Well, I have just joined the ranks of see 'ufo's, 'sasquatches, etc.
With my wife driving, and I in the passenger's front seat, I glanced out the window of our car...and saw a large black cat...about 20 times the size of an ordinary housecat.
We were travelling from S.Dakota, up through Wyoming, to Montana, and
just before a Rest Area situated on the way to Billings, Mont., at about 6 p.m. in July, ('05)there it was.
Looking sideways out the window, I saw this cat in full side position-facing the opposite direction of our car was going, as it walked along a small path beside a hill. There was NO foliage (forest or otherwise) nearby, and as I looked, it turned it's head to it's left-to look up the hillside.
I yelled to my wife to pull over-and she did...and we tried to back up so we could get a picture with my camera. It was useless, she couldn't back up as too many semi-trucks and other traffic made it too dangerous for her to do so.
I never got a photo-and we stopped in Billings, in Big Timber, and other places in Montana, to ask the locals about 'Black Panthers'.
The only suggestions we got that it may have been a black jaguar that perhaps has escaped from the local zoos. Whatever.
I DO know what a Black Jaguar looks like-one of my favorite movies was Walt Disney's "Jungle Cat".
I looked on the net-and the only Jaguars (besides cars of that name) I could find are in Florida-and only four sightings of those were in public lands....
It wasn't until I bumped into a hunter friend of mine who told me he has a book where he read about 'black phased cougars'-and believed that was what I saw-although that is just as rare in itself.
There's lots of cougars in our area-British Columbia-and I guess there's no law that one (some) of them COULDN'T turn black at times...but, where's the proof?
Anyway, I know what I saw-a LARGE (cougar size) black cat...!
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....only opposite. It can happen to any species I suppose. I filmed a black deer during archery season in Northern California, it was a doe together with normal does which at that time were in their rusty colored summer coats. I've also seen an albino black kid and two albino mexican girls.
...there have never been documented/substantiated sightings of either albino or melanistic cougars. Didn't make that up and since I THINK I also saw a black one back a few decades, it's not that I'm a disbeliever.
Lions in the right light will sometimes appear very dark. I always wonder about strange animals people see but no one ever harvests.In my area there are numerous sightings of lions every year, but no one ever seems to get a shot at one.
I lost my pet African black leopard about 20 miles outside Billings wile on vacation last summer. He is very friendly, and I am sure home sick. you could have walked right up to him, and scratched his belly.
Well, none of that is true. But it would not be the first time an exotic animal has escaped its owner, or been turned loose. 3 years ago we had reported sightings of a mountain lion in the area. we have not had them here in centuries. It turned out to be an African lioness. someone had lost.
I haven't seen an albino mountain lion,but Phil Soucy mounted an all white one a few years ago.This was a big tom in the 160 lb.+ range,with normal colored eyes.It was taken in Sheridan,WY.The fellows that killed it had treed and photographed it the day before.I saw the photos and the mount.While they were fooling around with the cameras,the cat bailed and they didn't get back on it till the next day.This time they didn't mess with the cameras till it was on the ground.Up till then,no one new the cat existed.Awesome cat and mount.
Just to split hairs ,,,for what it is worth, l have always believed the black /melanistic leopard was a color variety of the Asiatic leopard, whilst l have never heard that the African Leopard come s in this color phase.
Anyone shed any light on this ?
I think that's accurate.I haven't heard of any either.There are of course black jaguars.It must be about non-existent in African leopards and I don't know of a single,substantiated case of a black mountain lion being killed or captured.Have seen a couple dyed.Lots of stories though.It is scientifically possible for any animal to be melanistic,but it seems in cougars that it would be extremely rare if it happened.