The mystery of black leopards in Kansas!?

[AliceNicole]

We are from Iola Kansas, about 40 miles from Toronto. My Dad once told me a story of two black panthers. He said he was down at the park waiting to meet a guy for work, it was very early in the morning, before the sun came up. He said he was setting in his car when two big black panthers walked up over the river **** (the Neosho river is just on the other side). He said they were huge and their tails were as long as their body if not longer. They walked all the way up to his car before they caught wind of him, at which point they ran back over the ****. This would have been in the 60's. My father was not one to tell stories, or even talk that much. If he said something, it was not an exaggeration. I am not sure how much of an area these cats cover but they could have been the same.

Just a few months ago, a farmer in Leroy (also about 40 miles from Toronto) reported a black panther killing his calve. The game wardens found no evidence to confirm his story, but the farmer swears that is what he saw.

Everyone says they are a myth around here but I know that what my dad saw was exactly as he described.

[WouldLoveTo]

Cool thread! They tell us here in New England that they don't exist here either. Last time one was hit they insisted it was an escaped pet. After testing DNA they said it migrated from the Dakotas. Didn't know other states play the same game!

[Ruth4Truth]

Mountain lions (cougars) are found in the Plains states, and have been known to wander to the NE, though they're not black, they're tan. Black panthers have never been known in the US. Mexican and Central American jaguars are said to have a phase when their coloration goes from spotted to black.

Not sure what to make of these reports.

[cachibatches]

It is a trick of the lighting. More black mountain lions are reported than the ordinary ones, despite that fact that not one has ever been verified to exist. That is because it is a trick of lighting, particularly at dusk and dawn.

[Mattks]

I don't know about the whole black leopard deal, but I know around Topeka they had a similar sounding situation. About 15 years ago a privately owned wildlife park had a break in and someone let a lot of animals go. Now I don't remember the whole back story, but it seemed like it went a week at least before the animals got reported missing and by then they had scattered all over. Most of the animals got recaptured, but some stuck around and have actually somewhat flourished. I haven't seen any lately, but there were peacocks being sighted quite often. A connected story I remember was that the owner of the park was actually killed by a bear they had in captivity, and that is why it went so long without being discovered, but that's probably not true.

[Rivertowntalk]

I live in a fairly rural and heavily wooded area and have spent a lot of time in the timber along creeks, etc. Have never seen any large cat tracks. Have seen some bobcats though. A few years back, 2 cut through on a Saturday afternoon and they were the largest, healthiest bobcats I have ever seen. Can sometimes hear bobcats screaming at night down in the draws. Once, I went over to a neighbor's to feed for them while they were traveling. Could see where a bobcat had cornered a deer. Lots of tracks and blood in the snow.

[bagster]

Big black cats are usually cryptids.

www.newanimal.org/blackpanthers.htm

[Garethe]

Originally Posted by rnc76

Cougars are all spotted when they are babies. They lose their spots when they mature. There has never been a documented case of a "black cougar". Even with jaguars and leopards, it is very rare in nature.

Here is a cool website that is tracking the apparent migration of cougars eastward. They are using scientific criteria to determine a legitimate sighting.

The Cougar Network - Using Science to Understand Cougar Ecology

This link is spam, im on a mobile device n it wont let me flag it.

[Wirehaired]

I'm a retired federal agent. I grew up in Osage County. My dad grew up around Atchison. In 1973, I was driving my truck towards Topeka when an adult black panther ran out of the neighbor's farm and accross the road in front of my truck. Since the neighbor kept sheep, I stopped to warn him. He said, "I've seen it, but it hasn't bothered my sheep, so I'm not going to shoot it". My dad later saw it near our house. This was along West125th on old Rural Route 2 north of Carbondale.

My uncle had 500 acres near Troy KS. There were some wild boars in that area. My brother and I used to provoke them into chasing us, then jump a fence into a pen to get to safety. When my uncle found out, he was livid. My cousin, who grew up on the farm, said she repeatedly saw a black panther on their land. I never saw it, despite having hunted that land many times. I always thought the one I saw was an escaped exotic pet, since it didn't bother the sheep.