scouting around my house in white salmon for deer and seen a black cougar

[bigbeamhunter]

  i heard rumors of it but never seen it before..it crossed the road in front of me this morning was going to shoot it but not as fast as i used to be getting outa the truck ..is it legal to shoot....there is a story of why there are black cougars but dont want to give to much info out and give spot away...thanks and good luck to all..oh my front yard all four bucks

[sebek556]

I don't see anything in the regs about black cougars (pg 54 and 55 2011 big game regs) only spotted cougar kittens or cougars with spotted kittens.
  few nice bucks there, just watch out for a rickashay off of a bulldozer 

[TopOfTheFoodChain]

Myself and three friends saw one in Kalama in 1995. It ran across the road in front of us and continued down a spur road for about 150 yards before slipping into the woods. Very cool. I didn't even know cougars could be black. It was a clear non-rainy day and the cat was jet black, not just dark. Never have seen one again.

[Curly]

Pretty cool.  Have you seen any bigfoots too....... 
 

[rebal69972]

i saw one in MO in 95 or 96 i thought it was a panther that someone had let loose. i didnt know that they came in black but it 1 would make a cool mount.

[bullchaser]

Nice looking bucks. that would be really cool to see the cat shoot strait.

[WAcoyotehunter]

To my knowledge- there has never been a documented black cougar in North America.  I heard a report of one this summer up here in PO county.  There is a possiblity of a defect called melanism- that culd create a black coloration in a lion. 

[hunter360]

Pretty cool.  Have you seen any bigfoots too....... 
 

No, but heard em 

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

i heard a foot this year no bs scary  ...  SHOOT IT LIZ!!!!

[hunter360]

i heard a foot this year no bs scary  ...  SHOOT IT LIZ!!!!

What did he say?

[Bofire]

   Cougar
Illustration of a black cougar, 1843[citation needed]There are no authenticated cases of truly melanistic cougars (pumas). Melanistic cougars have never been photographed or shot in the wild and none has ever been bred. There is wide consensus among breeders and biologists that the animal does not exist.[citation needed]

Black cougars have been reported in Kentucky and in the Carolinas. There have also been reports of glossy black cougars from Kansas, Texas and eastern Nebraska.[citation needed] These have come to be known as the "North American black panther". Sightings are currently attributed to errors in species identification by non-experts, and by the memetic exaggeration of size.

Black panthers in the American Southeast feature prominently in Choctaw folklore where, along with the owl, they are often thought to symbolize Death.

In his Histoire Naturelle (1749), Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, wrote of the "Black Cougar"[6]:

"M. de la Borde, King’s physician at Cayenne, informs me, that in the [South American] Continent there are three species of rapacious animals; that the first is the jaguar, which is called the tiger; that the second is the couguar [sic], called the red tiger, on account of the uniform redness of his hair; that the jaguar is of the size of a large bull-dog, and weighs about 200 pounds [90 kg]; that the cougar is smaller, less dangerous, and not so frequent in the neighbourhood of Cayenne as the jaguar; and that both these animals take six years in acquiring their full growth. He adds, that there is a third species in these countries, called the black tiger, of which we have given a figure under the appellation of the black cougar. The head is pretty similar to that of the common cougar; but the animal has long black hair, and likewise a long tail, with strong whiskers. He weighs not much above forty pounds [18 kg]. The female brings forth her young in the hollows of old trees."

This "black cougar" was most likely a margay or ocelot, which are under 40 pounds (18 kg) in weight, live in trees, and do have melanistic phases.

Another description of a black cougar[7] was provided by Pennant:

Black tiger, or cat, with the head black, sides, fore part of the legs, and the tail, covered with short and very glossy hairs, of a dusky color, sometimes spotted with black, but generally plain: Upper lips white: At the corner of the mouth a black spot: Long hairs above each eye, and long whiskers on the upper lip: Lower lip, throat, belly, and the inside of the legs, whitish, or very pale ash-color: Paws white: Ears pointed: Grows to the size of a heifer of a year old: Has vast strength in its limbs.-- Inhabits Brasil and Guiana: Is a cruel and fierce beast; much dreaded by the Indians; but happily is a scarce species;
—Pennant's Synops. of quad., p 180
According to his translator Smellie (1781), the description was taken from two black cougars exhibited in London some years previously.

