Feral Hog Population in Texas Exploding

Texas has a pig problem.

According to Mike Leggett, writing in the April 2014 issue of Texas Co-op Power magazine, the population of wild, or feral, hogs in the U.S. has been estimated at 4-5 million animals, with at least half of them in Texas. The problem has gone beyond jokes about the coming “aporkalypse” and something that affected only the most rural of farms and has become a serious financial issue that costs Texas $500 million in annual statewide economic losses, according to the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Billy Higginbotham, an AgriLife Extension biologist in Overton, Texas, was was quoted in Leggett’s article as saying, “I always say there are two kinds of landowners in Texas, those that have pigs and those that are going to have pigs. We have an estimate of 2.6 million wild pigs in Texas. That’s with a margin for error of half a million on either side.”

How bad is it?

The hog problem is pretty bad and getting worse. Wild hogs have been documented in 253 of 254 Texas counties. Only El Paso County has yet to confirm hogs, but few folks doubt they are there, too. The population, is growing at a ridiculous rate estimated at 21% a year. When one remembers the population of feral hogs in Texas is already at an estimated 2.5-2.6 million then you realize the issue the Lone Star State is facing. Unless the wild pig population is reduced by a staggering 70% per year, EVERY year, their numbers will continue to increase and the spaces needed to occupy them will increase as well.

“This is the most prolific large animal on the face of the earth. They’re not born pregnant, but it is close.”

- Billy Higginbotham, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service biologist

What are the specific problems caused by wild hogs?

As mentioned previously, hogs account for $500 million in economic losses for Texas every year. They are omnivorous and root in pastures, yards, fields, the greens and fairways of golf courses and just about anywhere else where there is a patch of vegetation. They eat grasses , roots, tubers, shoots, acorns, fruits, bulbs, mushrooms, grubs and just about anything else. Hogs will dig up huge tracts of land in order to find these delicacies, leaving holes up to a foot in depth behind. This results in torn up yards and pastures. These holes often cause damage to mowers, tractors, tillers and the like. If the hogs choose to root in a cultivated field, the cash crop there is totally destroyed. The losses can get into the tens of thousands for individual landowners. Golf course superintendents and grounds keepers are beginning to be among the most vocal when it comes to the feral hog problem in Texas. It is easy to see why when rebuilding just one green on an eighteen hole golf course can run as much as $50,000. Once rebuilt, there is no guarantee that the hogs won’t return to wreak havoc again.

The hogs are beginning to cause water quality issues here in Texas as well. If there is one urgent and pressing problem in Texas, it is the issue of water. We simply do not have enough of it for our growing population. Now the water we do have is being fouled by hogs. These pigs thrive near rivers, creeks and reservoirs. They are not very discriminating about where they deposit their feces. In addition to the introduction of hog fecal matter into Texas watersheds, the rooting done by these hogs near the waterways is causing all manner of erosion. Without vegetation to hold the soil in place, that soil, and all the fertilizers, bovine waste, etc. washes into the waterways. “It’s a pretty big problem here,” said Richard Parrish, a Hays County AgriLife Extension agent. “We have yards and pastures dug up by pigs, We’re also seeing rooting in creekside areas, and that’s creating water quality and environmental problems.” Wild hogs carry at least 15 known diseases, the worst of which are probably pseudo rabies and swine brucellosis. Both of these diseases can be transmitted to humans and cause flu-like symptoms that can linger for weeks.

“The average litter for a wild sow is five to six pigs, and eight survive.”

- David Whitehouse, wildlife biologist

Is there more?

