"A single Florida panther will roam 300 square miles and claim that area as it's territory."

I agree and it won't be long until this gets proved to be true!

Oh we had wolves. They were stocked here. Then better minds prevailed.

I'm not sure it was better minds that prevailed, the lack of breeding success spelled the end to that reintroduction.

I would feel very comfortable saying there are at least a quarter of a million trail-cameras running in the TN woods each fall. A quarter of a million trail-cameras and not one documented picture of a cougar? If they do exist in TN they would have to be unbelievably rare to not get photographed.

Just for the sake of rebutal,..The most ideal topgraphy that could allow a breeding pair to go undetected is in the rugged mountainous regions of eastern tn and western north carolina...there is 600 thousand acers of remote public land just on the TN side....and I would be surprised if there were 50 cameras being used in the entire place...

. . . .if they were there, they would have some evidence.

There aren't many trail cameras (there are some), but there are over 9,000,000 sets of eyes visiting there every year. That coupled with the Parks active ATBI inventory (Searching for and documenting all forms of life) and the fact that they have used many different survey methods directed specifically at mountain lions tells me if they were there, they would have some evidence.

Actually, "they" do.
I suspect they don't want to draw more attention to a the hope of some that the big cats may become established in the Appalachians. "They" are not wanting to prove this existence to anyone (yet).

As I have said before I was a non beleiver until last August and then it happened. I actually saw one of the dang things and to this day have a hard time believing it. It just trotted out in front of my truck and stopped in the median on the highway. I wasn't the only one to see it either. The car in the opposite lane stopped as well. It just looked at me for a few seconds and trotted on across the highway. It may have been a pet but it sure was a big cat with a very long tail.

Just for the sake of rebutal,..The most ideal topgraphy that could allow a breeding pair to go undetected is in the rugged mountainous regions of eastern tn and western north carolina...there is over 600 thousand acers of remote public land just on the TN side......and I would be surprised if there were 50 cameras being used in the entire place...

KY DNR confirmed tracks in the bare soil, and also noted they were actually on the TN side of the line.

Does anyone remember the story from about four years ago about the gas line right of way about three miles west of Hazel, KY on the TN/KY line?

Black Panther = Black Lab = Central Tennessee

the reason people doubt it like myself is because there is no proof. if there are cats in TN show me a picture.

Bottom Hunter I know two men who will swear on a stack of Bibles that they saw a black panther on the Hatchie NWR.This incident happened in the late 80's near Big Eddy.The guys were walking in to do some bow hunting and spotted the big cat on the river bank .

Show me concrete proof of a panther/cougar and I will believe they are here. Until then I will call BS on every single claim.

And eye-witness accounts are the worst proof there is.

. . . . . we have to say there aren't any because we have no proof that there are any.

And eye-witness accounts are the worst proof there is. How many studies do you need to see about how bad eye-witness accounts are to realize that?

Until I see a GOOD picture of one with some kind of landmark to verify the location, I won't believe they are here.
Sorry that's just me.

Thay [icture has been aropund for ages and has been taken in every state. You'll have to d better than that.

E. Tn will not give exact location

Sorry bowriter that pic was taken in E. Tn by my father. He does not know how to use a computer and has never posted it and this is only the Second time I have ever posted it. The first was also on tndeer witch is the only other time you could have seen it.

I am Calling bull again show me a link to where this pic is. if you are up for a ride I will show you exactly where it is at The feeder bought from cabelas is still in the exact same space.

we believe in alot of things that we have no proof exists....

BH

I believe you .44. I know some really good men who are Christians and I know that they would never have any reason to lie about what they saw. They have promised that they have seen large cats years ago in TN.

As for trail cameras, I would not agree that there are thousands of trail cameras in East Tennessee.

Do I believe that there is a huge population in TN? NO. I do believe that anything is possible when you speak of an animal that wanders that much.

I have seen bobcats in the wild with long tails. Some might have called these cats cougars or mountain lions due to the fact that they were mature.

Bigfoot? Nah.... There is no proof that it exists anywhere on the face of this earth.

Cougars? Yes.. They do exist on this Earth. Better yet, they exist in North America. Even better than that, it has been proven that they exist within 400 miles of our state.

Believe what you want. IT HAPPENS.

Ask the Florida biologists, 5 years ago, about how Great White sharks don't exist on the Florida coast. A fisherman and a Navy helicopter filmed a 12-14 ft Great White shark right of the coast here in Jax. I would not have believed had I not seen the video and the news report!

Like..

That's most of us. But a picture "officially" proves nothing in this context, i.e. doesn't identify origin, just identifies a cougar.

there ARE big cats in tennessee. we hear them most everytime we hunt in roane co.

I have no doubt we have some free-ranging mountain lions that have followed the river systems into TN. Florida panthers? No, and Black Panthers? Not unless a circus train wrecked as happened in IL some years ago.

But who cares?

Stik probably hunts near Tiger Haven. They have numerous big cats. One is African lion that was being kept behind a 6' board fence less that 1/4 mile from a school.

I also think these type places are where 99% of the big cat sightings originate from here in TN. somebodys pet that has gotten loose or was abandoned when they could no longer take care of it!

It's possible but escaped big cats have a very short live span, unlike a feral house cat they need more to eat than mice and grasshoppers. To get large game like deer that would fill a big-cats belly it has to hunt. The problem escaped big-cats face is that they never learned to hunt in captivity. As I stated in an earlier post, hunting does not come natural to a tiger, lion, or cougar, it has to be learned. By the time a escaped big-cat figures out how to stalk deer and how to kill them it has starved to death.

Then there is another often overlooked factor. Big cats, as most wild animals, that have grown up around humans will ALWAYS seek to stay close to humans. This means that escaped big-cats sooner or later would be seen near human dwellings.

Exactly my point, they dont live long, which explains why they arent around long enough to be seen often or get their pic taken. I also disagree that they would prey on humans, when Humans have been their master for their entire life. LOL, we can what if all day, but bottom line is, their is no real proof they exist here anyway, which is right on imo!

It's all instinct. You can take the cat out of the wild, but you
can't take the wild out of the cat.