Could black panthers be roaming around Texas? While legends – and one recent social media post – say yes, experts say no.
“Well we have officially spotted a panther on our property! Huntsville Tx Walker County!” said the Dec. 16 post from Jerel Hall.
A black cat can be seen in the distance. Since it is far away it’s hard to determine the feline’s size.
USA Today reported that “the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is debunking Hall’s claim, saying that there is ‘no such thing’ as a black mountain lion, officially known as the Puma concolor species. The species has many different common names, including puma, cougar, or panther.”
Yet, according to Texas Hill Country, Hall isn’t the first person in the lone star state to claim they spotted a black panther. It said it is one of the “most famous” cryptid tales in the state.
“Back in 2021, controversial comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan insisted the security cameras outside of his Austin home spotted a black panther even after he was told that wild cats don't exist,” said a report in The Houston Chronicle.
One issue with these claims is that black panthers technically don’t exist. Per Britannica, black panther is a colloquial term for melanistic big cats in the genus Panthera. The term can apply to leopards, jaguars and other big cats with mostly black fur. These big cats don’t roam in Texas, said a specialist from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The last documented jaguar in the state was in 1948.
Still, that hasn’t stopped reports of sightings of large, black cats in central Texas. Texas Hill Country said some people attribute these sightings to jaguarundi, wild cats found in Mexico that are slightly larger than domestic cats and can have dark fur.
Only five confirmed sightings of jaguarundi have been reported in the history of Texas and the most recent was in 1986. It’s listed as endangered in the state, but dozens of reports come in each year from people who claim to have seen jaguarundi, according to Texas Monthly.
Texas Hill Country said some reports of jaguarundi come from Caldwell County. People in the comments section of Hall’s photo also mentioned frequent sightings of mysterious black felines in their area.
Dana Karelus of Texas Parks and Wildlife believes the animal in the photo to be a house cat. The officer said that it is hard to confirm the animal’s species given the image quality but it is “certainly not a mountain lion based on the tail length.”
“Size can be tough to tell in photos and unless you have a good reference, 'apparent size' is often misleading,” Karelus said, according to USA Today. According to the Houston Chronicle, the photo was taken from around 120-150 yards away. He estimates the cat must have been between 80-100 pounds.
“Growing up, I’ve heard screams like a lady before but typically those are bobcats or lynx,” Hall said. He also said he saw a black wildcat before, chasing wild hogs about nine years ago.