of firing, the Mexican Lion -  for this is the name of the animal – made a spring at her; she dropped the gun without firing, just in time to save herself from his claws…Mr. J.H. Blackwell, with his dogs, came to their aid, and made it take a tree again. When just in the act of shooting, it made a second attempt to spring on its assailants, but Mr. B., more fortunate than Mrs. S., fired and brought the monster to the ground, dead. It measured nine feet in length, three and a half in height, and weighed 220 pounds. Its claws were two inches in length, and its teeth about the same. The skin, claws, and teeth of the animal can at any time be seen at my residence, on the Blanco, fifteen miles above San Marcos.

                                                                                                G.W. Blackwell

 

The second article comes from a story printed in the Telegraph and Texas Register on December 31, 1840. The article describes a “leopard.” I strongly suspect what was seen was actually a jaguar. Following is an excerpt from this article:

 

Texian Leopard - We were shown a few days since the skin of a leopard which was killed near Bexar (San Antonio), some weeks since. The animal to which the skin belonged must have been about ten feet long from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail, and his body of proportional dimensions. The skin is beautifully variegated with black spots, upon a yellowish brown and white ground; and so closely resembles the skin of an African Leopard, that it would be difficult to distinguish it, if found among several skins of that animal. Many persons in the United States have doubted that statements made by travelers that the leopard exists in Texas; but if they could visit Bexar and its vicinity, their skepticism would soon vanish. It is said that great numbers of those Leopards are found in the vicinity of the Nueces and the Rio Grande…

I think it is safe to assume that the “Mexican Lion” in the first account and the “Texian Leopard” described in the second article were almost certainly jaguars. Though the sizes described seem unusually large – mainly in length – every other characteristic mentioned fits the jaguar perfectly (I think the unusual lengths mentioned could be due to the skins of the animals having been measured and not the actual animal). These accounts solidify what we already knew: jaguars were once native to Texas and more numerous in the southern reaches of the state (or in the case of the second account discussed above, the Republic). 

I have long felt that jaguars were the number one suspect in the Lone Star State’s black panther mystery. Jaguars fit the size profile most often reported (6+ feet in length nose to tail, 100-150 lbs, etc.), are native to the region, and also can be black (melanistic). The two articles provide more evidence – anecdotal though it may be – that early Texas settlers and residents in the 1800s were encountering jaguars. If so, it is possible a remnant population, one in which melanism has taken hold, lives here still and is responsible for at least some of the black panther sightings that Texans continue to report to this very day.

 

Now, back home I go. If I beat my wife back to the house, I might add my own little touch to the redecorating. Maybe a nice jaguar mural on one wall would look good…

 

Source:

Boatright, M. C., & Day, D. (1944). From hell to breakfast. Texas Folk-Lore Society. 

Catching Up: Previously Unpublished Black Panther Sightings

While it is true that I have not blogged much over the last year or two, reports of “black panthers” have continued to reach my inbox. I feel the need to catch you all up on a few of the more compelling sighting reports I have received during my “away time.” Following are some of the reports I found the most interesting. 

Before we get into the reports, however, I must – once again – post the disclaimer that I know there is no such thing as a “black panther” according to mainstream science. The panthers of the movies and television (think Jungle Book) are either melanistic leopards or jaguars. Neither of those species is known to inhabit Texas, the American South, or parts farther west or north. Still, the reports of black, large, long-tailed cats have continued. Documenting and charting the location of the most credible reports is part of my ongoing effort to answer one simple question. What are the black panthers of North America?

Reported 1/28/17

“As you can see, this pic was taken by my game camera. I thought you might enjoy seeing it. It was taken on my ranch near Palestine. It’s not a hog, dog, calf, or goat, so if not a black cat, what the heck is it? FYI, the winch on the tri-pod is 42” high.”

-       Ken Broom

TCH Comment: What the heck is it? Is a valid question in this case. Ken’s assertion that the animal is not a hog, dog, calf, or goat may be spot on, but the photo is so dark that a definitive identification simply is not possible. That being the case, I have not added this report to my black panther sightings distribution map. I decided to post here today as photos are always fun to examine and analyze. Let the debate begin…

Reported 2/23/17

“Hello, my name is Taylor and I'm writing on behalf of my mother, Amanda. On Feb. 23 2017 at 1:00 a.m., my mother saw a very large black cat matching the description of many other sightings near Oak Leaf Road and Lakeview Drive in Conroe, Texas. This is a residential area with a lot of livestock. I was not in the car with her but she's asked me to tell the story as your website popped up when we were researching these sightings.

They have always been a sort of urban legend in this area for at least the last decade, if not more, and other family members have sworn up and down they've seen something. I didn't quite believe it until my mother called me in shock.

