Post by MoMo on Mar 10, 2012 23:10:49 GMT -6
Appalachian Black Panther-
Grouping: Cryptid
Sub grouping: Feline
Country: USA
Region: Eastern and Midwestern USA
Habitat: Water
Actual black panthers may be leopards or jaguars; both felines go through a stage where their fur turns black. Leopards are native to Africa and Asia, and jaguars are found in Central and South America, and perhaps at times in the very southern parts of the United States. The black phase in these cats is simply a color variant in its fur.
There are two species of big cats in the Western Hemisphere, which are the jaguar and the mountain lion. Although mountain lions (pumas, cougars, catamounts) have historically inhabited just about all areas of the continental United States (as well as much of Canada, and almost all of Central and South America), there has never been a single recorded black phase in a cougar.
And although jaguars represent one of the two big cats worldwide that come in black, the very northern limit of their range is the extreme Southwest (in the United States). Furthermore, black jaguars are much more common in the southern parts of their range, in the Amazon Rainforest.
Appalachian black panthers are revered by cryptics because biologists refuse to recognize the possibility of their existence. From Tennessee and West Virginia to the north, reports of black panther sightings are somewhat frequent.
Although such possible prey as deer and rodents, as well as fish are available in Appalachia, the region is very far out of the jaguar's natural range and in the winter, much, much colder than anywhere jaguars are known to live. And if the Appalachian cat is natural, it would almost have to be a jaguar, as scientists do not consider a black phase of the mountain lion remotely probable
Although relying on explanations is not nearly as intriguing as taking the cryptozoological approach, there are a number of factors that can attempt to account for big, black cat sightings in the Northeast. First off, some sightings have been officially deemed hoaxes. Others have been cases of mistaken identity, where black house cats looked larger at great distance.
The third, probably most likely explanation of a credible report would be a sighting of an escaped jaguar or leopard from a zoo (and escapes have happened historically). However, an actual black cat could also be the offspring of zoo escapees, which maintains that the animals are actually surviving in the area on their own.
Many people like to believe that such strange and noble creatures can exist so far out of place, but, as with most cryptids, scientists deem their existence unlikely. However, there are a number of theories that account for sightings of cryptid black panthers in Appalachia.
Eastern Cougar-
The big cat known as the cougar, panther, mountain lion, puma and a slew of other names, has been considered extinct from the Appalachian region for well over a century, yet sightings of the animal have never stopped. It was once one of the most widely distributed land mammals in the Western hemisphere. It ruled the forests as an apex predator, and was known to the Cherokee as the "Lord of the Forest." When European settlers came to this area in the 1500s, they were fearful of the large cat and therefore did the very thing that most humans do in such a situation: they hunted the animals with a vengeance. By the 1900s, cougars were practically wiped out of the Eastern region. Matters became worse as massive deforestation, and the construction of railroads destroyed much of their remaining habitat in the Appalachian mountains.
Today, mountain lions have taken on an almost mythic presence in these areas. Old Appalachian stories tell of the lions hiding in the trees ready to pounce.
Cougar Known Range and Confirmations
Green = established populations
Blue = confirmation beyond reasonable doubt
Red = probable (very strong evidence)
Yellow = claimed populations awaiting verification
Scientists were suprised when the Florida panther, long considered to be a mythical animal, was discovered in the Everglades. It was declared a subspecies and is now on the brink of extinction. Other reports of eastern cougars have not been confirmed by the scientific community, yet. They are still scoffed at.
What could these other sightings be? There might be small, hidden pockets of cougars that are the same subspecies as the Florida panther, or they might be a different subspecies. They might be intermittent migrants from the American west or Mexico, where wild cougars still roam. We now know that wild cougars can travel as far as 600 miles into cougar-free country. Some could be escaped or abandoned pets. All these explanations are attractive, and some might apply to some sightings, but not others. It is also possible that there are surviving pockets of eastern cougars, escaped pets, and wild migrants who are responsible for different sightings. Unfortunately, none of these explanations has been confirmed yet. As far as mainstream science is concerned, nearly all cougar sightings east of the Mississippi river are lies, hoaxes or hallucinations