#164 The Black Panther In America Is Not a Leopard

I feel sick to my stomach for several reasons: Last night, Blackwater called me and said that he had been contacted by MonsterQuest - the History Channel's series on "monsters" in America. Several years ago, I had told Blackwater of an owner of a hunting preserve who was having black panther and Bigfoot sightings reported to him.
The owner had promised me a black panther picture that a neighbor had taken. Blackwater, who is much more energetic than I am, and his friends began making contacts with this gentleman, and have recently acquired the black panther picture. They put it on a local fishing forum on the Internet, and it captured the attention of the a black panther organization in the United Kingdom and MonsterQuest. MonsterQuest is now talking with Blackwater. Of course now I am regretting being so open with Blackwater as he has apparently scooped me using my source - the hunting preserve owner. But it goes beyone me to the safety of the black panthers in America, because Blackwater is working the angle that these black panthers are the black color phase of leopards, and there is a definite safety problem with them. This will encourage hunters and people who see them on their property to shoot them. Let me assure you that black panthers are commonly seen in Florida by people living or traveling through rural areas. I often ask people in Florida if they or anyone they know has ever seen a black panther. If these people live in the country, almost invariably they have seen one once in their life or have someone who has. These animals must be protected. They cannot be shot as dangerous black leopards as the whole color phase will be wiped out. There is not enough land left thanks to illegal immigration and cowardly enviromentalists who will not push for the protection of wildlife habitats. The photograph Blackwater has of the black panther is supposedly of a cat weighing 150 to 175 pounds. That was the estimate of the cat's weight made by the owner of the hunting preserve. He supposedly has seen the tree the cat was standing next to when the trail camera took the picture. Since he owns a hunting preserve, I am sure he is an expert on judging the weight of animals. A 100 pound leopard is a big leopard. A 175 pound panther is huge. Also, Blackwater did not say that any rosettes or arrangements of black dots, were discernable in the picture. He did say the cat looked very much like the picture I have of the St. Marys River black panther. If that is true, it is not a leopard but a panther. The St. Marys River panther picture showed a big cat with a muscular body and a long, thick tail. Those are the hallmarks of a panther not a leopard.
Blackwater thinks we have black panthers in America because he believes they were used on slave ships to keep the Africans in line. When the slave ships got to America, the slaves were sold and the black leopards let go. Does that make any sense? Where were they let go? Right there in the harbor by the ships where people lived and worked? Would the people who lived and worked where the black panthers supposedly let loose allow that to happen. If so, President Obama would like to know where they are because he has about 200 alleged al-Quaeda terrorists he would like to release in America. Who would be so stupid as to allow black panthers or terrorists released in their community? Blackwater learned from John Lusk that Charles Humphreys, the author of "Panthers of the Coastal Plain" told him, John Lusk, that in researching his book he found mention of black panthers on ship manifests. John Lusk also told Blackwater and me that he has talked to blacks who told him stories of black leopards on slave ships are part of their verbal family history. I have asked several blacks here in Florida about their family history in the slave days, and they have no history of black leopards on slave ships.
I fear that MonsterQuest will sensationalize a couple of black panther pictures, along with some incidents of black panthes showing a little backbone to humans who are only destroying their habitat and inspire an open season on black leopards. Leopards are extremely dangerous when hunted and more so when wounded. Panthers are pussycats usually. Teddy Roosevelt killed them with a knife; the guachos in the Pampas used to run them down with their horses and beat them to death with the iron rod part of their stirrups. We don't need any MonsterQuest hysteria that will target the innocent black puma. Peter Nickerson, MS, MSW at peternickerson12@yahoo.com.