She was driving down Oak Leaf Road and was taking the last sharp curve before her turn when she saw a very large dog in her lane. She slowed down to less than ten miles per hour and drove around it into the left lane. This is a very narrow country road and she didn't have a lot of space because the dog would not move. That is when she realized that it was not a dog. She described it as a black panther (I believe she saw a melanistic black jaguar) that was standing on four paws with its head raised, very alert. She drives a Honda Civic, a small sedan, and said that he was so tall his head was level with her passenger window and they made eye contact. He did not flinch or move to avoid her car - he showed absolutely no fear. She said that he was very muscular and healthy and had long, shiny whiskers and chin whiskers. She described him as having a broad face, short ears, and thick tail.

I think it's an incredible story and I don't think she would have mistaken it for a mountain lion/cougar. We have had close encounters with cougars before and she is positive that she saw what is colloquially referred to as a black panther. Hopefully this account interests you.”

-       Taylor and Amanda

TCH Comment: This one is really very simple; if events unfolded the way they have been reported, there is practically no chance of mistaken identity. I find no reason to doubt the story as it has been related. Yes, most of the time an animal in the road will yield to an oncoming vehicle and move away, but not always. I have had to slowly drive around dogs, cats, and deer on occasion because they would not move. It happens. The area where the sighting took place, while residential, is not your typical suburban neighborhood. There remain a lot of heavily wooded acreage in the area and the east fork of Crystal Creek runs just to the south of the sighting location. The area is just south of the Sam Houston National Forest, an area from which many black panther reports have originated. I find the account plausible and have added it to my black panther distribution map.

Reported 9/10/17

“In the early 1960s, two of my uncles worked security at the chemical plant

near Bloomington, TX (in those days it was owned by Dupont). This area

around the Guadalupe River as it reaches the Gulf is swampy and, in those

times, was sparsely inhabited. The plant itself is next to a barge canal on

a large tract of low, wooded land. Its abundant wildlife included deer and

razorbacks, which kept the local black panther that lived on the plant

land well fed.

Company officials speculated that someone must have released an exotic pet

here. Sightings of this big cat were so common that Dupont employees

became nonchalant about having a potentially dangerous predator

on the property. Uncle Al said he once saw the cat with a whitetail in its

mouth, dragging the dead animal like it was no more than rag doll.

In 2005 I went to the plant to see if company newsletters from the 1960s

still exist, hoping to read about Dupont's pet cat. But Union Carbide

bought the plant long ago. Nothing from that era was saved.

In retrospect I concluded the Dupont animal was a melanistic jaguar that

had roamed up the coast from the Rio Grande valley. In colonial Texas,

jags lived all along the Gulf up to the Sabine. Locals called them Mexican

tigers. There is a daguerreotype photo from the 1840s of a saloon in Fort

Bend county that displayed the skin of a spotted jag on its wall.”

-       J.M.

TCH Comment: Bloomington sits in Victoria County and is now considered part of the greater Victoria metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, only 2,459 people lived in Bloomington. In the 1960s there would have been far fewer people in the area. The land is low in elevation and often marshy; typical Texas Coast geography. There would be plenty of game for a big cat to subsist on including hogs, deer, and nutria. I find the story J.M. relates very plausible and know other black cat sightings have come from the area; however, the story is second hand in nature. Therefore, I have to leave it off of my distribution map.

Reported 9/14/2017

“So, I was reading your posts about black panthers.  We got this from our game camera just a few days ago. Unfortunately, it's the back end of the animal, but you are welcome to make your own deductions.  Also sending you a photo of my 6-year-old for size comparison, he is 4 feet tall.  Photos taken in Bonham, TX; a culvert in a feeder creek.

Send us your thoughts.”

- Janene Thomas

TCH Comment: Bonham sits in Fannin County adjacent to the Red River in north Texas. The area has produced black panther reports before. The photo is interesting. The animal is undeniably black and – using Janene’s son as a reference – almost 2 feet high (I chose not to publish the photo of Janene’s young son. You’ll just have to take my word on the size comparison). The tail does not appear as long as what many witnesses report but is thick and has a rounded tip. The tails of most dogs are more pointed at the tip. While the photo is intriguing, ultimately it is inconclusive. The trigger speeds of most game cameras are slower than I would like and result in many photos of the back ends of animals walking by. The curse of the slow trigger speed seems to have struck again with this photo. That being the case, I have to leave it off my distribution map.

Reported 4/22/18

“Greetings Michael!!

This is Tom Riley, your classmate of NHS '85.  I got your book off Amazon for my Kindle Fire and I loved it!  It brought back memories and stories that I never gave much account to until I saw your research.  Fascinating. 

