Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

[TilliamWe]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

Awesome photo oldjeep. It does look like a cheetah!

 

[JoLin]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

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.

I would NEVER have thought that Puma ride horses! Maybe you should go on Jeopardy...

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

Can't get a good lookin cougar to even look at me anymore.

 

[JB]

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

Great pic! It really looks like a huge bobcat to me, or maybe a hybrid. The coloring is pure bobcat, as is the tail (or lack of one). Body looks more cougar/panther. The one Florida "panther" that I saw in the wild looked like a rather small mountain lion, complete with the long, heavy tail.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

As one of the 2 people reporting in from Florida, I can tell you that there are black bears all over the state, including my front yard once or twice. Here is their range of habitat:



The typical Fl blackbear is an omnivore and routinely eats animal matter, especially armadillos and raccoons. Fish are a staple as well as honey, bees, sabal palm, and many varieties of flowering plants. An adult weighs in between 350-450 lbs, so they're not as big as the rest of the american blackbear species.



As far as the Fl panther goes, here is what the typical panther looks like:




The pic that was put up earlier, IMHO, is that of a cheetah. I wouldn't venture a guess on how it got where it was, but I'm pretty sure it's not a panther. I have seen panthers if Florida both in the wild and in captivity. They do have dark colored spots when very small, but much larger than that of a cheetah and they ususally disappear after a year or so.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

The pic that was put up earlier, IMHO, is that of a cheetah. I wouldn't venture a guess on how it got where it was, but I'm pretty sure it's not a panther. I have seen panthers if Florida both in the wild and in captivity. They do have dark colored spots when very small, but much larger than that of a cheetah and they ususally disappear after a year or so.

Sure looks like one to me too. My mom sent me the picture, that a neighbor had taken - 16th hole of a golf course in Lely (Naples)

 

[JB]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

Definitely NOT a cheetah. Cheetahs are built with deep chests and narrow hips, plus a long, heavy tail (like pumas/FL panthers, etc.). They have long legs. They are black spotted on a yellow background. The only thing I see that the cat in the pic has in common with a cheetah is that it is feline.

The only thing the cat in the pic has that is NOT bobcat is the apparently large, long body. Everything else is bobcat.

Fireman, I lived in S. Florida for 8 years and spent a lot of time in the Big Cypress and in the Everglades. I know what a panther looks like and I know (from other experience) what a cheetah looks like. I have lived at The Hideout for 20 years and I see a lot of bobcats and, once in a while, cougars. One of my neighbors has a pet cheetah.

http://www.cheetah.org/ama/orig/cheetah-01.jpg

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRO8tQ1oXyPGZ6Qe2xpLHyd7n5MAw6uElyvEkh6_LfBfltnZhC6

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

FWIW - talked to my mom today and someone else identified it as a bobcat - an oddly large one. Gators and bobcats roaming the backyard, think I'll stay in MN where you only have to worry about being carried away by mosquitos

 

[JB]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

I don't suppose that the world will change if we don't all agree. If I had to identify that cat I would call it a bobcat/panther hybrid. I would probably be wrong, but so what?

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

FWIW - talked to my mom today and someone else identified it as a bobcat - an oddly large one. Gators and bobcats roaming the backyard, think I'll stay in MN where you only have to worry about being carried away by mosquitos

You must live in downtown Mpls. Otherwise, bear, cougar, wolves, bobcats and rattlesnakes(in the south parts). Saw a bobcat cross from my property to public land a couple of years ago. "Use" to have cotttontails running around......

 

[lncoop]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

"Sorry I got in a fight and messed up your Black Panther party."

 

[sasto]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

The Everglades are becoming overrun with critters that are not indigenous to the area. We had several hurricanes in the past 10 years that destroyed a couple zoos and private exotic animal keepers. Many got loose and are still free to roam. The state allows for keeping these critters with a permit, which I'm against. We have pythons, monitors, and iguanas destroying the everglades. Aquarium saltwater fish destroying our reefs and freshwater catfish destroying our lakes and rivers.

South Florida has become a dumping ground for unwanted critters due to the tropical environment. And yes....felines are one of them.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

The Everglades are becoming overrun with critters that are not indigenous to the area. We had several hurricanes in the past 10 years that destroyed a couple zoos and private exotic animal keepers. Many got loose and are still free to roam. The state allowes for keeping these critters with a permit, which I'm against. We have pythons, monitors, and iguanas destroying the everglades. Aquarium saltwater fish destroying our reefs and freshwater catfish destroying our lakes and rivers.

South Florida has become a dumping ground for unwanted critters due to the tropical environment. And yes....felines are one of them.

Yes, it's very disturbing how little regard individuals have for the impact their selfish behavior has on the rest of the world. Florida some times seems to be ground zero for that. I often feel guilty for firing up my big old two stroke or driving my Expedition, let alone dumping exotic animals that will ravage an entire ecosystem. Mind boggling.

 

[JB]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

I hear you, Sasto. There is one, small silver lining to the exotics invasion, though. About 30 years ago I caught a 4# peacock bass in the Dania Cutoff Canal. There were a couple of aquarium fish that I also caught regularly. . .up to about a pound. Don't remember the name. They struck and fought very much like rock bass (fresh water goggle eye). Hit like a ton of bricks and knocked themselves out, so they came to the net like wet dishrags.

As for the snakes and exotic reptiles, they began to show up before I left there in 1989. I also had a flock of African Greens and a pair of Scarlet Macaws living in my banyan tree.

Mother nature will force a balance if we don't interfere too much. It will come out different than before, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

JB - that very well could be a bobcat, although it's a big one. They do vary from region to region.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

I say cheetah with a tucked tail. Do cheetahs tuck their tail?

 

[JB]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

Cheetah tails are too big to tuck. Cheetahs are a different color with different color spots. Cheetahs are barrel chested with long legs. http://www.cheetah.org/ama/orig/cheetah-01.jpg

If you look close at the bricks in the wall behind it in the pic it is not at all as big as first impression.
I change to bobcat, all the way.

Remembered the exotic aquarium fish I used to catch in the canal: Oscars.

 

[Piece715]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

Just to get in on the fun here's my .02 which is prob more like 1/2 pence. I am in agreement with definitely a hybrid like JB stated and in agreement with Sasto in the dislodged wildlife from natural disasters and careless owners. I'm going half bobcat based on fullness of body type and face and could possible explain the tail as well. The cheetah like coat can be explained through the Serval cat. They are becoming more and more popular as the exotic pet to own. In fact the largest domestic house cat called the Savannah is based on how much percentage Serval is in its breeding. Here is a pic of the Serval

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

If I could throw one other curve ball at you I think this could be an Ocelot, also native from Arizona to Louisiana but not sure about Florida...

Could be but maybe not Ocelots are pretty small comparably.

 

[sasto]

Re: Ohhhhh. Jeopardy screwed up.

Remembered the exotic aquarium fish I used to catch in the canal: Oscars.

Oscars! I have a friend that fishes for them. He says they are good table fare.

You have a good point about the size of the bricks, JB. If they are standard size, the photo just may be a younger panther that hasn't lost his spots yet.

Rumor has it around here a panther tastes like a cross between a Manatee and the American Bald Eagle. I know....Some Are Sicker Than Others!:facepalm: