#165 The MonsterQuest Show about Black Panthers

When I finished the last posting, I had no time to go over it. I'm on a clock here at the public library. As I mentally reviewed what I had posted, I wished that I had said that I gave Blackwater, a name I've assigned him as he said he had worked for Blackwater, permisssion to talk to my source, Christian. I thought I could share my sources with others, but found out I was too competitive when Blackwater scooped me by attracting the attention of the History Channel first. Plus, I am sure Blackwater will be pushing for these big, black cats to be identified as black leopards. He calls his research group, the Panthera Study Group. Panthera is the family for the leopards, jaguars, and African lions. Puma is the family for the cougar, panther, puma, catamount, swamp screamer, painter - whatever you call him. The puma has the most names of any animal, partially because its range is from British Columbia to Argentina and partially because it is such a mysterious, strong cat that exudes a remarkable presence and vitality. So the Panthera Study Group is hardly going to be pushing for their animal to be identified as a puma. It would make the group look silly.
Blackwater called almost immediately after I finished the posting, and I told him that I was worried about what his Panthera Study Group was pushing, that the black cat was a black leopard. A two-hour arguement ensued. At first, he said he would not even suggest that the black cat could be a panther because experts had said that it is impossible for panthers to throw black kittens. I said I had heard that about ten years ago and had asked Dr. David Maehr, author of "The Florida Panther" a remarkable little book and the leader of the research team that for about nine years ran Florida panthers up trees, darted them, lowered them from the trees, and evaluated them and even treated them. Finally, the team put a radio collar on the panthers so their movement and lack of movement could be studied, and the cats could also be tracked. David said you could not say that panthers could not have black kittens. Blackwater seemed to accept this and seemed to back away from his position that black panthers could not be real panthers or pumas.
Blackwater is very much like my father, who is now probably talking the ear off everyone in heaven; you don't have a conversation with him, you listen to a lenghty monologue that goes off in many tangents, and you try to get a word in edgewise. At one point in our arguement, he said that an expert had told him that his video of a black panther near Charleston, South Carolina was that of an ancient American lion that had somehow survived out in the wilds of the Santee River area. He also coyly remarked that the United Kingdom Black Cat Society had identified Christian's (my source) picture of the black panther as definitely being that of a black leopard, and who was he to argue with the experts. In saying that, Blackwater turned his back on the very reason we were doing our own black panther research: the "experts" lie
and deny. I was having trouble with a lot of static in my phone, and Blackwater ended the conversation.
The next day I started calling around to be absolutely sure that you could see the spots or rosettes of a black leopard through his fur. I knew you could with the black jaguar because I had done so myself. I called various people including taxidermists and a two big game hunters in Idaho. Finally, I hit the motherlode: Jack Brown, Director of the teaching zoo at Santa Fe College in Gainesville. He shared my position that the black panther is a puma and said that he is asked from time to time if he has lost any black panthers, meaning that black panthers are being seen right here in Alachua County. He asssured me that he had seen many black leopards, and their spots could be seen if you were close enough, and there was good sunlight. He was alarmed to hear about the MonsterQuest program, and the probablity that the phenomenon of black panthers being sighted through Southeast United States would be twisted to dangerous, black leopards. There is no doubt about it; leopards are dangerous. In Asia and Africa, they have been maneaters. When wounded they almost invariably hide and charge. He agreed with me that there was a high probability that the MonsterQuest show would unleash a wave of hysteria and make hunters and property owners much more likely to shoot the black puma, thinking he was a black leopard. I was asked to call Florida Fish and Wildlife to tell them of this impending hysteria. I was not enthused, but promised to do so because Jack Brown wanted me to.
Then I got a short call from Blackwater. He had just read my posting of the previous day and said it had "some serious inconsistencies in it." He claimed that my writing that I had scooped him was one of them, and he had enjoyed our relationship, but was ending it. His final monologue. I have no idea how he can claim that he didn't scoop me unless he doesn't know the definition of the word. I looked it up after he hanged up just to be sure. Of course, he scooped me, and it was my own fault. I gave him my source - Christian - and he and his colleagues in his study group formed good relationships with him and got the black panther picture Christian had been promising to send me for several years. Shame on me! I'm a big enough man to admit it.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Peter "Two-Guns" Nickerson, MS, MSW at peternickerson12@yahoo.com.