Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Black Jaguar At My Pond!! WOW!

Layton, how've you been?

I think the Techno Viking is pulling a fast one.

In agreement: likely not a jaguar after all.
Argument: not at all a house cat, and due to the skeptical pressure and resulting frustration, we will have to take some additional reference photos with an animal of known size, in the same place, from the same vantage point, at the same zoom level. Stay tuned...

After much thought, my current opinion is that this is another one of the black wild cats that hundreds of people in East Texas and throughout the country claim to have witnessed but never had an opportunity to capture on camera. So I will hold off on suggesting what this cat actually is, but I feel sure about what it is NOT.

Calling Dan VanSchaik...

Todd, that thing may be one whopper of a feral cat. I've heard stories of black wild cats in East Texas but, like you say, never seen a picture. Reference points would be great.

I don't think Dan checks in her very often. You may have to EMail him and ask him to look. From PB mag: danvtx@verizon.net or 903-821-7054.

Extraordinary findings often demand extraordinary evidence.

Could have killed the cat..........

Left a message with Dan VanSchaik

Todd:

In that 2nd pic that you just posted, with the cat laying down in the road, that should give you a good estimate on it's size. Head to tail covers about 1/2 of the road width. Measure that area to get an idea of length.

That's a good idea.

That's what I was trying to reference when I was showing the pics to my wife, who don't believe it's anymore more than a house cat.

The road, grassline to grassline, is 8'.

Good idea. I would guess it is more like 1/3 or so of the road width. Only way to be sure is to collect some DNA through some Scat, Hair, etc... and have it tested. May have to go to an independent lab, but your state may be interested and do the testing.

I have a black panther style house cat that weighs 12lbs (I just weighed her myself) and measures 29"max from nose to end of tail. Now anybody suggest a method for extrapolation or estimation of the weight of the cat in the pics?

Go all Ninja on it and photograph it next to a beaver carcass of known dimensions.

Good Idea. The cat in the photo's is not an APEX predator. No Muscle mass. Even a small Jag. or Puma would be really built. Too scrawny to be what you think it is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar

The cat in the pics has different proportions than a house cat, bigger build, etc, although not as muscular as a leopard or cougar.

My guess is the cat is 40 inches and 25 lbs. Roughly twice the size of your house cat.

Thanks for that. Also I must point out that the proportions of this wild cat are not simply a scaled-up version of a house-cat IMO. Specifically the rear end of this cat is higher than the shoulder height. Also the tail is longer, with respect to body length, than my "black panther" house cat.

Right now I'm leanin' towards Hybrid or Unclassified species...

I was putting it close to that. Thinking just a tad smaller.

Felis catus is phenotypically very plastic (like domestic dogs). This does not mean this is a house cat, but if the pictures are reasonable proof that this is likely a non-domestic cat species, a local mammalian zoologist should be able to conclude this better than us. While unlikely, this could also be one of the trendy new domestic-wild hybrids that are being sold for very high prices. Due to the cost, I would guess most owners would not let them wander. Let us know what a mammalian taxonomist thinks of the photos.

Whatever it is, it is defiantly an anomaly. See what you can get on it.

"Todd Discovers new Feline", Great Headline! Just try to find out.

BTW, What really happened last Halloween? I assume that "Eye of Newt" was not in the formal discussions

This High Plains Black Panther-Feral cross was sitting on our deck this morning.

Totally Ferocious. That should be photochopped with a Lilliputian dangling and other parts quite obscure a bit below.

Then this thread could be a horror/thriller

Todd, definately not a black panther (dark melanistic phase of cougar) or black jag (dark melanistic phase of jaguar). Even immatures of both are 80-100lbs. Both have been documented in South Texas, but not for many years. However, your cat has a higher rump and longer tail than typical feral domestics...very interesting. Hair on your cat is too long to be a dark phase of any regional wild cat; maybe a hybrid?
I would live trap him using sardines and take a closer look.

Dan VS