clawsnstripes Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 I have no dought that they exist. It is just the fact of residing in your greater East Texas area which i Dought. I am sure every one on this board believes in what they have witnessed. I however have not seen one. I know there are many people who spend more hours than me in the outdoors every year, but I will say again show me a dead one or a picture( that can be veryfied). Since 8/24 11 sightings have been told about on this website. That leads me to believe that either every person that has seen a big cat is a member of the smoakhouse, or ET has a cat infestation and i need to get my vision checked so i can see these man eaters. I do believe these cats can roam into ET as they have very large home ranges, but the facts of hundreds of people hearing them scream, or chase dogs, or kill grown cattle is too far fetched for me to buy. Before you try and crucify me on here let me say that i have been wrong before, and that I will be the first to admit it when I see one on the side of the road, or at the local feed store, or KLTV, or on the way to my next bowstand. Until that day comes however my vote is hogwash! your post is too long to read but i think you're wrong again. we saw our "phantom" panther in the early 80's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medman7 Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Wildcats (Cougar, Panther, Puma, Catamount, etc) are fair game for hunting in Texas with no restrictions or seasons. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/a...l/hunt/nongame/ Black Bears, (yes, they are here too) however, are completely protected. Sightings of either species are requested to be reported to TP&WD. I had not looke it up Five, but was told once by a game warden that they only way you could kill them is in order to protect yourself or your livestock. BLACK BEARS and MOUNTAIN LIONS Black bears are protected and cannot be hunted or killed. Mountain lions are not protected and can be harvested at any time. Please report black bear and mountain lion sightings or mortalities to (512)389-4505. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GloryBound Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Saw one in the early 80's outside of Oakwood just off the Trinity River. When you see one there is no mistaking what it is. It'll make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat1214 Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 Did anyone see the episode about this on monster quests on the history channel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAPACK1 Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I have had the pleasure of actually seeing one of these magnificent creatures on three seperate occassions. I saw my first Mountain lion in 1990 in Angelina County and the second and third sightings came in 1995 in Sabine County. I was deer hunting when I saw all 3 and got a shot off at one in Sabine County but missed. I was really shaking when I pulled the trigger. I will never forget it and there is nothing that I can say to convince the non-believers but I know what I saw and will never forget it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medman7 Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 It is a humbling experience indeed isn't it Sapack1!!! You are right in that you will remember it for a lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAPACK1 Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 It is a humbling experience indeed isn't it Sapack1!!! You are right in that you will remember it for a lifetime. No doubt. The one I saw in Angelina County was on Pine Island Hunting Club right next to Boggy Slough. Ernest Bartlett of Bartlett, Bagget, and Shands Ins. was over Pine Island at that time and I believe he still is. HUGE DEER on that place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtex Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 A few years ago I saw one down in the Bald Prairie region of central Texas. The only one I have actually seen in my life. I did see tracks at my lease in west Texas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medman7 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 No doubt. The one I saw in Angelina County was on Pine Island Hunting Club right next to Boggy Slough. Ernest Bartlett of Bartlett, Bagget, and Shands Ins. was over Pine Island at that time and I believe he still is. HUGE DEER on that place! Pine Island is one of the few places that I can ever remember watching Deer graze in herds. For an East Texas hunting club, it is covered up in deer. At least it used to be. Have not been out there in years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortal13 Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 There have been two documented mountain lions(puma or cougar) in East Texas in the last 15+ years. There was one killed near Kilgore in 1991, that was a fully-grown, mature animal. The next and I believe last was killed sometime in the late 90's (don't remember the year), that was an immature male. That animal was killed south of Jacksonville, in the Love's Lookout area. Besides the fact that it is on record with TP&W, I can personally attest to the validity of this cat. I saw it myself in the man's chest freezer. I won't give his name out on here, because I don't know if he would appreciate that. Basically, I am a believer that they do exist in East Texas(and no I am not talking about "black panthers"), but most of the stories that you hear are just that. Big cat sightings are about as common as ants at a pic-nick. Which begs the question......why aren't more of them getting shot or at least photographed? The answer is simple, everybody likes to tell a good story. I mean, how many red-necks do you know that wouldn't pull the trigger if they had one lined up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortal13 Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 BTW, there is no such thing as a North American "black panther". The imaginary animal that most of these old-timers would like to conjer up in your mind would be a leopard, which has never existed in North America. from the article: Melanistic cougars There are no authenticated cases of truly melanistic cougars. Black cougars have been reported in Kentucky and in the Carolinas. There have also been reports of glossy black cougars from Kansas, Texas and eastern Nebraska. These have come to be known as the North American black panther. None has ever been photographed or shot in the wild and none has been bred. There is wide consensus among breeders and biologists that the animal does not exist and is a cryptid. Sightings are currently attributed to errors in species identification by non-experts, and by the memetic exaggeration of size. black panther myth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five0pd310 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 There have been two documented mountain lions(puma or cougar) in East Texas in the last 15+ years. There was one killed near Kilgore in 1991, that was a fully-grown, mature animal. The next and I believe last was killed sometime in the late 90's (don't remember the year), that was an immature male. That animal was killed south of Jacksonville, in the Love's Lookout area. Besides the fact that it is on record with TP&W, I can personally attest to the validity of this cat. I saw it myself in the man's chest freezer. I won't give his name out on here, because I don't know if he would appreciate that. Basically, I am a believer that they do exist in East Texas(and no I am not talking about "black panthers"), but most of the stories that you hear are just that. Big cat sightings are about as common as ants at a pic-nick. Which begs the question......why aren't more of them getting shot or at least photographed? The answer is simple, everybody likes to tell a good story. I