I consider myself a professional wildlife person, but I don't have a degree in biology or a government job that allows me to officially document a species verified range. Historically, it is officially verified that jaguars ranged across the southern US. Jaguars have been videoed and killed in southern New Mexico with increasing frequency.
I didn't get a good enough look at what I saw last year to say what it was, and I was entirely sober.
Having a degree in biology or even a government job does not make you more knowledgeable than a person with more real time experience in the woods. The fact of the matter is is that it makes you less knowledgeable, because you think you know what you do not know due to your piece of paper that means jack number 2.
I have schooled state employed biologist endlessly. Latest was the one that did not know that there are two species of snapping turtle in east texas. And they should have known especially because of the position that are employed in.
What any old timer, that was in the woods as a kid in the 1920s says is worth a hell of a lot more to me than some nut stain with a worthless piece of paper saying she is an official wildlife person. Not saying that is you or anybody, but just saying.
There ain't no need to go getting all crazy with hating on wildlife biologists with "a worthless piece of paper." To me it means a lot. It doesn't make me any smarter than anyone else it just shows that I put the time and effort into getting it. Which now that I graduated makes me wonder why I put that much time into it, but that's another story. The reason I say that I don't think they exist down here in TEXAS is because I have never seen them, nor has any "Professional" that I know personally. I have heard of MANY people say that they MIGHT have seen one, just like your encounter with them. I just go off of the time I have spent on ranches all over south Texas, but I also go off of what well known cat specialists (people that have spent their ENTIRE life studying cats) say. Like I said if I saw one I would be one the "those" people that everyone else thought was nuts, but I have to see it with my own eyes first. And I do agree there are A LOT of people that come out of school with the "know it all attitude." No one knows it all about anything, there are new things being learned everyday!!!
that piece of paper only means a person spent a lot of money and bought that paper, not earned it in most cases. you in paticular might have legitametly earned your degree, but nowdays that bought degree means a person can be in charge of people who actually know what they are doing.
now as for the black panthers in texas. i would agree that they are in east texas. i was raised in east tx and 1 night was walking to my dads house and heard a cat scream. put the headlight on, grabbed the 10ga. with a few extra shells and a .45 as back up. walked into the woods in the area where i heard the scream and saw a set of big yellow eyes. eased a lil closer, confirmed it was not a deer or our dog, could see its shape but not exactly what it was. i took aim and squeezed the trigger. when the smole cleared, i heard a scream from in the trees and looked up in a tree and there it was. no blood where i shot and no blood in the tree after the cat ran off. every now and then i hope to get a shot at it in the daytime.