[edit] Reports of black panthers in the United StatesIn Florida, a few melanistic bobcats have been captured; these have also apparently been mistaken for panthers. Ulmer (1941) presents photographs and descriptions of two animals captured in Martin County in 1939 and 1940. In the photographs, they appear black, and one of the hunters called them black. Many "black panther" sightings have also come from Georgia and South Carolina as recent as 2006. Sightings have also been recorded in parts of Texas and Southern Oklahoma, and scattered throughout the eastern U.S. In 2010 a black panther sighting was reported in Madison Mississippi but most people believe it was simply a Labrador Retriever.

The Academy specimen, upon close examination, is far from black. The most heavily pigmented portions are the crown and dorsal area. In most lights these areas appear black, but at certain angles the dorsal strip has a decidedly mahogany tint. The mahogany coloring becomes lighter and richer on the sides. The underparts are lightest, being almost ferruginous in color. The chin, throat and cheeks are dark chocolate-brown, but the facial stripes can be seen clearly. The limbs are dark mahogany. In certain lights the typical spot-pattern of the Florida bobcat can be distinctly seen on the side, underparts and limbs. The Bronx Park animal appears darker and the spots are not visible, although the poor light in the quarantine cage may have been the reason.[8]

Adult male bobcats are 28–47 inches (71–120 cm) long, with a short, bobbed tail, and are 18–24 inches (46–61 cm) tall at the shoulder. Females are slightly smaller. Florida panthers are 23–32 inches (58–81 cm) at the shoulder and 5–7 feet (1.5–2.1 m) long, including the tail. Bobcats weigh 16–30 pounds (7.3–14 kg) while Florida panthers are 50–150 pounds (23–68 kg).

Another possible explanation for black panther sightings is the jaguarundi, a cat very similar genetically to the cougar, which grows to around 30 inches (76 cm) long with an additional 20 inches (51 cm) of tail. Their coat occurs in a reddish-brown phase and a dark grey phase. While their acknowledged natural range ends in southern Texas, a small breeding population was introduced to Florida in the 1940s, and there are rumors of people breeding them as pets there as well. In Central America, they are known as relatively docile pets, as far as non-domesticated animals go. The male jaguarundi's home range can be up to 100 square kilometres (40 sq mi) while the female's home range can be up to 20 square kilometres (8 sq mi). It has been suggested that very small populations of jaguarundi, which rarely venture out of deep forests, are responsible for many or most of the supposed black cougar sightings. While they are significantly smaller than a cougar, differently colored, and much lower to the ground (many note a resemblance to the weasel), memory bias could explain many of the sightings in the southeastern U.S.

Another possibility would be the black jaguar, which ranged into North America in historical memory. Melanistic jaguars are uncommon in nature and, significantly, jaguars in general were persecuted to near-extinction in the 1960s. Though they do not look exactly like cougars, they have the requisite size. The jaguar has had several (photographically) confirmed, and many unconfirmed, sightings in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and southwest Texas, but not beyond that region.

Calls to Florida wildlife agencies also include house cats (video or photographs make size determination difficult) and river otters (especially at a distance) which are dark brown and can grow to approximately 5 feet in length and move with a gait that people associate with cats. It has recently been a black panther spotted in Dayton, Ohio

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

i heard a foot this year no bs scary  ...  SHOOT IT LIZ!!!!

What did he say?

Sounded like he was celebrating a kill probably the bull we had seen down there the night before.

[bigbeamhunter]

No bigfoot in white salmon have seen a few women at the tavern that had me question it just joking ..

[TheHunt]

No bigfoot in white salmon have seen a few women at the tavern that had me question it just joking ..

 

[hunterdan]

A co-worker was muzzy hunting up around Colville/Chewela area couple weeks ago and swears he saw a black cougar up around there(while driving). He paid attention to the tree it passed and measured 32 inches on the tree. He door knocked and got permission to hunt from the owner. Didnt see it again. Did however shoot a nice deer off the property. He spoke to a gamey, that while doubting him greatly, did mention that it could have been a melanistic cougar.

