Black Panther (this one is a leopard)
For many years there have been rumors of black panthers or black mountain lions being spotted from as far away as Point Reyes National Seashore to Dublin, California.
The majority of the sightings have been in the Las Trampas Regional Wilderness by San Ramon, California.
While mountain lion sightings in this region are common, claims for black panther sightings cause a bit of a stir considering that cats like these in any habitat are extremely rare.
Some biologists believe that black mountain lions don’t exist, and that if there are black panthers out there, they would be either leopards or jaguars. Others claim that melanistic (black) cougars have absolutely been born albeit as an extreme rarity.
In the recent past there have been deer kills found up in trees at Las Trampas, which is the behavioral habit of an old world cat such as a leopard, as opposed to the mountain lion who buries its kill with loose soil on the ground.
Most of the reported sightings by the general public have proven to be something other than what the witnesses claim. Sometimes they have been house cats spotted form far away, or a cougar seen in bad lighting. Other sightings have gone neither proven nor dis-proven, such as these sightings below:
"I was curious about EBMUD's protected watershed off Redwood Road in Castro Valley, so I obtained a permit and checked it out . . . I decided to navigate into the gully, walked maybe 30 or 40 feet to the east and suddenly found myself locked eyes with this big black cat. It was roughly 50 feet from me, through several barriers of logs and overgrowth. The first thought is that it looked like a panther, but the weird thing is that sort of animal should be in Africa, not the East Bay. It was so out of place."
- Larz Sherer, Berkeley
"We came up a short rise through a grassy swale (near Tomales Point), and then, looking up, saw a large, jet-black mountain lion calmly sitting, eyes half asleep looking out at us from about 30 yards away. This lion was not darkish, not a brownish-tawny like some I've seen since, but jet black. My friend (Burke Richardson) and I stood there, stunned. It then started to slink away from us in a large semi-circle, attempting to hide in the grass. We were sadly without a camera, which was not like us at all, but, oh well."
- John Balawejder, Santa Cruz
Perhaps the most credible and compelling black panther sighting was the one at the Laborer’s Training Camp a couple of months ago. A labor trainee reported to his supervisor that he had just seen a big black mountain lion. Several employees including the training director went back over to the spot where the cat was seen and sure enough, there he was watching three deer. The big cat paid no attention to the observers as he stalked the deer up the hill.
It was hard to believe that they were looking at a live black mountain lion, so in an effort to prove what they believed they were seeing; they set up a transit that’s used like binoculars. All the men looked into the lens and confirmed what they had witnessed – a big black lion’s face filled the lens. The men said he had yellow eyes and looked like he may have been anywhere between 100-135 pounds.
The guys had the forethought to call the San Ramon Valley Police Department. When I spoke to the training director at the Laborer’s Camp, he mentioned that the officer who was dispatched to their camp had the same smile on his face that he suspected everybody had when mentioning that they had seen a black panther in San Ramon.
But when the officer looked into the viewing lens of the transit he gasped, “That is one hell of a big cat!” There were 7 witnesses to the black panther that day.
One explanation that’s been offered is that about 30 years ago, a man had raised a couple of black leopards at his home in the Las Trampas regional wilderness. People who knew this man said he had let them go when they became too big. Certainly, those original cats wouldn’t still be alive today, but could there have had offspring? Could they have bred with local mountain lions? Could it be that like the big cats in Arizona, there are actually jaguars around – and they’re black? At this point, there’s no way to know.
One thing is for sure, the legend of the black mountain lion is a legend no more. The men who last saw this big cat know he’s out there and realize they have seen something that few people believe. I say, keep your eyes peeled and always carry a camera.
Authors Note: I have been personally following this rumor since I heard about it some years ago. I live right next to the Las Trampas Regional Wilderness so wildlife is always on my mind. I have always had a feeling that the black cats were a strong possibility and would like nothing more than to spot one of these legendary animals myself. Until then, the eyewitness accounts of others will have to do.
Cautionary Note: Another point I would like to mention is while it's terribly exciting to imagine witnessing such a magnificent creature the goal is never to end up face-to-face with a predator. Wild animals (even the smaller ones) can be extremely dangerous and using good judgement with a healthy dose of common sense is paramount.
