Trigger Mike Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 I have seen a black panther while hunting a couple of years ago and every now and then I can hear it at night and sometimes see a foot print. My son just got his own hunting license at 13. We often head home after dark since hunting last until 30 minutes after sunset. Is there anything I need to tell him as he heads back home on foot? I have heard to look behind you once in a while but I wonder if that is true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Lots of excellent info on this site. Stay Safe in Mountain Lion Territory. Mountain Lion Foundation. Having him carry a can of bear spray in his hand ready for instant use would be advisable. It is way way more likely to prevent or stop an attack than a firearm. Don't buy pepper spray. Buy actual bear spray. While pepper spray has a stronger concentration of active ingredients, bear spray is designed to spray for a longer duration, greater distance, and create a much larger cloud of spray than pepper spray designed for self defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Crimes Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 DON"T! wear this when out hunting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Wasp spray might be a good alternative to bear spray. Bear spray fogs more and if the wind is against you it could be a problem. I would check into whether wasp spray will deter a cat. I am sure it would but I have no actual experience with big cats except to get the hell away from one at a nice walking pace once many years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smuteye John SASS#24774 Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 According to academia, it was a figment of your imagination or a case of mistaken identity because they claim that black panthers don't exist. Of course, they are MUCH smarter and know more about what's in the woods (and if you don't believe me, as one and they can explain it) than folks that actually spend whole lifetimes in the woods of a particular region, so it must be true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun Willie Nelson Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 4 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: Wasp spray might be a good alternative to bear spray. Bear spray fogs more and if the wind is against you it could be a problem. I would check into whether wasp spray will deter a cat. I am sure it would but I have no actual experience with big cats except to get the hell away from one at a nice walking pace once many years ago. Probably so, I hear its also a great deterrent for predators of the two legged persuasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 5 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: Wasp spray might be a good alternative to bear spray. Bear spray fogs more and if the wind is against you it could be a problem. I would check into whether wasp spray will deter a cat. I am sure it would but I have no actual experience with big cats except to get the hell away from one at a nice walking pace once many years ago. Wasp spray requires you to aim and hit an animal in the face. Bear spray makes a cloud so you just have to get close. I doubt few people could remain calm enough to hit a charging animal with a can of wasp spray. Even if the wind is in your favor you are likely to get a dose of bear spray. As bad as that might be it is no where near as bad as being attacked by a bear or mountain lion. I have personally attempted to use more than one can of wasp spray that was defective due to lack of pressure. The QC for bear spray is likely to be a lot better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixgun Sheridan Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 4 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said: I have personally attempted to use more than one can of wasp spray that was defective due to lack of pressure. The QC for bear spray is likely to be a lot better. You got that right. A couple summers ago I bought a can to use on a large hornet's nest outside my house, and when I pushed the button it just came out blurp-blurp and only touched the nest enough to alert everyone inside. I never ran so fast in my life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Lizard Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 12 hours ago, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said: According to academia, it was a figment of your imagination or a case of mistaken identity because they claim that black panthers don't exist. I guess they did not see them in front of the voting both a few years back... Texas Lizard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 http://fwp.mt.gov/recreation/safety/wildlife/lion/lionBearSpray.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick Bruce Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 DO NOT RELY ON WASP SPRAY! It is not true! It is 100% ineffective!!! I was at work a few years back and a coworker was getting ready to spray a wasp nest. Right as I walked around the corner, hit me right in the face, eyes, mouth etc. Other than a really bad taste, it did not blind me, it did not make me sick, it did not even sting a little. If you try to use wasp spray to defend against bears, mountain lions, wolves, feral humans, etc, you are going to have a very bad day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tennessee williams Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Black panther is a generic term for the pigmentation. It probably wasn't a cougar(mountain lion). If it was a big black cat you seen, it was more than likely a black jaguar. They're a bit bigger than a mtn lion I believe. Dont know where you live, but here in Tennessee we're not supposed to have any, but I've seen two. One just after sunset and one in the middle of the day 15 years apart. Both times it was running away. I've heard what I thought was one once or twice. Best thing to do in the woods at night if youre not hunting is make noise. Human noise, like talking or even hum a tune not just racket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smuteye John SASS#24774 Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 16 minutes ago, Tennessee williams said: Black panther is a generic term for the pigmentation. It probably wasn't a cougar(mountain lion). If it was a big black cat you seen, it was more than likely a black jaguar. They're a bit bigger than a mtn lion I believe. Dont know where you live, but here in Tennessee we're not supposed to have any, but I've seen two. One just after sunset and one in the middle of the day 15 years apart. Both times it was running away. I've heard what I thought was one once or twice. Best thing to do in the woods at night if youre not hunting is make noise. Human noise, like talking or even hum a tune not