[Arteman]

I have never seen a black cougar, but I for sure seen a jet black deer and two of them.  Also in the Kalama area when i was a kid a deer ran across the road so my father and brother ran in after it while I sat in the truck, while sitting there a spike buck walked out in the road and stood there for what seemed like forever, I remember it like it was yesterday, very white on the nose and around the antlers and eyes but the rest as black as can be.  My dad and brother didn't really ever believe me and then after some years went by, I was hunting by now but still young, once again in the Kalama area with my dad and brother again a black fork n horn buck with a doe normal colored ran up a high bank above the truck into a clearcut along some jackfurs and before my dad could get up the steep bank they had ran into the furs, needless to say from that day on they believed me, don't remember the exact location, ill have to ask my dad but wonder if both sightings were close, and maybe from the same genes.

[marlin]

I saw a very large black cat in Tx around 2001, outside my tent in the morning when I got up to pee.. I had a .22 pistol on me and tried to take some shots as it ran away.. No luck.. I assume some sort of Puma or something. I had heard of them being around.. That was the only one I ever saw. I really wish I brought my shotgun out of the tent instead of a .22.. That was about 100 mi west of ft worth tx on property that I own.

[colockumelk]

To my knowledge- there has never been a documented black cougar in North America.  I heard a report of one this summer up here in PO county.  There is a possiblity of a defect called melanism- that culd create a black coloration in a lion.

According to the National Geographic and the Atlanta zoo you are wrong.

For many years people saw Black Panthers.  They were even put on the endangered species list.  It was thought to be in the Panther/Cougar family.  Some thought they were Black Pumas (aka jaguars) like they have in South America. 

Then biologists got a hold of one.  Later on DNA testing found that it was  simply a cougar/mountain lion/catamount with a genetic skin disorder which someone previously mentioned as melanoma or something like that.  Oh then they got a breeding pair which made a normal baby cougar.  They are not on the endangered species list anymore since the "black panther" isn't a species. 

[sebek556]

black panthers are not endangered, they are all over the south and east just look on you tube 

[blacktail luv]

Ive heard of quite a few people who have seen the "black" cougar in question.  He has been seen from snowden to husum but I havnt heard anything recently, I guess it's still around.

[400out]

Pretty cool.  Have you seen any bigfoots too....... 
 

I think someone isn't a believer 

[colockumelk]

BMM 

[bigbeamhunter]

I live up in snowden on burdion seen two others cats up there ..talk to my neighbor and he told me to watch the hillside behind his house the black one and a brown one are the 3 or4 times a week..

[runamuk]

BMM 

CCC

[lewy]

myself and two buddies were archery deer hunting near danville one year, and in route to our area, when we seen a jet black cougar out milling around in a cut alfalfa feild. we got to watch it for 5 minutes or so. we had permission to hunt the property but cougar season was a few weeks out so we couldnt shoot him. wasnt a huge cat, probably 90-100 lbs, but it sure was cool to see. this wasnt a flash of something going across the road, we had binos trained on him for some time at 150 yds or so. i researched it when i got home and found the same as was stated earlier, that there has never been a recorded harvest of one.....its only a matter of time until one gets shot or ran by hounds or caught on a trail cam....

[SemperFidelis97]

If anyone really wants to see a black panther just wait until next november there is sure to be a few around heres a hint set up near a voting booth using old white women as bait

[seth30]

until I see a black cougar or bigfoot on the ground with a hunter standing over it , I will beleive.

[Alchase]

  Cougar
Illustration of a black cougar, 1843[citation needed]There are no authenticated cases of truly melanistic cougars (pumas). Melanistic cougars have never been photographed or shot in the wild and none has ever been bred. There is wide consensus among breeders and biologists that the animal does not exist.[citation needed]

Never documented, never photographed, never shot, not one ever..........Skamania county will probably create a law to protect them, lol 
 
 

[WAcoyotehunter]

To my knowledge- there has never been a documented black cougar in North America.  I heard a report of one this summer up here in PO county.  There is a possiblity of a defect called melanism- that culd create a black coloration in a lion.

According to the National Geographic and the Atlanta zoo you are wrong.

For many years people saw Black Panthers.  They were even put on the endangered species list.  It was thought to be in the Panther/Cougar family.  Some thought they were Black Pumas (aka jaguars) like they have in South America. 

