Panther picture…. or Big Bobcat?
Posted by lowcountryhunting on October 16, 2007
It is kind of hard to talk this morning with all of the crow feathers in my mouth… I finally got my hands on the photo of our mystery animal, and unfortunately it looks like a misidentification. The shot above is the one that they thought looked like a panther; and I can see that it is a HUGE cat, and being in the deep shade like does make it hard to tell. However in the picture below, after I cropped it and adjusted the lighting, I believe you can definitely tell that it is a monster bobcat and not a panther. However I would love for anyone to comment that thinks differently!
I was so hopeful that it would finally prove that we have panthers in our area. We have been finding evidence for quite a while now that we have at least one around here, and I even saw what I truly believe to be one cross a secluded dirt road near my house one afternoon two years ago. That was shortly after Marion Gohagan of Gohagan’s Guide Service found a fawn 30 feet up in a tree, hanging over a branch, just like panther’s do with their kills.
That was only two miles from where we hunt, and just days before, we had heard what we believe to be one screaming from deep in our swamp. If any of our western hunters have heard a cougar scream, please let me know what you think they sound like, and I will tell you what we heard. I have listened to other descriptions of their scream, and it fits what I heard.
I will try and get that picture of the fawn in the tree up so that you can see it for yourself… I have also talked with many of the older hunters around here, and many of them say that they have seen one around here sometime in their lifetime. And these are very reputable men that have spent their entire lifetime in the woods…
I still believe that we will get our evidence one day. Unfortunately it will probably be due to somebody shooting it or hitting it with a car. I thought that the chances of getting it on a trailcam was remote… but I was so hopeful.
You can read about lots of the sightings and other evidence that SC has big cats as well as many other southern states at Strange Ark.Near the bottom is one of the best sightings near here; In January of this year, a forester cruising timber on foot had a big black cat send him in to a river to get away!
I promise to be more careful in the future before I announce BIG NEWS! You would have thought that I would have learned that in my time as a newspaper reporter and photographer.
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Wow. I think it is a bobcat as well, but I am by no means an expert.
I love stories like this. We have an ongoing debate here in Michigan on whether there are cougars in the state. I have heard from people that are very reputable who say they have saw them. I just love the whole secrecy and mystery surrounding these stories
I have and Aunt and Uncle and cousins who live and hunt down in SC. I would be watching my back if I were them. How close are you to Greenville??
October 16th, 2007 at 11:38 am
I saw a track once while hunting with Marion when he guided over at Bostick Plantation. I wasn’t convinced the track I saw was a bobcat. Your photo is a bobcat.
October 16th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
That IS a hoss of a bobcat, though.
I’m sure you guys have panthers in the swamps down there, though. Even if the locals had been shot out, it’s not all that big of a leap to expect one to come up from Florida. Heck, you even have armadillos in SC now.
October 17th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Watch a Penn State football game sometime or attend a game and you’ll get sick of hearing what a “nittany lion” sound like.
My first guess is that it’s a bobcat and I agree with Philip that it’s a hog of a cat.
If anyone is really serious about documenting their findings, etc. of cats, fire me an email ( tremington@gmail.com ) and I’ll get you some information on an organization just dying to find anyone who will help them document this stuff.
October 17th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]
October 18th, 2007 at 9:39 am
Myself and a co-worker were driving down HWY 17S just north of Charleston around Francis Marion National Forest last week at about 3am when we passed a very large black cat on the side of the road, much larger than any bobcat I’ve seen. We turned around to see if we could spot it again but it was nowhere to be found. We spotlighted the fields around us for about 5 minutes with no luck.
April 5th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Go to youtube and enter the search term panther sighting sc, and you will see my edited video of a 150+ lbs carolina panther that was taken along the north santee river in 02. Beware, be very aware. Panthera Santee Delta.
May 4th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
[...] wrote about lowcountry panthers before, and now it seems that the Bluffton Breeze has done its own investigation. Check out this [...]
June 17th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Im in pelion sc and i have seen two panthers on my land so far one of them even came up on my porch y i was sittting there an i still see it at lest 3 times a week
May 25th, 2010 at 8:32 pm