Yes. Feral hogs are extremely adaptable. The fact that they can thrive in virtually every county in a state as large and geographically diverse as Texas proves that. Dark river bottoms, arid deserts, piney woods, swamps and grasslands are all prime hog habitat. The presence of these pigs is anathema to the white-tailed deer population. The hogs are in direct competition with the deer for resources and are overwhelming their rivals with sheer numbers. This is costing landowners, who lease access to their property each year to deer hunters, money. It is estimated that Texas landowners take in nearly $1 billion annually in lease fees. Once a piece of land has been overrun by hogs, it isn’t nearly as valuable. It is true that some money can be recouped by leasing to hog hunters, but landowners can’t charge nearly as much for the privilege of hunting hogs as they can for trophy deer.

How big do they get? Are they dangerous?

Most of the feral hogs in Texas don’t get much heavier than 175 lbs. A truly big boar might get up to 300 lbs. or so. Certainly, there are outliers that are bigger than that and reports of “hogzillas” often travel like wildfire across the internet. Most of the time, the size of these monsters is at least somewhat exaggerated but huge pigs do show their snouts from time to time. Wild hogs can be dangerous but that doesn’t really make them much different than any other wild animal. Typically, there isn’t too much to worry about as these hogs have become mostly nocturnal across the state. Problems can occur when you approach a hog from downwind. The sense of small of a feral hog is truly astounding but their eyesight is poor and their hearing is nothing exceptional. If the hogs cannot smell you, it is possible to blunder extremely close to one. These situations can get ugly in a hurry as these hogs pack some very sharp tusks or “cutters.” Certainly, this sort of scenario is the exception and the main issues with these invasive non-native animals are financial in nature.

What can be done?

Nobody really seems too sure. The Texas Legislature passed the “Pork Chopper” bill into law in 2011. This law made it legal for landowners to allow hunters, riding in permitted helicopters, to shoot hogs from the air. It is estimated that in the first two years of aerial gunning netted 24,000 hogs. The state is also training landowners in the use of various trapping methods and allows for a limited number of hogs to be sold to federally approved, and permitted, pork processors. Commercial pig processors took in 640,000 Texas feral hogs between 2004 and 2009. Trapping is difficult, however, and these pigs are smart. Tactics must be changed often or the hogs learn to avoid the traps. In addition, I would recommend that any licensed hunter shoot any and all hogs on site regardless of whether they set out to do so or not. There is no season on feral hogs in Texas and no special permit or stamp is required to hunt them. This must be done if there is to be any hope of controlling the wild hog population in the Lone Star State.


Source: Leggett, Mike. "Here A Pig, There A Pig." Texas Co-op Power 1 Apr. 2014: 13-17. Print.

Another Invasive Reptile Threatening Florida

Most people are aware that the state of Florida is battling an invasive species that is threatening to wreck local ecosystems and wipe out populations of native animals. Since these animals are aliens, there are no natural predators to help check their numbers and they threaten to overrun the Sunshine State. Though it fits the bill, I’m not talking about the Burmese python (Python bivittatus) that is causing all sorts of problems in the Everglades and other parts of the state. I’m talking about a different, and less publicized invasive reptile, the tegu.

While there are several types of tegu, the real problem in Florida seems to be the Argentine black and white tegu (Tupinambis merianae). As their name suggests, these lizards are native to the tropical rain forests, savannas and semideserts of east and central South America. In their natural habitats, these lizards fill the same niche that monitor lizards fill in Asia. Tegu are omnivorous, eating a wide variety of plants and animals. In the wild, this would include insects, fruit, birds, eggs and even hard-shelled and bony animals like turtles.

The Argentine black and white tegu is especially prized as a pet. They are strikingly marked and quite beautiful. They are intelligent and many report they actually seek out attention from owners that handle them properly. Unfortunately, as with many other exotic pets, they get to be quite a handful when full grown and expensive to feed and house. A male tegu can reach a length in excess of 4 feet. Females often exceed 3 feet in length. Many owners, either thinking they are being humane by not euthaninzing their pet or who are simply too lazy to seek a new home for their animal, simply release these large reptiles into the wild.

Tessie Offner, a wildlife biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is quoted in a USA Today article as saying , “People buy these cute little lizards at the pet store and then they grow to be too big for an aquarium and they are too expensive to feed and then they just set them free in the preserves.”

