Are There Any Existing Animals Similar To Bigfoot, In N.a.

[Guest Greldek]

Jodie, your friend is making the report from Arizona, a historical haunt of the jaguar. My comment relates to the black panthers reported across the depth and breadth of the USA, far, far north of the historical range of the jaguar.

Anywhere there are people with money, which there are a lot of in the US, there is the possibility of seeing reports of unidentified large cats, including black panthers. It is a well documented that private collectors illegally obtain large cats, for whatever reason posses them to get them, and that often times they escape, or are simply let go, once the owner realizes they can't take care of them. And these cats survive, often times quite easily because they have no predatory competition around, and deer are everywhere in the US, as is livestock. And this happens not just in the US but all over the world, where rich people think they are above the rules... which is pretty much everywhere there are rich people.

And it happens with other animals too, the Burmese Python occurs naturally only in south/south east asia, and yet if you go to Florida, there is a huge, thriving, breeding, population that is wreaking havoc on the natural ecosystem there. And serious money is being spent to try and eradicate them, without out much success.

Saying that there is no such thing as a black cougar, so that means there can't be a black panther in the United States, is simply wrong.

In addition from what I gather by reading this thread, is that some has a sample of hair from a cougar that is black, and people saying that can't be. The hair on the back of cougars ears, and the end of their tail is often black. You can have hair form a cougar that s black.

[Incorrigible1]

Anywhere there are people with money, which there are a lot of in the US, there is the possibility of seeing reports of unidentified large cats, including black panthers. It is a well documented that private collectors illegally obtain large cats, for whatever reason posses them to get them, and that often times they escape, or are simply let go, once the owner realizes they can't take care of them. And these cats survive, often times quite easily because they have no predatory competition around, and deer are everywhere in the US, as is livestock. And this happens not just in the US but all over the world, where rich people think they are above the rules... which is pretty much everywhere there are rich people.

And it happens with other animals too, the Burmese Python occurs naturally only in south/south east asia, and yet if you go to Florida, there is a huge, thriving, breeding, population that is wreaking havoc on the natural ecosystem there. And serious money is being spent to try and eradicate them, without out much success.

Saying that there is no such thing as a black cougar, so that means there can't be a black panther in the United States, is simply wrong.

In addition from what I gather by reading this thread, is that some has a sample of hair from a cougar that is black, and people saying that can't be. The hair on the back of cougars ears, and the end of their tail is often black. You can have hair form a cougar that s black.

If an escaped big cat were ever to be killed or captured, that would be a huge, nationally publicized story. Hasn't happened yet.

There is no proof of a melanistic cougar. Never documented.

Look, I fully realize the cryptic nature of the various reported "black panthers." I can't explain it, and I do find it fascinating.

[Guest]

Jodie, your friend is making the report from Arizona, a historical haunt of the jaguar. My comment relates to the black panthers reported across the depth and breadth of the USA, far, far north of the historical range of the jaguar.

Well how about this then? This is from the local newspaper in Anderson, SC and involves a US Forest Service employee in Georgia working along the SC/Georgia border three years ago:

When Terrance Fletcher saw a big, black cat crouching and looking at him "like a cat looks at a bird," he knew it was time to run for his life.

Mr. Fletcher, 24, of Clarksville, Georgia, is a U.S. Forest Service worker who was walking along the Chattooga River on January 10 near a popular camping and fishing area south of Burrell's Ford Bridge.

"I looked over my shoulder, about 25 yards away, it took off running and I ran to the river and jumped in," Mr. Fletcher said.

Mr. Fletcher was not fleeing an oversized feral feline. He said it was a black panther.

Mr. Fletcher was gathering information about the public's use of the Chattooga River north of the S.C. 28 bridge for a Forest Service study when he saw the cat.

Dave Jensen, district ranger in Georgia, said he has no reason to doubt Mr. Fletcher, particularly since Mr. Fletcher elected to jump into the icy waters of the river to avoid the charging animal.

"It was a split-second decision," Mr. Jensen said. "He said it was black, low to the ground, about 1 to 2 feet and about 6 feet long and moving toward him rather rapidly."

When it comes to seeing big cats, black or the more familiar tawny color of cougars, Mr. Fletcher is one of a growing number of people in the Upstate who say they have had close encounters.

But when it comes to substantiated sightings, officials with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) say the official wild cat count is still zero.

"What we tell people is, we've been unable to document a wild cougar for many, many years," said Derrell Shipes, with the DNR in Columbia, South Carolina. "The last incident is before many of our lifetimes. There are sightings and then there are substantiated sightings: a photo, tracks, droppings or an unfortunate incident where there would be a body."

Mr. Shipes said a big cat was killed in Anderson County near Townville several years ago. The cat had wandered onto someone's deck and was eating dog food.

"It was determined it was an escaped animal," Mr. Shipes said. "We believe there are a number of big cats in captivity -- lions, tigers, cougars -- and they are not controlled by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources."

Clemson-based wildlife biologist Skip Still said he wouldn't put it past anybody to turn animals loose in the wild.

http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/2007/articles02/bigcats.htm

Edited November 21, 2010 by Jodie

[Guest Greldek]

If an escaped big cat were ever to be killed or captured, that would be a huge, nationally publicized story. Hasn't happened yet.

There is no proof of a melanistic cougar. Never documented.

