Panthers / Cougars in southeast Texas

[DaytonBaseball101]

Was reading a thread from a couple years back regarding this subject , and from my own personel experience . Yes they are in the woods and river bottoms around southeast texas . I hunt the trinity river bottom just outside of dayton in the kenifick area . The river bottom was pretty well flooded which pushes everything to higher ground . I was bow hunting the gas line that run through my property , when out it stepped . It was about 150yds way , and at first a thought the biggest bobcat i have ever seen . BUT , it turned in the tall grass and came towards me . It got to within approx 50 yards of me and turned to leave the gas line . That is when i saw the long tail and just how big it actually was . Guessing i would say it was 100lbs plus . Actually looked like a mountain lion would be my best discription . Needlesss to say i did not stay in the stand till after dark  being all i had with me was a bow . I have hunted this land prior to this encounter for 9 years , and since the encounter 3 years , and have yet to see it or another one since . So I say yes they are for sure in our area .

[bronco1]

Yeah, I remember that thread, many people in SETX have seen large cats like that. But, the fact is there is no black phase of a mountain Lion/Cougar/Puma/ etc...

What people most likely see is a Jaguarundi.

Here are some Links to read:

Black Panther
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_panther]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_panther[/url]

Cougar
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar#Physical_characteristics]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar#Physical_characteristics[/url]

Jaguarundi
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguarundi#Description]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguarundi#Description[/url]
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Puma_yaguarondi.jpg/220px-Puma_yaguarondi.jpg[/img]

[DaytonBaseball101]

Yea Bronco , i saw yor post on that thread as well . If i remember correctly it said the animal you are refering to only grows to approx 8 to 16lbs . The cat i saw was bigger than a german shepard . Very large cat . I had heard about panthers and cougars being in the river bottoms , and was very skeptical myself . This particular day changed my belief on the subject very quickly . I know what i saw , and now have no doubts they are there . If i would have had a rifle i would have killed the cat . To much livestock and children in the area for a predator like that to be around . Like I said though , I'm sure the high water in the river bottom at the time had a lot to do with the animal being that close .

[bronco1]

I don't doubt for a second that there are cougars/mountain lions around here. The point was that if someone see's a large black cat that size it is a leopard.

[Texasminuteman]

[quote name="DaytonBaseball101" post="1240726" timestamp="1343678149"]
Yea Bronco , i saw yor post on that thread as well . If i remember correctly it said the animal you are refering to only grows to approx 8 to 16lbs . The cat i saw was bigger than a german shepard . Very large cat . I had heard about panthers and cougars being in the river bottoms , and was very skeptical myself . This particular day changed my belief on the subject very quickly . I know what i saw , and now have no doubts they are there . If i would have had a rifle i would have killed the cat . To much livestock and children in the area for a predator like that to be around . Like I said though , I'm sure the high water in the river bottom at the time had a lot to do with the animal being that close .
[/quote] I was driving in Kenifick about 3 or 4 years ago and saw a cougar crossing the road.It was a cougar and nothing else.This is the second Ive seen here in SE Texas.The first was many years ago when I was hunting on Arizona Creek near Batson.This one left prints in the mud and Jerry Freeman who was the club Game Warden confirmed it was a cougar.

[bronco1]

[url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_lf_w7000_0150.pdf]http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_lf_w7000_0150.pdf[/url]

Per this publication Leopards once did inhabit Texas and still could.

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_panther]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_panther[/url]

[Texasminuteman]

Ive never seen a black cat,but wouldnt mind putting one on the wall. 8)

[rip2506]

guy cam in the wash the other day and a moutain lion had his deer by the throat.. just outside of Jasper