Posted on 07/10/2018 6:44:52 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
There have been some new developments in the case of the black panther reported to have been seen by some rural Prairie du Chien (WI) residents.
The panther (also known as a cougar) has killed several pigs, a calf and probably a Boston terrier, said Larry Stluka, who lives about four miles north of Prairie du Chien along Highway 27. It has also damaged a cow and two other dogs according to Larry.
A panther, an adult male according to Larry, has now been photographed on Larry’s farm. Larry said the panther was photographed by Austin Mezera, 17, who is Larry’s neighbor. The panther was photographed with a smart phone and appears to have only three full legs. One of the front legs appears to be short. It was photographed from about 75 yards away and it is hard to tell how big the cat is in the photo.
Also, a Boston terrier named Tikki, who was previously terrorized by a panther, has now gone missing and is presumed by Larry to have been killed by the black panther.
Larry says there is a female adult black panther in the vicinity of his property with at least two kittens. There is also the adult male, possibly with only three full legs. Panther kittens can stay with the mother for up to the first two years of their lives. Larry says he has seen the kittens as well.
In addition, two teenagers and two children have heard growling on Larry’s property.
A few weeks ago, Larry’s 5-year-old step grandson Miles, along with Larry’s wife, went down a hill to pick mulberries when they said they saw, presumably, the female adult panther at about 10 a.m. from about 100 yards. They saw it for about 10-15 seconds, said Larry’s wife, who wished not to be named in this article.
“I saw something low, black, long and fast,” said Larry’s wife. “There’s no calf that can move that fast.” Larry’s wife said she then found a cow hiding behind a tree because it was scared.
Larry’s wife also said she saw the panther on a previous night at about 10:30 p.m. She had a flashlight, but she could only see the panther’s eyes, which she said where yellowish-green. Larry later walked off the distance and it was about 16 yards.
“It was staring right at me. It turned its head and then looked back at me. That’s when I stepped back and ran to the house,” Larry’s wife said. “Now, I don’t let Miles go out of my sight.”
Larry said his neighbors mostly have had a complacent attitude about the black panthers so far. He also said, however, that one neighbor has told Larry that he is a friend and is willing to help.
Larry said his neighbors haven’t seen or heard any coyotes or raccoons in the area lately.
Larry has always maintained that he knows not too many people will believe him, but he doesn’t care if they believe him or not. He would like to warn everyone, however, and he would also like some help in trying to photograph one of the panthers on a trail camera, or perhaps shoot one.
“This female is becoming more and more dangerous,” Larry said. “Because she needs to feed her babies.” He said he fears for the safety of children who live in the area.
A couple of Larry's sows have been in a fight with the panther and are now very wary.
In fact, about a week ago, Larry positioned himself about 10 feet off the ground on a skid loader bucket at night and had two firearms. He watched a sow and her piglets who were nearby. There was a yard light that lit up the area somewhat. Larry said the sow sat up on her butt at one point and stared straight ahead for about eight to 10 minutes without moving, which is quite unusual.
He didn’t see the panther or her young, but he did hear them. Larry heard a grunting sound from the mother calling one of the kittens back.
A short time later, a neighbor’s donkey “cut loose” with a lot of noise and awhile after that another neighbor’s dog cut loose, said Larry.
“This is getting serious,” said Larry. “These things can hide in a cornfield, oats or hay. She needs to kill on a regular basis for her babies.”
Larry has been in contact with the DNR on several occasions. He said a biologist in Boscobel has been pretty helpful, but the DNR has only one trail camera available. Larry said he needs several trail cameras, however. He also doesn’t have a computer onto which he could upload any trail cam photos.
Larry said he would like to buy or borrow, for maybe several months, an older horse that can stand for hours and that he could shoot off of.
There is currently no evidence that cougars are breeding in Wisconsin, according to the DNR. Biologists believe the cougars known to have entered Wisconsin are male cougars dispersing from a breeding population in the western United States.
According to the DNR website, no black phases of cougar have been documented in North America, only South America. On rare occasion, cougars and other large cats have a melanistic condition which makes their fur black.
Ping-Worthy?
Oh, that kind of black panther.
Okay folks. Anyone with a high-powered rifle need to go after this dangerous predator.
No one has ever seen one.
Unless you’re talking about a black jaguar. They do exist.
A house cat is killing pigs? Weird.
Black Panther lives matter!.................
They are a protected species..................
If called by a panther,
Don’t anther...
(o. henry)
I’ve got a 20 pound, all black male cat that looks like that from about 10-15 yards away. Or this is a black cougar from 100 yards away... There is no real frame of reference in that photo. Color me skeptical. Not black.
Yup - thought the same thing!
Wonderful!
Wow! A panther can use the internet. Who knew?
Exactly.
Cougars, Catamounts, Pumas, none are black.
Jaguars can be.
Don’t really want either one around. If you think your cats a jerk, well, these guys are bigger ones. They don’t just lick your face, they bite it off.
I hope that panther likes his smart phone. Probably uses GPS to find prey.
Ogden Nash
I have seen one. He crossed the road right in front of my car, near Yoakum Tx. ,back in the late 60s. There was a govt trapper trying to catch him as he had killed a lot of livestock in the area.
Unless you’re talking about a black jaguar. They do exist.
A black panther is the melanistic color variant of any big cat species. Black panthers in Asia and Africa are leopards (Panthera pardus), and those in the Americas are black jaguars (Panthera onca)
Of course, I saw a Black Panther, a Jaguar(Panthera onca).
This is WI likely more than half the people have such rifles.
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