I wanted to relate to you a few anecdotes of my, and my family's, experiences with the famed "Shadow Cats."  As I was relating the content and context of your book to my wife, she reminded me of her father's account with a Shadow Cat.  Back in the early to mid 80's my father-in-law (Donald Richard, now deceased) was a partner in Eelee's restaurant located under the Rainbow Bridge on hwy 73 in Port Arthur.  Donnie was the man who developed the menu and all the recipes - as well as procuring the fresh seafood that was brought directly to the dock adjacent to the restaurant.  They processed their own seafood daily right on the riverfront.  He would tell us about the black cat that would show up around dusk or a little after looking for easy pickings.  I remember I commented that cats running around a seafood place is not a big deal, his response was that the cat was almost a big a me!  He related that the staff and boat owners all knew about the big cat and would drop deformed flounder, crabs and turtles in a pile for it to eat about 50 yards down river of the restaurant.  Many regulars would comment about sightings over the years.  It was just accepted.  No big deal. What was it?  Who knows.  It was big, black and stealthy.  It kept mainly to the marshy area south of the restaurant mostly.  Reading your book reminded us of the encounter.  A Mr. James Lester "JL" Lee was the other partner in the restaurant endeavor and unfortunately he passed away last year.

TCH Comment: I heard some of these same stories as my friend Tom back in the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s regarding big black cats roaming the marshes around the Neches and Sabine Rivers. The restaurant my old classmate mentions was well-known and popular back in the day. It sat at the foot of the famed Rainbow Bridge that spans the Neches River between Port Arthur and Bridge City. This is the point where the Neches and Sabine Rivers empty into the brackish waters of Sabine Lake which ultimately pours into the Gulf of Mexico near Sabine Pass. The entire area is one huge marsh and supports much wildlife. The Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area sits on the Bridge City side of the famed bridge that sports a vertical clearance of 177 feet (tall enough to allow the tallest ship in the U.S. Navy at the time it was built to pass under it). Despite Tom’s report being second hand in nature, I am going to make an exception to my rule and add it to my black panther sightings distribution map. I do this for two reasons: I heard some of the same accounts he did as a high schooler and Tom is a man of impeccable character with whom I have enjoyed a long personal relationship. He would not steer me wrong.

Reported 5/26/19

“Hello. My name is Barb. I live in the Texas panhandle, the forgotten part of Texas. I am sending 2 articles from 2000 or 2001 regarding a big black cat seen in the Howardwick/Clarendon area.

My longtime boyfriend, Dennis, says he saw a large black cat about a week after the Brass Lantern restaurant sightings, in a locust grove, near his home on the Britten Ranch, which is 3 miles north of Howardwick.

He and I both know the difference between a mountain lion and bobcat.  We grew up in the country, study wildlife, and have taken the Texas Master Naturalist classes. We used to spend a lot of time on area ranches, arrowhead hunting, and have seen bobcats and a couple of brownish-tan mountain lions. He saw a melanistic bobcat years ago when he was a young man. So, given his background, I assure you his big cat sighting was not a bobcat or an overgrown feral cat. According to him, there were many more sightings than what the newspapers covered.

I have bugged Dennis for a long time to find these old newspaper articles. The author David Stevens contributed regularly to the Amarillo Globe News newspaper. The other article came from the Clarendon Enterprise newspaper.

Thanks.

I have listened to you on a podcast and am reading Shadow Cats. Great book.”

-       Barb Thompson

TCH Comment: Clarendon and Howardwick sit in Donley County in the east-central portion of the Texas Panhandle. The area is sparsely populated and dominated by the oil/natural gas and cattle ranching industries. There is plenty of room for a big cat to roam and plenty of prey species in this wide-open area of Texas. The Salt Fork of the Red River and Carrol Creek run through the area and are dammed to form the Greenbelt Reservoir. These water features, along with Kelly Creek a bit farther south would provide ample water and travel corridors for a predator.The sightings referenced by the newspaper accounts and that of Barb’s boyfriend Dennis would be far from the first to come from this lonesome part of Texas. While Barb’s account is of a second hand nature, I found - after doing a bit of research - the spate of “black panther” sightings in the area was well documented. I have decided to include one “pin” on my black panther sightings distribution map to represent this flap of sightings from the early 2000s.

I have a few other intriguing sighting reports that I need to post but this gets me started on the road to catching up. Please continue to send in your sighting accounts of “black panthers” to Texascryptidhunter@yahoo.com. In addition, I am seriously considering starting a new camera-trapping project. If you have seen these cats on your property and would be willing to allow me to place cameras, please let me know.

If you would like to learn more about the black panther phenomenon and my thoughts on it, contact me for a copy of my book, Shadow Cats: The Black Panthers of North America. I would appreciate it.

To peruse my freshly updated black panther sightings distribution map, click here.

More soon.