Posted on 04/07/2015 6:42:06 PM PDT by seantruet
Florida panther is the exact same critter as a cougar a/k/a mountain lion a/k/a Puma concolor, complete with the characteristic massively long thick tail, and that shark would look much, much smaller in a panther’s jaws. The FL panther’s been named a subspecies of Puma concolor not because it is really any different so much as to take advantage of the endangered species act, etc, in order to use it as a poster child for saving the Everglades. Saving cypress domes to protect a unique tree snail or bug will not be as effective a campaign politically and emotionally as “saving the panther,” nevermind that Puma concolor is not only not endangered in the west but is often considered a pest.
FL panther’s fur isn’t as plush and they’re inbred from being cut off from the rest of the cougar population since the cougar was once exterminated from most of the eastern US [except for Florida], but it in no way do they remotely resemble this bobcat. In fact the desperation by some greenies to protect it as a subspecies did it harm, as they blocked efforts to bring in fresh DNA by importing western mountain lions, making the remaining “panthers” continue to inbreed and thus more susceptible to genetic disorders. [I think common sense has since prevailed and some western blood has been brought in from Texas.]
The first chance they get they will breed freely again with “mountain lions” if the species ever recovers enough for the range to expand into Florida, which it may, as they are appearing again in the Ozarks. There are less reliable sightings in Alabama, but it’s possible they are real and getting closer.
They feast pretty good on turkey and deer here. Not to mention everything else like coon and ‘possum and snake and citrus and cane rats.
Though Florida deer are dwarfs compared to Illinois or Michigan deer, our turkeys are huge...
Something very fishy here. It looks like a King Mackerel with rigamortis, not a shark. My guess is its just a dead fish that curled up in the sun while in a fisherman’s pail.
you can see spot markings o nthe cat if you look close- but they are in shadow so it’s hard to see- bobcats In the south lack the fur northern bobcats have, and are likely quite tannish like the one in photo- the reason thisl ooks like a ‘really large cat’ is due to optical illusion where the witness called the shark 4-5 feet long- the witness no doubt was not nearly close enough to measure the fish accurately- the shark may in all likelihood by just 2-3 feet long - so we all went into the photo thinking the shark was 4-5 feet and immediately compared the cat to the fish based on that assumption
The hind legs look squatter to me than a courger’s hind legs would look- the squat legs more useful for short powerful bursts after rabbits than for long runs after deer and elk like cougers do
My guess is bobcat- like someone said, the tail of a couger is much thicker because they are used as a balancer and counterweight when running down large prey at high speeds
That’s what I was thinking- it was the back legs, and facial features that make me think bobcat- plus the fact that I can see spots In the fur- the facial features look very ‘domestic cat-like’ whereas lions do not (My grandmother had a Maine coon cat- and they have fur kinda like a bobcat- tufts of fur extend o n cheeks, a but of a beard etc-
Some days you get the shark...
Some days the gators get you :
http://baynews9.com/content/dam/news/images/2012/04/7-gator-bobcat-stalk-5-30-12.jpg
Panther doesn’t like to let sharks live, maybe ‘cause one took the better part of his kitty tail sometime back ...
If you zoom in, it’s got dots and check tufts — its a bobcat.
Yep...that’s no bobcat. That’s a catamount, puma, mountain lion, cougar, or panther. I recall the Florida panther story in The Yearling.
Maybe we can agree to simply call it a wildcat.
Or a missing lynx. Or just a bob-tail cat.
Doo dah, doo dah.
Yeah, but what if it doesn't run and looks at you and gets into a crouch/lunge position?
I got eaten by a cougar once. (and a Møøse once bit my sister.)
we got better...
Maybe the cougar is named Bob. Then it would be a Bob cat! LOL!
We got bobcats in PA that I have seen, and that ain’t no bobcat. Maybe a swamp panther with a chopped off tail.
The short tail is the result of it's last try at a shark dinner.
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