Offner has spent the better part of three years tracking down invasive tegus and says their population is growing. “They reproduce rapidly, laying between 25-50 eggs at a time,” she said. With no known predators in the Florida ecosystem, it isn’t hard to imagine the damage these tegus may do in time. “They eat everything from plants to other animals with bones and shells – also, amphibians and birds,” says Offner.

Indeed, the stomach of a black and white tegu is equipped to handle the boniest of prey and even those with hard shells. Marvel Stewart, a volunteer at a Florida horse rescue site near Lithia, said, “We had a gopher turtle preserve on our 1,100 acres and now they are all gone. We see 4-5 (Tegus) per week on our property.” The tegus have grown increasingly bold and even burrowed into the horse enclosures on the property.

As mentioned previously, the whole situation with the black and white tegus mirrors that the Everglades is facing with Burmese pythons. Large, aggressive predators with no natural enemies can wreak havoc on a native ecosystem and should NEVER be released into the wild. I strongly urge any pet owner that finds him or herself in a situation where they can no longer take care of a large exotic animal to contact their local animal control department, zoo or even pet store to explore different options for relocating it. It may seem harmless and more humane to dump a snake or lizard into a forest or swamp when it faces the possibility of being euthanized, but it is not. What the pet owner must consider are the lives of all the native animals that will be affected if their exotic manages to find a mate and breed. Pet owners are usually true lovers of all kinds of animals. That being the case, it isn’t hard to see what is best for the environment and the native species that live there.

Source: USA Today

America's Black Panthers: A New Theory Emerges

It is no secret that I’m fascinated with the possible existence of large black cats in Texas and the rest of the South. I get reports weekly from people who claim to have caught glimpses of these enigmatic cats. People who grew up in rural areas often express no doubt that these animals exist. Wildlife officials, however, have a different take on the phenomenon. They insist there is no such thing as a “black panther.” They simply do not exist and never have.

I, along with many others, have put forth theories on what might explain the continued sightings and possible existence of these ghost cats. Jaguars have been suggested as a suspect. After all, they were once native to Texas and most of the southern U.S. and do exhibit melanism from time to time. Others think the most likely culprit is a wild cat called the jaguarundi. Jaguarundis can exhibit a dark gray to black coat and, while not particularly large, are significantly larger than a domestic cat. Still others feel that, despite science never having documented it, cougars might, on occasion, exhibit melanism or, at least, a much darker shade than is common. Personally, I’ve never found any of these theories totally satisfying. I had more or less settled on the theory that the most likely explanation for black panther sightings was probably a combination of the theories mentioned above, along with the occasional misidentification.

I have recently become aware of another possibility that I actually find to be quite intriguing. An article posted on the ScienceBlogs website, written by Darren Naish, discusses the possibility that large, long-tailed black cats being seen in Australia might actually be feral cats that have grown to enormous sizes. You an access the article here. In a nutshell, Naish details some intriguing evidence that suggests that once “kitty” goes feral, it, or its offspring, can reach a shockingly large size. How large is “shockingly large?” How about feral cats reaching sizes the equivalent of a small leopard? It is hard to believe but, unlike other cryptids like the sasquatch or the Loch Ness monster, there are several photos and several carcasses that seem to prove that extra large feral cats are a reality. Can this really be? Is there a new strain of Felis catus, the domestic cat, out there achieving these astounding sizes?



Mr. Naish gives several examples of large black cats caught on video that, while very large, exhibit characteristics much more akin to Felis catus than true big cats. Naish points to two pieces of footage that were played by Australian cryptozoologist Paul Cropper at a conference he attended. Cropper’s presentation was on Australian ABCs (Alien Big Cats). The two video clips Cropper played during the presentation featured footage of two large, black cats exceeding 1 meter in length. They made quite the impression on Naish and he says in his article, “But rather than being feral leopards or any other cat species that exhibits melanism, the weird thing is that these cats looked like gigantic specimens of F. catus.”

