Message #312888

[wolfpen]

I understand the skepticism due to the human nature of people often being dishonest, and the lack of publicly available evidence.

Consider the cases of the Okapi and mountain gorilla in Africa.  The locals where the large mammals lived had known of their existence and told tale of them.  Outsiders, including government officials of their own countries, dismissed the oral record as nonsensical mythology.  Today both the existences of the okapi and mountain gorillas are verified, and specimens are even living in zoos.

Jaguars are an already discovered creature, and have been known to reside in these regions, and they are becoming more visible in Arizona and New Mexico in recent years for whatever reasons.  So it is more probable that jaguars still exist in Texas than the okapi and mountain gorilla that were only wive's tales or wise tales to people who were not intimate with the land.

I for one do not doubt those who are intimate with the thick, diverse forest of Southeast Texas, who I and others know to be credible.  The creatures are illusive, and rarely seen, but they have been seen, and even photographed.

Perhaps it is best that these secretive creatures remain a secret than only the wise believe.

I don't have a high regard for the average human beings integrity and potential for honesty, but I know that there are people who are honest and no reason to make this sightings up.  There are many reputable and trustworthy people who have seen large black/dark colored cats.  There are also photographs, the ones that I have seen were not substantial due to scale, night time, and the image quality not being of high quality.