Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Black Panther exist?

Of course the last thing I would think about if I had a "black panther" sitting in my driveway some afternoon would be to get some pictures or video. And obviously if I'm going to cite a source as evidence I wouldn't care to know if that source was credible. Why bother, right? About when did you call the MDC about wild/feral hogs in Missouri? I've been hunting hogs in Missouri since the early 90's and it's never been a mystery the hogs were here and the MDC was begging people to shoot them on sight. There are no limits and open season on hogs. MDC had lots of information both printed and online about hog populations in the state. Just very recently MDC changed some regulations about hog hunting on state lands so the hogs could be trapped without hunter interference. MDC has never denied the existence of wild hogs here. Ridiculous...

Well, I don't know what to say- I called an office in Springfield, after a trip into the Piney Creek Wilderness about
1995-96, when I'd found a hog wallow, and they told me there weren't any. Sorry for offending you with my silliness,
but I sure wouldn't lead with my chin on here, if I wasn't sure of my own experiences.
I'll try to participate less in future, and let those who actually know things do all the talking.

Finally, a voice of reason on the Campfire. Thank you for your post.

They can exist without coming up from Mexico.
Could be an exotic that escaped.
Stuff happens.

Two hunting buddies were a few hours late getting to our hunting camp. When they showed up it was with a big tale about seeing a black panther on their way to camp. These were reputable guys that I had known for at least fifteen years, not prone to big fish of big buck stories, etc..

After listening to their story for a while the camp consensus was it could have been an unusually large feral tom cat that looked bigger through binoculars. Of course they were not accepting that, and they obviously had a few beers, and a frayed wire was hanging out the door which had been connected to a missing radar detector. I don't know for sure!

The video several pages back showing the Black cat in Arkansas was filmed in North Mississippi. Northern edge of Senatobia. I remember seeing it on the Memphis news.
. I know someone that I trust that says he has seen a pair of Black cats bigger than a bobcat a few times in his back pasture. He doesn't make up stories. If he said it he believes it is true. What they are for certain I don't know. He said they are always running hard for the woodline when he sees them and he never has time to get the rifle out the truck window before they are gone.

I've watched whitetails enough to see them turn dark as the light changes...

I'm sure thats what gets this going about them since they are not supposed to be able to be melanistic from what I hear.

I swear I saw one here in my teens late at night, but again while it was a big cat, it may not have been black but certainly appeared extremely dark.

My take, lighting makes a LOT of difference. Especially when they are not supposed to be able to be black

Vietnamese.

Don't tell Luke or Laton Smith on Lake Kiowa rd . east of Gainesville Tx black panthers don't exist. Last winter they were letting 20 or so goats clean up a well fenced pasture behind their house. Luke went to check them one morning and something killed 19 and packed one off. The next morning Laton saw a black as coal mountain lion sized cat in his driveway. $2000.00 turned to cat poop. Killed 19 and ate one.

I wonder why none of those ever get shot?

I think you are right. I believe people in my neck of the woods who see "black panthers" are probably seeing Florida panthers in low light conditions. Anyone who hunts deer knows how dark they look right at sunrise or dusk, and the cats are very similarly colored.