Review Of The Literature
Black Panther Resources
"In Florida, where only fifty or so pumas exist, black panthers are the most commonly seen cat. Biologists insist that there are no black panthers in Florida, and maintain that they should know because most of Florida's pumas have been radio-collared, photographed, and followed since birth." Page 254 in Wildcats of the World by Mel Sunquist and Fiona Sunquist, published in 2002.
"Black
cougar sightings are hard to figure. Reports of them date to the earliest days
of exploration in both Americas." Page 169 in
Mountain Lion : An Unnatural History of Pumas and People by Chris Bolgiano,
published 1995.
"The dwarf cypress has its area, perhaps the most fantastic of all, far toward Cape Sable, south of the live-oak jungle that was called Paradise Key, where the royal palms stood high overhead like bursting beacons seen across the sloughs. Men have said they have seen panthers here, not tan but inky black." Page 52 in The Everglades: River of Grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglas, revised edition, 1988.
"But everybody with any sense is crazy about the prairie (Paynes, my parentheses). The cowboys who work there like it and tell with zest of the unlikely creatures they see - a black panther was the last I heard of - and people fish for bowfins in the ditches." Page 14 in A Naturalist in Florida: A Celebration of Eden by Archie Carr.
"I have never seen a black Florida panther. There is no such thing. My family has been in Florida since 1821, and no one has seen one." Personal conversation with Raymond Hamlin, Jr. on February 13, 2006. Mr. Hamlin is the author of A Wake Up Call to Florida's Hunters and Fishermen: To Hunt And Fish, Or Not To Hunt And Fish, That Is The Question. He is also President, Florida Bear Hunters Association.
"I now believe there are a few black specimens of the panther in eastern North America." By Bruce Wright, Director of the Northeastern Wildlife Station in Frederickton, New Brunswick, Canada. In his book, The Eastern Panther: A Question of Survival, page 123, published 1972.
Thank you for visiting,
Peter "Two Guns" Nickerson, MS, MSW.
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