Then biologists got a hold of one.  Later on DNA testing found that it was  simply a cougar/mountain lion/catamount with a genetic skin disorder which someone previously mentioned as melanoma or something like that.  Oh then they got a breeding pair which made a normal baby cougar.  They are not on the endangered species list anymore since the "black panther" isn't a species. 

Cool!  Can you share that link or atricle?  I would love to find one with my hounds.

[Alchase]

Melanism (also known as melanosis; from Greek: μελανός, "dark-colored") is the occurrence of an increased amount of dark pigmentation (as of skin, feathers, eyes or hair) in an organism, resulting from the presence of melanin. It is the opposite of leucism and albinism, which occur because of a lack of melanin or other types of pigment.
 
The cougar's original class, Felis Concolor, had more than 20 subspecies, including the Florida Panther as felis concolor coryi. The scientific community reconsidered their taxonomy based on skull, dental, and coat studies and concluded that there was no longer enough difference to justify so many subspecies. Initially, it was suggested to have only one subspecies, Puma concolor couguar. However, in 1993 after further analysis of DNA, they were reassigned to 6 subspecies. Some groups still recognize the former subspecies, but with the new Genus – Puma. The results of these studies are controversial, particularly due to the previously endangered status of certain subspecies.
 
While many refer to a “black panther”, the two cats commonly referred to as a “black panther” are either a black leopard or a black jaguar, and actually have spots, visible in bright light. They probably had normal colored parents and siblings. A black cat is melanistic, black fur and black skin. There has been no evidence of a melanistic cougar, in spite of many rumored sightings.
 
You would be rich if you had pictures, or at least be in the next Jack's links Jerky commercial, lol
 

[Curly]

Pretty cool.  Have you seen any bigfoots too....... 
 

I think someone isn't a believer 

Oh, I believe he saw something...........maybe even a black cougar.  I used to be more of a believer on the bigfoot subject too, but then I started watching some of the bigfoot shows on TV and after listening to those wackos I'm becoming more and more skeptical that bigfoot exists or ever has existed........

I'll choose to believe the black cougar story...........but with some skepticism for now. 

At least I think it is more likely for a black cougar to exist than a bigfoot.

[colockumelk]

Sorry my bad I thought the Florida Panther was a cougar. Fine all Black Panthers are melanistic Florida Panthers.  I bet no one here could tell the difference between a Florida Panther and a cougar though.

[Mark B]

Found this article online... If there can be Black Bobcats I dont see why there isnt any reason that Cougars cant be black too... Wierd looking cats....  http://www.michigancougar.com/black.htm

[WAcoyotehunter]

Sorry my bad I thought the Florida Panther was a cougar. Fine all Black Panthers are melanistic Florida Panthers.  I bet no one here could tell the difference between a Florida Panther and a cougar though.

The florida "panther" is the same  species as a cougar- felis concolor. They have a dozen names for the same species across the country- puma, catamount, cougar, mountain lion, panther---they're all felis concolor

[cryfowl]

Seen pics of a Cougar that was mounted and was black from the lower jaw down to its upper chest.  I saw what appeared to me to be a solid black cat on US101 just south of Quinault a few years ago.  It ran across the road infront of me, but wasn't close enough for me to say for 100%.  Ran like a cat, not a dog and had a real long tail.  So maybe 90% certain.  

[mrgoodwrench]

I had a log truck driver tell me he saw a black cougar about 10 miles south of Quinault on one of our mainlines a couple years ago....but that did come from a truck driver

[runamuk]

No such thing, All these supposed sightings but none have been killed or treed by dogs? It's just another myth.

well white buffalos were a myth too until we finally saw one....just because so far no one has managed to capture one on film or shoot one during season does not mean it couldnt happen these are cats I have never seen a cougar in the wild so they must not exist  .....white moose and elk, melanistic deer all of these are also pretty rare, a melanistic cat could happen its simply a genetic thing and chances while extremely slim, there is still a possibility....

[high country]

I saw one around usk ten or so years back. Phill sweet was guiding not far from me in Idaho and he too had seen it. It was not a dog or a UFO. I looked into shooting it back then and it was gtg

[ribka]

When I worked in Philadelphia I used to see Black cougars ( panthers) quite often there:

"Security" patrols stationed at polling places in Philly