Of the first clip, Naish said, “The first bit of footage (I’ve been unable to track down details on when and where it was filmed: let me know if you can help) showed a big black cat slinking along a vegetated hillside. The cat appeared to be very large (I say this based on the size of the surrounding vegetation, and on the overall look and ‘heaviness’ of the animal), but its pointed ears, tail and gait make it look quite different from a leopard or any other big cat. It also looked nothing like a leopard cat, ocelot, caracal, lynx, or any of the golden cats. Clearly, what I’m getting at is hard to quantify, but it was as if someone had super-sized a feral moggie.”

Mr. Naish was even more impressed by the second video Cropper played. He said,“The second video that Paul showed was even more remarkable. We start with a daytime shot of a perfectly normal grey domestic cat, sat on a shrub-covered hillside near a stand of trees. Then the camera pans to the right. From behind the trees slowly emerges a big black cat, apparently more than twice the size of the grey domestic cat. Yet its head and face – which we can see in full detail – show without doubt that it is a domestic cat, with vertical pupils, pointed ears, and a dainty snout quite unlike the deeper snout of the large cats. Its shoulder blades appear proportionally big and overall it appears unusually muscular. The ordinary grey cat, sat not less than two meters away, is not in the least perturbed by the presence of this monster. I struggled to understand what I was seeing: was this some sort of trick using forced perspective?”



It seems that this second piece of footage, shot by Gail Pound and her husband in 2001 near Lithgow, New south Wales, has been quite the source of controversy down under. About the only thing everyone agrees on, according to Naish, is that the video really does show a panther-sized, black cat sitting next to a normally proportioned feral cat. Most estimations have the larger of the two cats measuring in excess of 1.5 meters (4.92 feet) from head to tail. Naish quotes a local newspaper article that summed up the conclusion of New South Wales government officials. It reads, “Last year, the NSW government asked a seven-member panel of big cat experts to view a video shot near Lithgow, west of Grose Vale, of what appeared to be a large black cat – possibly a panther – in close proximity to a large feral cat. They concluded that the larger of the two was a huge feral cat, two to three times normal size. Their reasoning was only that they did not think a feral cat would be so close to a panther.”

Mr. Naish mentions other videos, most notably that shot at Dunkeld in the southern Grampians, Victoria, in December of 2004 by Andrew Burston. The video shows what appears to be a very large, black feral cat walking in close proximity to an adult kangaroo. The cat, Naish notes, does not look like a leopard or any other known exotic. “Again, the cat looks very odd: the profile of the back appears more like that of a small cat than a large one (Felis cats have a more obviously convex lumbar and pelvic region than pumas and big cats); its tail appears proportionally too short for a leopard or puma; and its gait and the shape of its head also look more like those of a Felis cat than of a puma or big cat. This time we have an excellent scale bar, as the animal actually walks within a few metres of an adult kangaroo.”
The Dunkeld cat has been estimated to stand 75 cm (2.46 feet) high at the shoulder. This would be unusually large for a feral cat but this is the opinion of most, including Melbourne zoo official Noel Harcourt who went on record saying the cat was a large feral.

Naish also discusses several carcasses that have been brought in by hunters. One, shot in Victoria measured 1230 mm (4.04 feet) head to tail. Feral cats, Naish notes, generally measure in the neighborhood of 750-822 mm (2.56 – 2.70 feet). It should be noted that what is believed to be the largest domestic cat ever, an Australian tabby named Himmy, had an overall length of only 965 mm (3.17 feet). Yet another specimen was taken in Gippsland in June of 2005 by a hunter named Kurt Engel. This beast allegedly measured 1.6 meters (5.25 feet) in length. Engel dumped the big cat’s body but kept the tail as a souvenir. The tail alone measures 650 mm (2.13 feet) in length. DNA testing performed by Monash University, located in Melbourne, indicates this cat was F. catus.

