Black Cat native to SE Texas!!!

There's a Black Cat native to South-East Texas. It's even listed on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. It seems to be over looked whenever there's a mysterious black cat sighting in that area.

It's called a Jaguarundi.

More info:
en.wikipedia.org...
www.bigcatrescue.org...
www.tpwd.state.tx.us...

I already posted this in another thread but, I thought this deserved its own.

[edit on 1/21/08 by NotTooHappy]

My personal understanding of the black panther seen in Texas close to hometown H-F Which I have personally seen once but verified thereafter by redneck associates that spend time in the woods, ALOT OF TIME, IS that it is a variation of the cougar which all panthers are. The cougar is known to reside in Mexico and south texas , so being just the black version of this species makes logical sense. As I said I have seen it so I know its there.

From the Texas Parks and Wildlife website:

Jaguarundis are endangered because the dense brush that provides habitat has been cleared for farming or for the growth of cities. Jaguarundis still exist in Mexico, but they are now very rare in Texas. People in the Lower Rio Grande Valley are working together to plant native shrubs and restore habitat for the Jaguarundi, Ocelot, migrating songbirds, and other animals.

And...

The Jaguarundi is so elusive that researchers have been unable to estimate how many are left in the wild.

I have no doubt, these cats probably migrated when their habitat was destroyed. That's what animals do.
Also, they might not even be endangered. They could easily exist in much larger numbers than is known. They are cats after all. Not being seen is their specialty.

Excellent find. A star for you, good sir.

I am surprised the MonsterQuest episode on big cats didn't cover this.

i agree iv done some looking in to the big black cats in the past and had no idea about the one you uncovered. thanx for the information . i now have something new to look in to .

reply to post by NotTooHappy
This species captures my intrest, but the pictures shown and as shown to me by the gamewardens of TPWD determined thode that were sighted by all of us combined were in fact the Cougar or Black Panther. The jaguarandi is way to small to be confused with what we saw, thes were extremely big they looked to be over 6 feet long. with a long narrow tail, which made us sure it wasn't the fluffy variety. Funny thing though they were hesitant to report it 'cause they said they were not indiginous to this area. More than six people sighted it in the same car on a dirt road then subsequent sightings by more friends in the same area, but no pictures to prove.

reply to post by azblack

I'm not saying that this expains all of the BBC sightings. I personally believe in the possability of a black cougar. I just think that this might help explain some of the black cat sightings in the area.

Since Hurricane Ike there has been several sightings of the jaguarundi south of IH-10 just over in Louisiana. Also sighted is the smaller coastal wolf, some call red wolf.
These animals were sometime seen by fishermen on the south bank of the intercoastal waterway in the late evening when going home. Possible Ike washed some north. Most people don't realise how large a wild, almost un-inhabited area there is between Calcasieu Lake and Sabine Lake, the intercoastal waterway and the Gulf coast. Something in the order of 2400 to 2800 square miles.
Running the un-charted canals and ditches over 20+ years have seen bears, deer, feral hogs, Jaguarundi, bald eagle, otter and shallow tail kites.
The marsh is not all wet, anywhere there is tall trees there is an island.

i live in se texas and i saw one in the 1980's they are black jaguar

en.wikipedia.org...

They're more medium than big, I think that's why they aren't mentioned as often. It's about bobcat-sized.

Really cool, though!

Any pictures, perhaps? I'm not usually the skeptic, but since I and all of my family have lived in Texas going back four generations, I have to wonder. I've heard stories about supposed big cats in other regions, but not here; we have a few big-foot "experts" around Houston, though.

reply to post by Malfeitor


Here you go ...
Google image- Jaguarundi

And...
Texas Parks and Wildlife - Jaguarundi

My Dad and I were just about back to our deer camp when we had one cross the road in front of us at about 75 yards from the truck! This was in Rusk County, about 5 miles south of Henderson, TX, off of Hwy. 259 in the early to mid 80's. It appeared to be about 2' tall at the front shoulder with a long body and long tail and it was jet black in color! We stopped where it went into the woods and it was no where to be seen, almost like it just disappeared! I've always considered myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to see this animal as I have had it leave it's track on top of my own while going to and from the deerstand!

Thanks for sharing your encounter Plantop.
That must have been a little worrisome to find cat tracks on top of your own. If it had been a big(ger) cat, you might have been lunch.

Originally posted by azblack
My personal understanding of the black panther seen in Texas close to hometown H-F

I have a friend who lives in Fannett and hunts on a 200 acre plot in the area. He has also seen a large black cat several times and hears it around his home quite often.

I have seen and photographed a black panther in south TX, while doing some contract work with TPWD & USFWS on proposed pipeline right-of-ways. TX also sees an occasional leopard and, of course, the threatened ocelot (my personal favorite cat...although, not a big cat).

Gig 'em

[edit on 13-1-2010 by Aggie Man]

I'm producing a wildlife show and am looking to speak to people who have had encounters with big cats in the South West of the US. These could be sightings of a large cat that you were unable to identify or of a species that you were familiar with. I’m keen to chat to people who have seen large black cats and I’m especially interested to chat to folks who’ve some sort of evidence of the encounter such as livestock or pets being taken, photo’s or eyewitness accounts, paw prints or other clues that could lead you to deduce what animal it was that you encountered. It could even just be strange noises that you heard.

The series itself will investigate the sightings looking at some of the species that could be responsible, like the Mountain Lion which might be expected and others, like the Jaguar which might not be. It will also include discussion of some of the creatures that are not recognised in traditional zoology textbooks. The aim of the show is to highlight some of the wonders of different known species and raise awareness of other less talked about.

If you do have a story to tell I would love to find out a bit more. You can email me at [email protected]

If you go up to the Ozark portion of Oklahoma they have some black cats their too, on of my friends said that he thinks they are black panthers, or jaguars that came up through mexico. He said some of the elders (he's native american) have stories about them but some are myth and legend creating sort of like a cat version of the black dog, to a real life animal.

There has never been a melanistic cougar sighting authenticated, so I would highly doubt it is a melanistic cougar. None have been bred or documented in captivity either. I would bet on it being a melanistic Jaguar as they do exist and have been regularly documented though they are rarer than their spotted brothers and sisters. Texas is part of their native range as well, and they recently began being sighted again in Southern New Mexico and Arizona, so I wouldn't be surprised if one has made its way into Texas as well.