mean, how many red-necks do you know that wouldn't pull the trigger if they had one lined up? I know of more than just 2 killed in the past 5 years or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortal13 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I know of more than just 2 killed in the past 5 years or so. Really, got a link, newspaper report, anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtex Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 I saw one 3 or 4 years ago down by Marquez, Tx.. I had a quail lease in west Texas that had one come through and two guys on the lease saw it. Personally I did see the tracks of this cat but not the animal. I have spent lots of time in the outdoors in the some very remote areas and have only seen 1 cougar. That particular one I did not see for long either. It just crossed a right of way and did not take long doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Back in the early 70s I was driving down a remote dirt road through a creek bottom between Garrison and Nacogdoches late in the evening and I saw a big black cat jump down from a high sandy roadside bank into the road and slowly walk across then effortlessly jumped up the bank on the other side. I wasn't more than about 25 yards away from the animal. The cat had a long tail like a cougar or jaguar. I know jaguars are shorter legged and more compact cats than cougars. It could have been a black jaguar but it looked more like a cougar. I have been an outdoorsman and avid hunter for over 40 years and I have seen dozens of bobcats and smaller exotic cats. This was no bobcat. It probably weighed 80-100 lbs. I would loved to have taken a picture or done the red-neck thing and got a shot at it. There wasn't time, it was over in 3 or 4 seconds. No one I talked to about the sighting in that area ever saw it before or after I saw it. I don't care what has been "officially" documented by or reported to the TP&W, I know what I saw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five0pd310 Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Really, got a link, newspaper report, anything? Most people don't see killing cats as being a newsworthy event. I know I don't. But since you ask one of the ones I know about was killed in Harrison County and is on a fire place mantle in my town. No, you can't have the address. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catmaniac Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Most people don't see killing cats as being a newsworthy event. I know I don't. But since you ask one of the ones I know about was killed in Harrison County and is on a fire place mantle in my town. No, you can't have the address. DO you know the general area of where the cat was taken? I live near Tally Bottom and have seen some real impressive cat tracks along the feeder creeks of the Sabine River. I also saw an animal the right size and color (paper sack colored) about 10 years ago but cannot confirm it was a mountain lion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five0pd310 Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 It was near Harleton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortal13 Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Most people don't see killing cats as being a newsworthy event. I know I don't. But since you ask one of the ones I know about was killed in Harrison County and is on a fire place mantle in my town. No, you can't have the address. That's what I thought...you have no proof whatsoever. My post that you are attempting to discredit is based on TP&W confirmed documented statistics. BTW, the cat that I have seen that was killed near Jacksonville is one of them. Your claim is simply not verifyable. If they were as common as people like you try to purport, there would be more evidence, such as road-killed animals. And yes, being that there have only been 2 documented mountain lions in East Texas in the past 20+ years, I would consider that a newsworthy event, as would most. And no, I don't want the address of some stuffed cat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five0pd310 Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I never claimed that there was a high poulation of cougars around here, only that there are some. I know for a fact of two killed in the past 5 years in East Texas. I don't see that as arguing that there are mass numbers of cougars trouncing around our backyards. Why are you getting so testy on this? Next time I see one, I'll call the Dallas Morning News and New York Times just so you'll be satisfied. Will that be OK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortal13 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I never claimed that there was a high poulation of cougars around here, only that there are some. I know for a fact of two killed in the past 5 years in East Texas. I don't see that as arguing that there are mass numbers of cougars trouncing around our backyards. Why are you getting so testy on this? Next time I see one, I'll call the Dallas Morning News and New York Times just so you'll be satisfied. Will that be OK? Testy? I think you are the one who made the smart-alek remark about not giving me someone's address. And you are also the one who attempted to discredit my post, yet offered no proof to back up your claim. That is weak, my friend. You can do whatever you like with your unsubstantiated claims of cougar infestations. I could care less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medman7 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 This "Official" documented thing does not really mean a hill of beans. It is as though it doesn't exist unless it was seen by an official bioligist that can formerly write up sightings. If you have been in the outdoors for any period of time you have usually seen enough animals to know the difference from one or another. THere is a tremendous difference between a bobcat and a cougar/mountain lion/panther or what eve people call them. Most people in East Texas have called them Panthers for as long as I can remember whatever color they may be. You will know one when you see it and no one will ever be able to tell you any different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five0pd310 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Testy? I think you are the one who made the smart-alek remark about not giving me someone's address. And you are also the one who attempted to discredit my post, yet offered no proof to back up your claim. That is weak, my friend. You can do whatever you like with your unsubstantiated claims of cougar infestations. I could care less. I saw them, that is 100% proof to me. No TV, no reporters article talking about what someone else saw, no he said she said. I saw one on the tailgate and one on the wall. I agree that it is not proof to YOU, but it was proof to me. That is NOT weak. It is fact. If you choose not to believe me that is your decision and I don't care either way. I have better things to do than lie to you about stupid cats THAT YOU ALREADY KNOW EXSIST HERE. Whether they pass through on occasion, were released as captives, or there are a few permanent residents doesn't really matter to me. They're not hurting anyone and they're minding their own business. If they start eating people then I'll worry, until then, whoopty doo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I doubt many legitimate sightings are ever reported to the TP&W, much less officially documented. I know it didn't even cross my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino2K Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 So if a big cat sighting isn't documented and confirmed by TP&W, it didn't happen and/or they don't exist in East Texas??!!! :getlost: I'll take Five0's testimony for $1000, Alex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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