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Comments
I am from the Pocono Mts, in Pennsylvania. I had spotted a black cat here two years ago. It is not normal. It has been spotted by reliablehunters in this area. My conclusion is simple. Black cats (Jaquars) are Native to parts of Mexico. With the influx of many people from Mexico, I think they may have brought them here as small pets and when they grew too large, they simply released them. there really is no other explanation.
Thanks,
Danny
6/22/2009
I live in Hansen Ranch in Dublin and have the great fortune to look over a non-occupied hillside with forest. Yesterday around 5:30 pm I saw what seemed to be a BIG black cat skulking up the hillside where I've seen deer and turkeys & the occasional coyote. I'm buying binoculars!! And keeping my daughter close by my side.
Great article! I just started writing for the Grand Rapids Examiner and yours was one of the first to come up in the search engines under 'Black Panther Sightings'. I'll be sure to include a link to this in my upcoming article on it (from the myth & legend slant). :)
07/25/2009
I was camping in Harbin Springs over the past few days and one morning I got up around 6:00am and when I headed for the bathroom I saw a large black 'animal' moving near the bathroom building. My mind raced to figure out what this was: someone's dog? But then it came into clear view. It was a wild cat! I thought at first it was a mountain lion because I had read the warnings coming in on what to do if you see a mountain lion. So I stayed where I was and 'held my ground' because the lion was clearly interested in something else. Then I saw that he was looking at the wild turkey with her young crossing the road. I watched him and he looked my direction. Then he looked back and prowled toward the turkey but then suddenly took off in the other direction. I stood there for a bit before I decided to continue to the bathroom (sounded safer than my tent) and that's when I saw the large buck - seems the lion got spooked by the buck. I had no idea I was witnessing such a rarity!
to day i was riding my bike home from my boyfriends an i swear i sall a realy big cat with green eye that flickerd that coulour in the dark the animal was pitch black it scard me to death the wild animal look like it was going to follow me so i got out of there asap sadly i do not have a camera and when i get a pic of it i will show u all it and ask is this what u sall
Back in 1962 I was 10 feet from a black cougar. I lived in Linda Mar--Pacifica, CA. I was walking in he hills about sunset. I walked down into what we used to call 'the dumps'. There was tall grass. At the bottom of the hill, I was face to face with this beautiful creature. It looked very calm. We both did an about face and high tailed it out of there. When I got home, I told my family about it. My sister said, 'I've seen hundreds of mountain lions.' So, that's what I thought is was until 2004 when I saw it on google images. It was a cougar but black. mgeo1234@gmail.com
i was driving on 580 towards hayward on saturday morning just before i took the 238 towards hayward my 27 year old son who was with me told me dad i didnt know that there where cats so big out here then i realized he spotted a black either panther or jaguar.....this was on 07/25/10 very disturbing but its true ...
Two days ago at 11 am I was going to check the water temperature at our community pool. I approached the gate and observed a big black cat drinking from the lap pool. It drank for at least a minute, then sat up and looked around. It spotted me and we looked at each other calmly for maybe 30 seconds. I retreated and in another minute when I looked again it had vanished. It was very beautiful and elegant, like a Siamese cat but pure black and about the size of a Doberman. I live about half a mile from Sabino Canyon (Tucson AZ) where mountain lions are common, but apparently not black ones. I am so sorry that I did not get a photo, as the color and size would have been apparent against the white pool chairs behind it. It was perhaps 60 feet from where I stood.
I was hiking in the marina headlands past Muir woods on a trail called dias trail and passed a man who had been hiking. He told me he was a mile or two back and came across a black cat...muscular and adolescent he thought. He said it leaped into a tree. This gentleman seemed puzzled and asked me if we had panthers in California. (He was not a US native).
their habitats are being destroyed and overrun in Latin America and they are migrating north. more and more black panthers are going to be showing up.
We were in Pacifica on a back road on Saturday. Its located on top of a hill with houses. We saw a baby black "CAT" Leopard, Lion, panther, whatever. It was too big to be a regular cat and it was running on the mountain very fast and disapeared in some brush.
My wife and I saw a large black cat (over 100 lbs.)run about 20 yards front of our car in the end of 2008 on Jensen rd. in Castro Valley.I have looked into this every now and then since.I know my local animals fairly well,and this was no bob-kitty.It was very strong,fast,and all black. 100%
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