Preliminary evidence, admittedly much of it circumstantial, seems to indicate that, in at least some cases, feral cats in Australia are growing to truly impressive sizes rivaling those of leopards and cougars. If so, it isn’t too much of a stretch to think that this could be happening in North America, too. If North American feral cats are beginning to grow to exceptionally large sizes then it could help explain black panther sightings across the continent.

As discussed earlier, various explanations and theories have been put forth to explain sightings of large, black, long-tailed cats in our country. If you are like me, you probably know them by heart. The witness saw an escaped exotic such as a leopard, they saw a known species like a jaguarundi, it must have been a normal colored mountain lion in shadows or low light, maybe it was a wayward melanistic jaguar they saw. Again, all of these theories have holes in them and I don’t feel any one of them, or a combination of all of them, can explain all black panther sightings here in Texas and North America. Of course, there is another explanation/theory that has been put forth over the years and that is that the witness saw nothing more than a domestic or feral cat. In the past, most witnesses have found this idea quite insulting. Who can blame them? Everyone knows the normal size parameters of a domestic cat, after all. Most witnesses would tell you what they saw was the size as a Labrador retriever or larger. How could that possibly be a feral cat?

Based on the article by Darren Naish referenced above, maybe we have all been too quick to be insulted. Is it possible that both witnesses who have seen the legendary black panther and skeptics that say they must have seen a domestic/feral could BOTH be right? The goings on in Australia suggests that might be the case. If feral specimens of F. catus are growing to these extraordinary sizes it could be the key to unlocking the black panther mystery. Ferals are not just common, they are everywhere. They are quite prolific. Even if only 1 out of 100 achieve this unusual size then that is significant and could go a long way toward explaining these sightings.

While not a melanistic cat, the following photo shows what looks, with the exception of its unusually large and bulky size, to be a typical domestic/feral cat. You can clearly see the head has all the hallmarks of being a domestic. Still, it looks really big. Could this be an example, from right here in Texas, of what seems to be happening in Australia? If this cat had been solid black then we’d be debating exactly what it was from now until Doomsday because it does appear to be too large to be a normal cat. The fact that it is colored like a typical housecat has, I believe, caused many to dismiss it as nothing unusual a bit too soon. There have been other examples, a large cat photographed near a feeder in the Texas Hill Country, the large black cat captured on video in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, and a large charcoal-colored cat photographed in South Texas. All seem, at first glance, to be far too large to be examples of F. catus. Knowing what we know now, maybe we should reconsider the domestic/feral cat as a candidate for at least some of the black panthers reported each year.

The puzzle that makes up the black panther picture in Texas and the American South remains incomplete. I don’t doubt that, on occasion, many of the usual theories that have been put forth regarding the phenomenon are correct. I also believe that people have been mistaken about what they’ve seen from time to time. I do not, however, believe the usual “go to” explanations satisfactorily explain all sightings. I’m not convinced that even if domestic/feral cats in North America are growing to extremely large sizes, it would explain all the sightings either. I do feel, though, that the possibility of F. catus growing to very large sizes could explain at least some of the sightings of black panthers and should be seriously considered. The black panther puzzle may remain incomplete but maybe we’ve just added a new piece.

Updated Black Panther Distribution Map

Below is the latest version of my black panther distribution map. The map now includes the latest reported sightings deemed credible and discussed in the previous two posts on this blog.

Understand, this map is not meant to be exact. I am bound by the amount of detail given to me about sighting locations by witnesses. If you are looking for GPS coordinates to get you within 20 yards of a sighting location then this map is not going to do it for you. It isn’t meant to. My intentions in mapping the sighting locations was to get a broad sense of where these cats were being spotted and hope to pick up on some “big picture” type of pattern. The overall locations are as accurate as they can possibly be on a map to this scale.