just racket. That's what the folks at Auburn told the mechanic working with us after he said he saw one. I worked for a project that was a joint venture of the National Center for Asphalt Technologies and the Auburn University School of Engineering for almost 2 1/2 years back in the early '00's driving a big rig in an asphalt wear study. Basically, we drove super heavy trailers over a closed track made up of test sections of various asphalt compounds to replicate 20 years of normal wear in a little over 2 years. There was a mechanic on site for every shift in case of breakdown or blown tires. This place is built so that 4 over the road trucks pulling triples (3 30 foot trailers) that are around 120 feet long total vehicle length and weighing in the neighborhood of 160,000 pounds can park and still have plenty of room to maneuver without taking each other out, so there's a big expanse of concrete with a building holding a lab and a shop for the mechanics to pull the trucks in to work on them. One night, one of the mechanics- who was from hills outside Chattanooga and was a life long outdoorsman- came out of the office and entered the shop. The bay doors were open and saw it walking across the parking area about 30 feet from the door. The man's seen wildcats, bobcats and big house cats before and I saw him a couple minutes after the incident because it shook him enough to call us in off the track. The bay doors stayed closed at night after that if he was on duty. Jaguar isn't a reasonable option for what he saw- under lighting on a concrete slab at least 75 yards from any cover taller than planted sod- since it happened in Opelika, AL (that's at least 3 states and a crossing of the Mississippi away from known any historic jaguar habitat much less their current range). If you have a map handy, it's just off I-85, exit 62 on a county road between US280-431 and AL169. I know that jaguars roam but I don't see one getting way over a 1000 miles from the home range- crossing a half a dozen major travel arteries, the Mississippi and there's no telling how many other rivers- without a soul seeing it until it got to Opelika that night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 I know for a fact that Central Missouri and Central Arkansas is confirmed Cougar territory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trigger Mike Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 Okee fenokee swamp is an hour and half away and I'm told Ga put some in the swamp and they are protected but I saw was and after I saw it move into the woods I saw a deer come from another direction and came to where the panther had been and turn around and run like a bullet and since I was over 200 yards away it wasn't because she saw me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tennessee williams Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 8 hours ago, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said: That's what the folks at Auburn told the mechanic working with us after he said he saw one. I worked for a project that was a joint venture of the National Center for Asphalt Technologies and the Auburn University School of Engineering for almost 2 1/2 years back in the early '00's driving a big rig in an asphalt wear study. Basically, we drove super heavy trailers over a closed track made up of test sections of various asphalt compounds to replicate 20 years of normal wear in a little over 2 years. There was a mechanic on site for every shift in case of breakdown or blown tires. This place is built so that 4 over the road trucks pulling triples (3 30 foot trailers) that are around 120 feet long total vehicle length and weighing in the neighborhood of 160,000 pounds can park and still have plenty of room to maneuver without taking each other out, so there's a big expanse of concrete with a building holding a lab and a shop for the mechanics to pull the trucks in to work on them. One night, one of the mechanics- who was from hills outside Chattanooga and was a life long outdoorsman- came out of the office and entered the shop. The bay doors were open and saw it walking across the parking area about 30 feet from the door. The man's seen wildcats, bobcats and big house cats before and I saw him a couple minutes after the incident because it shook him enough to call us in off the track. The bay doors stayed closed at night after that if he was on duty. Jaguar isn't a reasonable option for what he saw- under lighting on a concrete slab at least 75 yards from any cover taller than planted sod- since it happened in Opelika, AL (that's at least 3 states and a crossing of the Mississippi away from known any historic jaguar habitat much less their current range). If you have a map handy, it's just off I-85, exit 62 on a county road between US280-431 and AL169. I know that jaguars roam but I don't see one getting way over a 1000 miles from the home range- crossing a half a dozen major travel arteries, the Mississippi and there's no telling how many other rivers- without a soul seeing it until it got to Opelika that night. I am confused. What are you saying it is, if it wasn't a jaguar? There has never in the history of the earth been a documented case of a cougar having the black pigmentation. That's with 10s of thousands being in captivity, all of them seen in the wild, etc. Of the two species that tend to get the black pigmentation(jaguar and leopard) we only have one viable option here. The year before last, Tennessee wildlife officials wouldn't confirm Cougars were here. Now they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Carpenter Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Call them what you want, Florida Panthers can be Near all Black. I and a Friend saw one last year very close on the Golf course where I live. (In Melbourne, FL in the "Suspected area" on the Map) Cheers Hoss C, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tennessee williams Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 12 minutes ago, Hoss Carpenter said: Call them what you want, Florida Panthers can be Near all Black. I and a Friend saw one last year very close on the Golf course where I live. (In Melbourne, FL in the "Suspected area" on the Map) Cheers Hoss C, Yessir. That's a jaguar. Cougars and jaguars are 2 different animals. People just know the mountain lion better and assume thats what it is. Mountain lion average 120-140 pounds. Jaguar averages over 200. People use the term panther for a lot of cats. Actually jaguar is panthera onca. Cougar is felis concolor(might have misspelled that). Here is a black jaguar. I have seen 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish Pat Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 The are no black panthers except in the Hood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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