big cats in s.c.

[Fat Sales Guy]

Tawney = Tan

[mother tucker]

Ironically there was a special on ETV last night about Cougars/mountain lions....there are atleast 70 of them living in Florida and Ga. they called them "Roman-nosed Cougars" I am sure a few have crossed the border !!!!!!

[skybuster]

I saw a long tailed cat (tan) at the Wragg in Charleston about 15 years ago that was bigger than the walker dog running it. A dozen or so other people had seen them on that piece of property over the years. Have also talked to a few people that have seen them at Bear Island in the ACE.

[Palmetto Bug]

I saw a tan long tailed cat about the size of a walker dog near Botany Bay on Edisto Island. It stopped in the road long enough for me and my hunting partner to look at it through our scopes. I know it was a puma but will let the skeptics make of it whatever they want. Maybe it was a solid colored giant bobcat with a long sweeping tail?

As far as the "black" part goes, deer are tawny colored and they often look black depending on the lighting and background.

[Panther]

I can't say they/you experts are wrong but I can say what I saw.It was black,I say black.Broad daylight standing in the middle of the road!I don't smoke dope and it was to early for me to be drinkin'.I also saw a tan colored one about five miles from the BLACK one about two years earlier.Call it what you will.

[BigBrother]

While hunting in Lee County, I once saw the Lizard Man petting two large black cats...thought they were labs at first but upon closer inspection, saw they were cats...unfortunattely, I didnt have my camera with me and my cell phone didnt have service so I couldnt call anyone. Missed my 15 seconds by that much. Damnit.

Seriously, I dont doubt that they "could" be here...no more that the ivory billed woodpecker...but until irrefutable proof shows up, I am a doubting Thomas.

[JABIII]

I think the simple fact that throughout history and the 10's of thousands of captive bred and 100's of thousands of hunter killed cougars, NOT ONE has ever been black speaks for itself...

[2thDoc]

i will look you in the eye and tell you the details of what i saw. you can ask the guys that were hunting with me about the look on my face when i met up with them.

i saw a large, long-tailed cat. it was brown. its tail was about as long as its body and the tip was black. it was not a bobcat and it was certainly not a 'yote.

it was a long-tailed cat. i dont care whether it was a cougar, puma, or unicorn.

[JABIII]

Are there cougars in the wilds of South Carolina? Yes.

Are there cougars in Richland County? Yes.

Are there black cougars anywhere on the planet? No...

[Panther]

I won't piss on a tree with you.I'm with Doc.I saw a big BLACK cat.I don't have any idea what kind of cat.It could have been a freakin elephant in a custom.It didn't stay around long enough for me to ask.It stayed in the road for about 2 seconds after I got the truck stopped.I don't doubt science or anybody else but I don't doubt what I saw.

[SwampDunkey]

He may be dark tinted like deer get from livein deep in them woods

[JABIII]

Maybe it was a jaguar that was really really really lost...

I have always thought it interesting how many of the anecdotal "I saw a cougar cross the road" stories involve a "black panther" even as we know they don't exist.

I think the answer is obvious...

[JABIII]

By the way, the above cougar photo was taken in Maggie Valley, NC where the US Park Service recognizes their existance...

[Dook]

I don't have a dog in this fight, because we are entitled to our own opinions. But I do know the following to be FACT. A friend of my parents had captive big cats, some were rescues and some raised from the bottle. 1 tiger, 1 puma, 1 lion, and one BLACK panther, or so he called it. It had an awesome color to it with spots underneath his dark coat had a purplish tint to them. The cats grew old and fat, because the guy fed the shit out of them, he enjoyed it way to much, all chicken cuz he owned chicken houses. Now, the only one he has is the puma, the tiger died, the lion was given to a zoo, and the BLACK panther escaped. DNR looked for the cat in Saluda for a year at least, the cat was never recovered. Now I know being raised in captivity can greatly deter their wild senses, but how hungry does a 200 lb cat get before he sees how easy it is to kill deer, rabbits, foxes, or any small warm blooded creature? Anyway, that right there may not be a breeding population, but it is one big black cat that did escape, and the stories from deer hunters, confirm, they are in NA, but they are not indigenous.

[DUCKMAN]

It is a lot easier to deal with an endangered species when there is no irrefutable proof that they exist such as an illegal kill - capture - road kill, etc.

Look what they do in RCW sites and those have very small home ranges. You verify one on your property and your freedom on your land will change greatly. Could impact your neighbors....a great way to win friends! If I saw one, had seen one or even thought I had seen one, I would share that with NO ONE due to the severe repercussions that would or could follow especially with the huge home range of a puma!!

The DNR would then have a huge and very expensive task on their hands.....money they do not have!

Hope everyone has a clearer understanding of why the DNR says there are no large cats in SC!

[JABIII]

Dook, the spots point to Pantera onca the black jaguar. Called "panther" in most of the southern hemisphere, they are one of the truly most beautiful creatures on the planet...

[TKB]

i also surveyed the swamp that the lizard man originated from but my investigations came up empty [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[JABIII]

Black cats are one thing but don't be doubtin' on the Lizard Man...

[Dook]

I could beleive that, these was country folks, prolly mafia connected, they were always into some shady shit. My dad always thought he fed his help to them. Said he was always getting another [img]graemlins/afro.gif[/img] from up town to help pick up dead chickens.

Beautiful animals, I had several opportunities to feed them when I was young, but after that one got loose, I wouldn't even ride my atv down that dirt road, it was 1/2 a mile from where my parents live...

[Aricks]

It's probably been ten years or more. Me and a buddy were hunting, headed down the road where it went from pines to dropping off in the swamp. Something caught our eyes on the hill where it was dropping off. I sped up and all we saw was the tail go thru the briars. It was grey and 2-3 feet long. Don't know what it was but we did not hunt that area that day.