As for patterns, those previously discussed seem to be holding. Nearly all of the sightings have taken place near major waterways. In particular, sightings tend to bunch up near the headwaters of major Texas Rivers like the Sabine, Neches, Trinity, Guadalupe, San Antonio and Nueces. The exceptions to this pattern would seem to be the sightings reported along the Brazos and Colorado Rivers. It could be argued, however, that about the point the Brazos and Colorado become more than just a trickle is the point where sightings begin to take place with some measure of regularity. It should also be kept in mind that the upper reaches of both of these rivers lay in very sparsely populated areas where sightings would be less likely due to the dearth of human occupation.

The sighting map is also beginning to resemble the map of wood ape sightings in the Lone Star State as compiled by the NAWAC. Basically, the number of ape and black panther sightings increases the farther East one travels across Texas. This correlates nicely to the average amount of rainfall each region of Texas receives. Again, the farther East you go, the more rain you get. It is interesting to note that the areas where the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department admit to breeding populations of mountain lions, the Trans-Pecos/Big Bend region and deep South Texas, there have been next to no reports of large, black, long-tailed cats. What that means can only be speculated upon.

Another Enigmatic "Black Panther" Photo Surfaces

I came across the photo below yesterday and thought I’d share it here. It seems the picture was an online entry in a trailcam photo contest. The photo shows a nice buck all bowed up in a defensive posture as a very large, and very dark, cat eyes him menacingly. According to the information on the photo, it was taken in December of 2007. The site said the photo was taken near Tenaha in deep East Texas. I see nothing in the photo to make me believe it is not legitimate.

The one problem I have with the photo is the claim it was taken near Tenaha. I’m from deep East Texas and this doesn’t look like that area to me. The dirt in that part of the world is a deep reddish-orange (due to high iron content). Also, Tenaha sits in the Piney Woods region of Texas. There’s nary a pine tree to be seen in this photo. These are hardwood trees that have dropped their leaves. Certainly, there are areas where hardwoods grow in that area but the fact that there is not a single pine present really makes me believe we are not looking at East Texas.

Even if the location is incorrect, we should not lose sight of what is important here. In the big picture, what matters is WHAT we are looking at and not so much where the photo was taken. Don’t get me wrong, the location is important. I’d certainly want to know if a cat that size was on my property, but the critical factor here is the size and dark coloration of the cat. Remember, according to wildlife officials, there is no such thing as a “black panther” anywhere in the United States. Jaguars, which do exhibit melanism on occasion, rarely cross our southern border (though sightings in Arizona and New Mexico are becoming more common) and there is not a single documented incident of a melanistic mountain lion. These facts are what make this picture so interesting. There aren’t supposed to be black, or very dark, cougars out there.

This is, at least in my opinion, clearly a cougar. I think you can plainly see that in the zoomed in and cropped photo below showing a close-up of the head of the cat. If so, it is an unusually dark specimen. To be sure, there are many variations in the shades of coat colors on mountain lions. Some are darker than others. The time of year, no doubt, also comes into play. Maybe the thicker winter coat this cat would be sporting in December is darker than the lighter summer coat. Speculative to be sure, but there is no arguing that, if this is a mountain lion, it is an unusually dark specimen. Could lions like this be the culprits responsible for the multitude of black panther reports in Texas and other parts of the U.S.? Certainly, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to think a witness would describe the cat pictured as a black panther. Maybe the question that should be asked is, if cougars can get this dark, could they get darker still? If so, then we have a prime suspect in our ongoing black panther mystery.

Personally, I don’t think dark cougars can completely explain the black panther phenomenon. Though they may not be as rare as previously thought, mountain lions this dark are few and far between. Dark colored lions may be out there but I think there has to be another component to the mystery considering the number of sightings reported annually.

Just what that other component might be is anyone’s guess.

