Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

[JB]

One of the few network shows I watch is Jeopardy.

Tonight they made an error that probably changed the outcome of the game. See if you can identify it.

The question asked to identify the black variety of carnivore that is becoming very rare in Florida.

One contestant offered "what is a panther?"

"No", Trebek said. "The answer is the black bear."

What is the error here??

 

[nwcove]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

lol....dont think there are bears in florida, but if there are, they are omnivores.

 

[QC]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

I'm with Bubba, but didn't get it until I saw his post. Alex didn't express it as a question . . .

 

[JB]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

Yup. Black bears are omnivores.

The Florida panther, a close relative to cougars, does occur in a melanistic phase, which could be argued that the "panther" answer was correct. They are carnivores.

 

[nwcove]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

.....would never have thunk that florida has bears tho.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

My first thought was he omitted the word black w/panther. Are there non black panthers?

 

[rickryder]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

Panthera, the feline genus which contains lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars
Panther (in Africa and Asia), the leopard (Panthera pardus)
Panther (in North America), the cougar or mountain lion (Puma concolor) Florida panther, a subspecies of cougar (Puma concolor coryi or Puma concolor couguar) found in southern Florida

Panther (in South and Central America), the jaguar (Panthera onca)
Black panther, a black variant of leopard, jaguar or cougar
White panther, a white or very pale variant of leopard, jaguar or cougar

 

[JB]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

My first thought was he omitted the word black w/panther. Are there non black panthers?

Oh, yes. The black (melanistic) phase is very rare. Most Florida panthers look exactly like mountain lions (cougars).

 

[lakelover]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

Black bears will eat just about anything.

 

[QC]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

I wonder if they make an effort to correct it and give the contestant another shot?

They have done just that. I don't watch religiously, but I have seen them announce a contestant that was allowed back because of one of their mistakes.

 

[oops!]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

mann......the writers must have really been tired when they wrote that question.....

that will cost some one their job.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

Hang on, guys...

http://www.fws.gov/floridapanther/panther_faq.html

Are Florida panthers black?
It is a common misconception that Florida panthers are black. They are actually tawny and brown with cream or white colored undersides. Small amounts of black coloring can be found around the face, paws, legs, and tip of tail. Baby panthers are born with black spots that last approximately two months after birth. This is so that their mother can camouflage them better from potential predators.

If Florida panthers aren't black, then what IS a black panther?
There is no species of "black panther." The large black cats seen in zoos or used by media outlets are usually either the black (or melanistic) phase of jaguars or leopards. Some species of wild felines, especially those that are spotted as adults (including bobcats) have melanistic or black color phases. This color phase is unusual. However, there has never been a black or melanistic panther, cougar, or mountain lion documented in the wild or in captivity.

Appears to me that the Jeopardy folks got that part right, but they were off the mark in calling black bears 'carnivores'. I'm actually surprised that Alex himself didn't know they're omnivores. An error like that should've been caught immediately. I've seen them come back from a commercial break to correct the rtecord on a previously-asked question.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

It is absolutely not the first error nor will it be the last.

I am not surprised......

 

[Stachi]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

To err is human.

 

[coastalrichard]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

.....would never have thunk that florida has bears tho.

I'm staring at my overturned trash can (by a bear!) as I type this

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

As JoLin is trying to point out, the contestant's answer of "panther" is WRONG. So no mistake or score adjustment needed there. Their answer is wrong also, but if noone else guessed incorrectly, then there is no harm. That is why they didn't do an On-Air correction and score adjustment.

 

[JB]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

I think I have to agree with TW that "panther" was wrong, but only because no melanistic Puma Concolor (or Felis concolor) have been reported in FL. Because there is no correct answer to the question as asked an adjustment is called for.

Historically, specimens of Jaguar occurred in most of southern and southwestern USA, but have not been reported in FL. Melanistic Jaguars are fairly common.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

Yeah, okay JB, I could see where maybe they owe the contestant their points back, since there was no RIGHT answer to the question. The question could only be answered incorrectly and that's not fair. I see.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

Just my thought, if I am walking along and see something that looks like a panther I'm not hanging around to decide if it's black or dark brown.

Why not? its not like they attack adult humans regularly, last I heard they only attack Californians.....GAME OOOOOOON

Also please note that Panthers/Jaguars are related but different then Mountain Lions/Cougars/Puma. The Mountain Lion is the second largest cat in North America behind the Panther/Jaguar but there are far more Mountain Lion then Panther in fact at one point the Panther/Jaguar was thought to be extinct in North America. Lately there have been many sightings of Panther/Jaguar in Southern Arizona but these are Native to North America and therefore cannot be construed as Illegal Aliens....:facepalm:

On another note I ran into a Jaguar a very long time ago while on a weekend pack trip southeast of my hometown Tucson, never did get a good eye on it but it was definitely not a Puma which we saw regularly, it just disappeared into the sage not 30 feet from us, Puma were never in a hurry to do anything during the day you could walk within 10 feet of them and never know it if it wasn't for the horses.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

Florida panthers arn't really black. Heres a good pic of one that was wandering through the golf course behind my parents house. Looks more like a cheetah than any panther I'd ever seen