In Search of the Carolina Panther
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| Mountain Lion |
For as long as I can remember, I have heard tales of people seeing
panthers, mountain lions, puma. Felis concolor cougar Also known as Puma concolor cougar. Whatever you choose to call it. I have listened to detailed
accounts of individuals who "swear" they saw a large cat (sometimes black) cross
the road near their house. Or "while feeding the cows, I saw it sneak out
of the woods and slip back in."
I have heard tales of skilled hunters sitting in deer stands who
were so captivated by the sight of the large cat, it never dawned on them to
raise their rifle and shoot. And I have listened to sworn testimony of people
who "will go to my grave knowing what I saw."
All the while, the evidence says the opposite.
Anytime you delve into a subject as emotional as this topic, you
do so at your own risk. There will be those who will call you names regardless of what side you end on. And you will get support and hate mail from all who care to enter the debate. That being the case, here I go - head first into the discussion.
The Carolina Panther existed for hundreds of years in the region
of the Carolina's. At the
time of European settlement, the large cat was one of the widest distributed
species in North America. As John Garton, South Carolina Wildlife Fund Board Member Emeritus says in a report he issued in 2003. “Today, the only known reproducing
population of cougars in the eastern US occur in south Florida in the Everglades
and Big Cypress Swamp.”
Garton goes on to say, “Cougars were eliminated from our
state, as they were throughout much of the eastern US, for a combination of
reasons including: a) loss of much of the forest and deer herd during the heavy
agricultural activity of the late 1800's and b) the cougar's habit of
substituting livestock for wild prey items (in the latter cases, stock owners
typically took direct and terminal action against the cougars). Today there are
no wild reproducing populations of cougars in South Carolina.”
South Carolina does have exotic pet owners and occasionally one of these 'pets' escapes. Currently the state does not keep records of exotic
pet owners. No one really knows how many of the exotic pet owners actually have
mountain lions, jaguars, pumas, or other large cats in their possession. But as of January 1, 2017, it became illegal for individuals to own
any large cat – defined as lion, tiger, leopard, mountain lion, jaguar, cheetah
or any combination of these. Current owners can keep their pets until it dies
but cannot get new ones.
Having said all of this, here is my personal view on the subject. I know that on an emotional subject as this, the last thing they want
are the facts. They just want someone to agree with them and let them know they
are not insane. However, the facts should be presented.
So, here are some facts.
In South Carolina there are 124,589 registered hunters based on license
sales (2016). There are also 14,408 non-resident hunters in SC.
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| Florida Panther |
This translates to roughly 138,997 hunters who actively pursue big game
across all of South Carolina. These hunters spent 2,058,112 man-days afield. These same hunters also own an average of 5.4* game cameras each, of
which approximately 4 are actively in the field year around to monitor game activity. This
translates to roughly 750,000 cameras monitoring the entire state 24/7/365.
Add to this the average of fifteen days per hunter afield and the math is
quickly getting out of hand.
Now let’s look at the miles of roadways across this state. According to
the SCDOT, there are 41,500 miles of roads in SC. And approximately that many miles
of county roads.
What does all this mean?
It means, there has never been a verifiable picture of a cougar taken in South
Carolina. Not with a game camera or a hand-held camera.
It means that with millions of man days afield each year,
no one has any verifiable proof of the existence of a cougar. No hunter has
ever shot one.
It means that with almost 100,000 miles of roads across this state, not
one wild large cat has ever been hit and killed by a vehicle in South Carolina.
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| Florida Panther killed on road |
If the cats existed, why hasn’t someone somewhere gotten a picture, hit
one with a truck or shot one? The odds of a cougar getting past all those
cameras, road crossings, and hunters is so slim that it defies logic. The math
and the science agree.
As a professional trapper and outdoor writer, I spend over 250 days a
year afield. I am in the woods all the time. Eight hours a day almost every
day. During all this time, I have logged tens of thousands of miles across this
state, and I have personally never seen a verifiable large cat track, animal,
or any resemblance of any such animal.
Does that mean that its not possible for some to have gotten by me? No,
it does not. But what it does do, is put opportunity into perspective.
Most hunters hunt less than ten days a year and spend a total of 15-20
days a year scouting, land management and hunting. Comparatively, the amount of
time spent in the field compared to the number of sightings are – well – hard to
justify.
I do believe that many people have convinced themselves they have seen
a large cat roaming the woods near their back forty, or crossed the road in front of them in the wee hours of the morning. However, considering the
evidence, the science and math, I must strongly disagree.
There are no wild cougars in South Carolina.