2014 Black Panther Reports...So Far

Below are the latest handful of black panther reports I’ve received since the beginning of the year. I've received fewer reports than usual over the last three months or so but I suspect it is due to the harsh winter we've had here in Texas. Readers from the northeast may get a chuckle out of that statement but, by Texas standards at least, it has been a really tough winter in the Lone Star State. People have been inside more than usual and wildlife has been hunkered down in the warmest spots they can find. Now that spring is beginning to show its face, I am expecting black cat reports to pick up.

As always, I cannot vouch for the veracity of the accounts below. Most of them have come in as comments to blog posts with the commenter remaining anonymous. That being the case, I can’t make secondary contact. It is possible that some sighting reports are the work of hoaxers but I have diligently weeded out those that seem “shady” and printed only those that seem reasonable and credible. The original reports are in italics and are followed by my comments.


3/17/14

"Hello, I recently moved to a community NE of Mckinney, TX in Collin County. I saw what I believe to be a black panther walking in the woods along the creek behind our house. It looked like it had a 3ft tail and body w/tail about 6ft. It was in the shadows of the trees & I did not see any spots. We live in a new community w/ mostly vacant lots, woods, and lakes. The person across the street said he saw one over a year ago. I'm afraid for our dog. Can they be caught and relocated? You are welcome to put up a camera."

- Anonymous

TCH Comments: McKinney is a suburb of Dallas and sits just north of another bedroom community, Plano. This area has been the source of a surprisingly large number of black panther reports. McKinney sits between two large reservoirs, Lake Lewisville and Lavon Lake. While a satellite of Dallas, the area gets surprisingly rural very quickly. As far as trapping and relocating a big cat, it would take someone more qualified than I but I suspect it would be all but impossible. While this witness offered to let me put up cameras, the account was submitted as an anonymous comment to another post. That being the case, I can't get in touch with this witness. If the reader who submitted this report happens to see this, please contact me via email at Texascryptidhunter@yahoo.com and we can discuss placing a camera or two on your property.

3/5/14

"I was walking with my two German Shepherds out in my back pasture one morning about 7:oo in January of this year~2014, when my male shepherd came to a quick stop and stood watching something about 50 yards ahead of us. When I looked up I saw a dark colored cat about 30 pounds or so, leap about 10 feet up into a tree covered with thick brush and was gone, it had a long tail. this was off FM 414 in Cleburne, TX. Not sure what it was but a neighbor up the road said his wife had a picture that she had taken earlier."

- Anonymous

TCH Comments: Cleburne sits roughly 30 miles south of Fort Worth and halfway between Glen Rose and Waxahachie. This particular area has yielded fewer reports than the areas north and east of the Metroplex but is not devoid of accounts. The area is rural and there is plenty of room for a large cat to hide. This witness estimates the black cat he saw to be about 30 lbs. Could this be a juvenile? The size also makes a jaguarundi in black-phase a possibility. While the jaguarundi is a known species, finding one in north-central Texas would be quite a story as they are not thought to live too far north of the Rio Grande valley. They are very rare even there. I'd like to know if this witness remembers anything about the head of the cat as jaguarundis have a unique appearance. I suppose a large feral cat is a possibility as well if the witness was just a bit off on the heavy side in his weight estimate.

2/28/14

"I have seen a spotted cat in Texas. I have seen it almost every day for about 2 weeks then it was gone. As I have looked into big cats, I found out they move around as the food does and I know that what I saw was a jag and they have been seen here for over the last 75 years as I talk to the old cowboys around Quanah, Texas."

- Anonymous

TCH Comments: I found this report extremely compelling as it refers specifically to spotted cats, and jaguars in particular. As has been discussed here before, I don't receive many reports of spotted cats. I will say that the Quanah/Childress area and up into the Panhandle has a bit of a history of jaguar sightings. I haven't talked about it much here but plan on sharing one very interesting account about a jaguar sighting near Pampa, TX here on the site soon. For the reader who submitted this account, please keep a camera handy so that you can get a photo the next time that spotted cat shows its face.

