Panther

[rhoda_bruce]

About 9 years ago, I saw a panther. I was coming home and it ran right in front of my car and jumped about 9 feet, right into my yard (not exactly where I wanted to see it disappear). At the same time, my daughter was being dropped off at our house and my cousin had gotten out the truck and heard its scream (which I didn't, because I was still in the car), so he is the closest thing I have to a witness.
So why am I mentioning this???? Well, there is a little boy who lives a few houses over that has been coming over to play with my girls. He heard what he believed to be a panther, in the woods/brush near my property and was afraid to go home, and yet afraid not to, because he has a cerfew. He wanted my little girl to walk home with him. I said, "I'm walking you home." and I grabbed the fireplace poker (Okay, I know I can't kill it with a poker, but I figured if it would jump me, I'd at least discourage him enough so he'd decide I'm not worth his trouble.....besides, I more think it would jump a child than an adult).
I had a talk with his mom about his story and then I advised her that I had had a previous experience and therefore I choose to believe her son.
Well, my kids are not playing outside at dusk or night for a while.....at least until I feel forgetful.
What I don't get is, this animal is a good 120 LBs. A cat that size must need meat, at least the size of a good 10 to 15 LB roast a day. How does it survive without people seeing it more than they do?
I spoke with my cousin, that I previously mentioned. He is now a police officer. He remembers the incident and advised me to report it to the police. I did, but I don't think they believe me. My paranoia is kicking in. In fact at this very moment I'm imagining a bunch of people trying to find out if I'm nuts.
But you know what.....10 minutes before I saw that cat, I didn't believe they were around either. In fact someone had told me a story and I thought it was either drug induced or a shadow and a vivid imagination. In fact one of the first thoughts I had when I saw it, was OMG, he was telling the truth.
People gonna think I'm nuts, but I believe the child. A little boy isn't gonna look that scared for nothing.

 

[so lucky]

Rhoda, I don't remember where you live, but I do know panthers are getting more numerous in our state (Missouri). Maybe in other states as well. I don't blame you for being scared about it, and for wanting your kids to stick closer to the house.
One thing you might do, is get on the net and find a site that will play the night noises of different animals. I think there is one called "Night sounds" that has all kinds of animals on it. You could have the neighbor boy to listen to them and see if he can identify what he heard. Some pretty common animals make some terribly frightening sounds at night.
I don't know, but I would think if a panther is hanging around your neighborhood very long, you and your neighbors would find livestock missing or maimed. There have been several horses torn up badly by panthers in our rural areas, reportedly, and the MO Conservation folks are admitting that we have them, now.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I'm from Louisiana...extreme south/east. We have a lot of wildlife, but to tell you the truth, a panther is a bit wilder than I'd like. We have another wildcat, which I'm not sure, but it might be a cougar. Well, it looks similar. And it also has a scream. We call it something else, but I can't write French for fear that one of our Canadian friends might read it, but it translates to wildcat. But the panther is much bigger.

 

[Boogity]

About 15 years ago my daughter and her family lived in Billings, MT. We would go out there once a year to visit and they would come once a year to our place. My SIL took me to a place about 30 miles north of Billings to scout a future hunting site for him. I sat at the base of a tree about 100 yds. from my SIL and fell asleep (it was little before dawn and the time zone change got to me ) and when I woke up the sun was shining. I notices a slight movement in the brush about 30 yds. away. I soon realized it was a gigantic wildcat. I've been told that the mountain lion, cougar, puma, panther are all the same animal. They are called different names according to the location.

This cat was enormous and he was looking directly at me. I'm sure he smelled me long before he allowed himself to be seen. He stood there absolutely motionless for a long time staring into my eyes. After what seemed like an hour (probably three minutes) he took one step toward me and froze again. Another long time passed and he took one more step in my direction. I had my rifle with me but it was laying on the ground next to me and my pistol was in a holster on my hip. Neither were easily accessible.

After two or three more steps in my direction he stretched out a little and laid down facing me. Both front paws stretched directly toward me. I thought 'what the heck is this cat up to?' until I realized that it's rear end was slightly up in the air. Even a rural Indiana farmer like me knows that that is the POUNCE posture and that was the first moment that I got a little concerned. I knew that I had to do something so I decided to reach for my rifle. By the time I glanced at my gun and quickly looked back at the wildcat was gone. I heard soft, bounding footsteps in the leaves and it was all over.

What a wonderful experience! I had a camera in my coat pocket but I never once thought about reaching for it. I'll just have to keep my mental pictures forever.

 

[Denim Deb]

Rhonda, most places where you "don't" have panthers refuse to admit that there are any-even if people have seen them. I know of at least 2 people in this area that have either seen one, or seen evidence, yet the authorities say they're not here.

 

[BarredBuff]

I have seen one this year, and last year. Then my mom has seen them before. You are refering to black panthers, correct? See here they deny their existence BIG TIME, and by they I mean the guberment. I've seen them, and heard them. We are right on the forest line with lots of caves and cliffs, and wooded areas all around us. We don't leave our homestead (walking, and driving) without some sort of firearms. As for what they would eat, I have always heard that cats, and bears can cover up to 60 miles a night, and ya know that is a lot of area. I'd say they pick off turkeys, and maybe even solitary animals that just "pop" up...

 

[rhoda_bruce]

The way I called the police was like this,"No this is not an emergency....I am wondering if anyone in our area has called complaining of seeing a panther...." "No, because we don't have any panthers in this area." "Well, I beg to differ, because I know for a fact that we do have them....." and so on. I ended by telling him to make sure he doesn't laugh at me because in truth, I'm an honest person and I don't go around making up wild stories. I'm not the only one who has seen them locally. And if anyone else reports hearing or seeing a panther, to take note of it and respond accordingly because they are telling the truth. He advised me that they take all calls seriously, but until more people report it, I think they will figure I'm nuts.
Seeings as the approximate place where I saw the cat emerge, was the general direction the child heard the scream, I will point a game cam with fresh batteries.

 

[Joel_BC]

Here they call them cougars. They've long been recognized to live in our province - more, of course, in rural and small-town areas. They use tree groves and forest for cover.

Over a lot of years, I've seen four of these big cats in my valley. Usually they are shy of people, and especially of adult human beings.

Rhoda, at your library you might be able to find naturalist or biologist information (field guides, reports, etc) that will confirm that panthers/cougars do sometimes move through your area. The average policeman or civil servant may not know much about panther habits or ranges, but the wildlife biologists are specialists in these things.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

My daughter will have her master's degree in biology in May and is supposed to be in line for a job with Wildlife and Fisheries, which is somehow connected to our local police dept. So next year, it will be her I complain to with my big cat issues....incidentally she was the daughter being dropped off 9 years ago, by my uncle and cousin. Wish that big cat would like the taste of coyote.

 

[Joel_BC]

My daughter will have her master's degree in biology in May and is supposed to be in line for a job with Wildlife and Fisheries, which is somehow connected to our local police dept. So next year, it will be her I complain to with my big cat issues....incidentally she was the daughter being dropped off 9 years ago, by my uncle and cousin.

Good news. Congrats to your daughter.

Wish that big cat would like the taste of coyote.

My impression is that they will get by on deer and such normally, maybe also wild rabbits, squirrels, whatever is at hand. Under stress of hunger, they'll go after dogs, domestic cats... probably even coyotes... I wouldn't doubt it. We have coyotes around here, too, and I'm sure I've seen them 100x more than the cougars.