i saw a coyote yesterday crossing the rd on the kingranch. it looked black as coal from about 4-5 hundred yards, when i drove up and gotta a closer look it was just a plain old coyote. lighting, distance and a lot of factors can cause someone to mistake something for something its not.
I think you just explained most of the black panther sightings.
I saw a jet black cougar approach me on a calling stand. Midday, 100 yards away on the snow slope opposite my side of a draw, overcast day. I'm sure if we'd killed it it would have turned out to be a normal color, but looked black in that setting.
There is no record of a photograph, hair sample, hide, or any other objective confirmation of a single black panther/cougar. If you have such proof, you have a gold mine.
As others have noted, jaguars do come in black, and some SW sightings are likely jaguars roaming outside of usual range.