1/18/14

"My husband owns a few acres of land in Center Point, TX where he and his friend go hunting. Last week as they were walking to their blinds they heard a loud cat growl but they didn"t see anything. Today my husband was standing by his shed and saw it. It was black, long tailed and the size of our yellow lab who weighs 80 lbs. My husband says he looked like he was hunting jack rabbits. He and his friend will try and see if they can trap him in a large pig cage. The ranch down the road has live stock cows, lambs and goats. My husband said he was a beautiful animal shiny black."

- Anonymous

TCH Comments: I went back and forth over this report and whether or not I should publish it. The first thing that caused me some doubt was how the witness claims her husband heard a "loud cat growl but they didn't see anything." How did they know it was a cat if they didn't see it? The second thing to give me pause was the statement, "My husband says it looked like it was hunting jack rabbits." What gave the witness this impression? After thinking about it though, I decided that if someone gets growled at by a large animal of some kind and then sees a big cat in that same vicinity shortly thereafter, it is a logical conclusion at which to arrive. The description of the animal is classic "black panther" from the size right down to the shiny coat. The area from which the report originates is in the Texas Hill Country and is a bit of a hot spot for sightings of long-tailed black cats. For these reasons, I decided to include the report here. If the witness who submitted this report is reading this comment, please do not be offended that I wrestled with whether or not to include your account. I try to be extremely conservative when I evaluate these types of things and it is likely that some valid accounts occasionally get left out. I decided a while back that I'd rather be short a few valid reports than to allow even a couple of those that are more questionable.

1/8/14

"I've hunted the vast brush country of South Texas for well over 30 years. I've never seen a Sasquatch, Skunk Ape, Chupacabra or any other so called "cryptid". I've never seen a rattlesnake approaching 7 feet and I've never seen a wild hog much over 300 pounds. I don't watch "Finding Bigfoot" and I don't think there's a "Loch Ness Monster". I don't think that little green men designed the pyramids and I don't believe in ghosts; I have however seen large "black cats" with my own eyes on several occasions."

- Anonymous

TCH Comments: I love, love, love this statement. This witness just sounds like a Texan. This report, while short on details, perfectly reflects the defiant attitude many rural Texans have about the reality of "black panthers." They are ready to fight when someone tells them there is no such thing. To them, these enigmatic cats are just part of the wildlife that has always been here.

I would like to express my gratitude to those that have submitted their sightings of large black cats. Remember, however, if you would like me to follow up with you please submit your account via an email and not as an anonymous comment to another post.

Dripping Springs School Presentation

Today, fellow NAWAC member Tony Schmidt and I had the privilege of giving a presentation on wood apes to a class of very enthusiastic Gifted and Talented 4th graders at Walnut Springs Elementary in Dripping Springs, Texas. The class is taught by Mrs. Kristi Fout, for whom the group has done presentations in the past (though at a different school district).

These kids were on the ball. They were extremely polite and well-mannered and asked a lot of really good questions. Tony spent about 40 minutes alone answering questions with the kids as I was completely snarled in some of the worst traffic I've ever seen (I budgeted two hours and 45 minutes for a 90 mile drive and was still late). He did a terrific job and the kids were primed for the presentation once I finally made it there. I presented a power point slide show (sort of a wood ape 101), shared some Texas folklore tales, gave the kids a photo op with the large wooden cut out shown in the photo, handed out bookmarks and donated a copy of my bigfoot-themed children's book, Patty: A Sasquatch Story to the Mrs. Fout. Tony and I really enjoyed it and, I think it is safe to say, the kids did too.

All in all, a very good day for the Texas Cryptid Hunter and the NAWAC in Dripping Springs.

If you are interested in having me, or a member of the NAWAC, come out and give a talk on wood apes or another cryptozoological-related subject, please contact me at Texascryptidhunter@yahoo.com.