We know exactly what those photos are worth. What gets me is why people want black panthers to exist so bad. If i was going to make up stories I would at least try to use animals that actually exist to make it somewhat plausible.
Big black cats actually do exist. Jaguars and there used to be some thruout the west and into Mexico. Supposedly no wild populations still exist. Not sure if that particular species has the possibility of having melanistic ones or not. Jaguarandis do exist and they do have a darker coloration. Big black cats do exist in the wild elsewhere.
Folks keep exotics and some do escape.
Jaguarundis are small cats. Jaguars and Leopards both can be melanistic (spots still visible) but live a long way from Alabama. Doubt if someone had one and it escaped, it would last long in the wild and I imagine there would be a big search for it as it would probably be worth some dollars. And there would many clear pictures of them before recapture :-) A black panther, or a black cougar, that 99% of these posts are about, is a figment of the imagination.
Yes jaguarundis are small cats about the size of a jig bobcat just longer and shorter front legs with a long tail
Since tiger king came out it kinda exposed the illegal big cat trade. Estimates of 3000-20000 big cats are kept here in the US. Exotic animal trade is big business for some. It’s kept secretive for the most part and if one escapes an APB is not issued as most would say it’s not mine if it does something or hurts someone.
There’s all sorts of illegally kept exotics
It’s funny, many years ago I kept telling some biologist that coyotes were killing mature deer. Pack hunting in some cases. Nope they don’t do that and not possible. Back in 2011 I told several bios that I’d seen pics of two different black bear in Lauderdale Co. both were photographed by a guy I knew. He showed me the pics. He was a well known wildlife photographer that had years of experience photographing wild animals like black bears. He showed me several pics of critters that weren’t supposed to be around these parts.
Thai photographer also introduced some biologist to some of the first known nesting sites of bald eagles in NW Alabama. He also didn’t tell anyone where they were located except one biologist. That was back when they didn’t nest here
Guess what, in both cases those facts have now changed
All those big cats being seen in TN and they kept saying not possible only to be verified later as true thru cell pics of numerous big cats.
I’m not saying that anyone has seen any big black cats
I’m simply saying it is possible but probably unlikely
That’s different than being absolute
On a side note, my best friend is vet that works on exotics and does some pro bono work on the exotics at a zoo. Some of the last pics he sent me as him doing some work on a snow leopard
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/d0wc3RQC/IMG-0747.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/SnsZ8xvX/IMG-0748.jpg)