Look, I fully realize the cryptic nature of the various reported "black panthers." I can't explain it, and I do find it fascinating.

And there are thousands of documented cases of cougars with black hair on them. Do a google image search for "cougar" and you will see hundreds of cougars with black hair on their face, ears, and tails. If all that is avaiable is a small black hair sample, it can be from a cougar. They have black hair on them. You need to realize that there is a difference between an animal having black hair, and being completely black haired. If all we are going off is a small sample of cougar hair that is black, and you're saying it can't exist because there is no documented cougar that is black, you are quite simply denying the truth, that cougars have black hair, and you can have a hair sample from a cougar that is black. The entire cougar does not have to be black, to obtain a hair sample from a cougar, that is black.

You should also note that the WWF estimates that there are more tigers kept in captivity in the United States, than there are in wild tigers in the world. All it takes to own a tiger in some states was to fill out a form, and you were granted the license to own a big cat. Not all of these big cats are owned by zoo, most of them are owned privately.

As to your national news theory, while it's not an exotic species, there has been a cougar that was hit by a vehicle, upon further examination, this cougar had been declawed. I don't know about you, but I've never heard of rogue veterinarians roaming the wilderness randomly declawing animals. Also a show that plays on FX channel about an exterminator, he caught a "rogue bobcat" that was bothering some people.. to everyones surprise this bobcat had a tag & collar on it. And strangely CNN didn't pick it up... I don't think it's as newsworthy as you believe it to be.

Edited November 21, 2010 by Greldek

[Incorrigible1]

And there are thousands of documented cases of cougars with black hair on them.

A few black hairs, naturally occurring, does not a melanistic example make. What's your point?

[Guest]

My point in all of this is to get it across to you that you are possibly looking for the wrong thing, if you are searching at all. There won't necessarily be a database or a repository for these reports of black panthers/big cats/ what have you. As was stated in the article I copied here for you, maybe we should look for reports of bodies that were mauled by animals or contact the DNR for these states and ask for information off the record if interested. To say there are none just because you haven't heard of it or have not seen it on the news is not definitive proof that the melanistic cat does not exist. That's like saying, "I've seen pictures of the Great Wall of China and I've spoken to people who have been there, but I haven't seen it in person therefore it does not exist." There are plenty of credible reports out there, both for large cats and bigfoot. There is more clear cut evidence for the large cat in my area than for bigfoot yet the state officially denies that these animals are here.

[Guest]

http://ohiomountainlionwatch.wetpaint.com/

Another example of a website out there regarding cougar reports. Noted activity in many states regardless of the official take by the state wildlife department(s). Back in the day, when the Nat Wildl Federation hired a series of investigators to research the Florida panther status, up to half the team felt there were no viable females reproducing in the state. They were wrong. Similar scenarios seem to be going on in different states across the eastern USA. South Dakota is another state with a good cougar population. Offspring go somewhere.

[Guest DWA]

On ‎10‎/‎22‎/‎2010 at 6:05 PM, Guest Lesmore said:

Are there any other animals...similar to Bigfoot.... in North America that like Bigfoot, are:

 

• Uncommonly rare....so rare that there are no skeletons, dead examples on exhibit (taxidermist), live examples. In fact to my knowledge....not even a vestige of evidence that Bigfoot exists or has existed ? What I'm saying is...can you even toss (Science) a bone or a hair sample...that has been unarguably confirmed to be of Bigfoot ?
• Occasionally photographed....but the picture never seem to be clear enough to confirm what actually for sure, is in the picture ? I've been an avid (amateur) photographer for years and I'm amazed at not so much the poor quality of photograph, but amazed at the what seems to be almost 100 % consistency of poor photography of pictures/films purporting to be Bigfoot. How can this be ? If someone could enlighten me, in valid manner in regards to how can the examples of photography that claim to be Bigfoot be so consistently poor ?
• Rare, although some believe Bigfoot to be quite large...larger in physical stature than a typical North American human (male).
• Subject of many stories that are difficult to confirm.

 

I am not aware of any other animal in North America, particularly one of the alleged size, one that lives on land, not in the deep sea, or underground...but shares Terra Firma....with people....but is so rare that many believe BF is a myth.

 

Denial and ignorance sum up why most of the above impressions exist.  Truth be told, we know more about this animal than we have known about anything, in our entire history on this planet, prior to its general acceptance by science and the society (to the extent of course that the society cares).

 

I understand how someone new to this topic may think most of those things up there pointing to the nonexistence of this animal.  Fact is, however, most people's knowledge understanding and curiosity about the natural world could be poured in a thimble with room for cream; thus very few people know how deep and broad the evidence river is for this animal. Those who have seen one might not be able to help much with the above impressions, but they know what they've seen.

 

This is a frontier of science, and on those, almost no one knows what is up other than the people who have experienced it and the people who are studying up and searching with open minds.  It's very DIY, frontiers of science, and the fact is that the vast majority of the scientists in this field...aren't.  At least not professionally.  But they are sure as hell doing science.  And anyone who wants to really know what's up here is going to have to do that too, because the mainstream has pretty much vacated the field.  But I can guarantee you this:  pay one or more of them to find this thing, and within far less than a year, they'll be conviced that it's real, and they're going to.  That is the way the world works.

Edited June 11, 2017 by DWA