Panthers in Texas? One native man in Huntsville says it is true.
Jerel Corridor, who lives within the metropolis about 70 miles north of Houston, snapped a photograph that has prompted a barrage of questions on social media and follow-up articles in nationwide information retailers. The grainy photograph, posted to Fb on Saturday, seems to point out a dark-colored feline that is bigger than a home cat and has an extended tail.
“Nicely we’ve formally noticed a panther on our property!” Corridor wrote on the put up.
Whereas Corridor didn’t instantly reply to USA TODAY’s request for a touch upon Wednesday, he instructed the Houston Chronicle that the photograph was taken from round 120 to 150 yards away and that he estimates the animal to be between 80 and 100 kilos.
“Rising up, I’ve heard screams like a woman earlier than however usually these are bobcats or lynx,” Corridor instructed the newspaper, including that he beforehand noticed a black panther 9 years in the past, chasing a herd of feral hogs.
Wildlife officers say there’s ‘no such factor’ as black mountain lions
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Division is debunking Corridor’s declare, saying that there’s “no such factor” as a black mountain lion, formally referred to as the Puma concolor species. The species has many alternative widespread names, together with puma, cougar, or panther.
Nonetheless, the division’s mammal specialist instructed USA TODAY that melanistic (dark-skinned) jaguars and leopards do exist, “however after all neither of these are in Texas.”
“To notice although, there may also be melanistic bobcats. Jaguarundis, like jaguars, haven’t been confirmed in Texas for a lot of many years,” mentioned Dana Karelus, including that the final documented jaguar in Texas was in 1948.
Karelus believes the animal within the photograph to be a home cat. The officer mentioned that it’s laborious to verify the animal’s species given the picture high quality however it’s “definitely not a mountain lion based mostly on the tail size.”
“Dimension might be powerful to inform in photographs and except you’ve an excellent reference, ‘obvious measurement’ is usually deceptive,” Karelus mentioned.
Black panthers and jaguarundis in Texas
A Jaguarundi (herpailurus yagovaroundi) is seen in Guatemala’s largest zoo, La Aurora, in Guatemala Metropolis on April 20, 2010. Quite a few endangered species are held in captivity at La Aurora in an effort to protect the species.
Black jaguars don’t exist in North America, in response to the wildlife division, and nobody has ever captured or killed a black mountain lion.
Additionally referred to as cougars, pumas, panthers, painters, and catamounts, mountain lions are discovered all through the Trans-Pecos in Texas, in addition to the brushlands of south Texas and parts of the Hill Nation, in response to the Texas Wildlife Division’s web site.
Mountain lions normally have gentle, tawny brown fur that may seem grey or nearly black, relying on gentle situations, the division says.
In the meantime, jaguarundis are additionally extinct in Texas as a result of lack of habitat. The final confirmed sighting of a jaguarundi in Texas was in Brownsville in 1986, in response to the the division’s web site. Barely bigger than a home cat, these endangered felines are principally present in northern Mexico and central and south America. They weigh between 8 and 16 kilos and have a solid-colored coat, both rusty-brown or charcoal grey.
Saman Shafiq is a trending information reporter for USA TODAY. Attain her at [email protected] and comply with her on X, the platform previously referred to as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.
This text initially appeared on USA TODAY: Wildlife officers debunk Texas man’s photograph of ‘black panther’