This is kind of cool news from my current neck of the woods. A black Florida panther. Except it's not--it's a bobcat. Is it a species, or a mutation? One suspects the latter or there'd be a lot more of them.

If it weighs only 20 pounds, methinks it is simply a black cat named Bob.

I had a gal pal in Fellsmere in the 1970's who had a wildlife sanctuary near the canals. She had Bobcats, leopards, cougers and even some baby lions for a while. She said in the evenings when her cats would scream out, there would be answering screams from the wilderness out in the everglades.

> Is it a species, or a mutation?

More likely it's simply a color phase, although the distinction is somewhat is imprecise. (Every characteristic is a mutation, if you go back far enough.)

As big as a black Labrador but only weighs 20 pounds?? That's the weight of a Maine Coon cat which can actually get up to 25 pounds. That's a skinny kitty!

Looks a lot like my black Kitty. Yes, that's her name--nobody in the family wanted to give her a real name. She isn't 10 pounds, but she's not a year old yet.

OT: Gee, I pick the wrong URL from the list and MS isn't allowed as a domain! That's one way to realize I've made a mistake. LOL!

It does look like more of a large kitty cat rather than a Bob. Wish they had a picture of it standing up.

Found some more pics from another site. Looks like they doctored the pics that you posted.

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-chat/1887921/posts

Looks bigger than a bobcat to me. I got a pretty good look before it dashed off the website. I'd say it's as big as a horse. Ok, a pony.

A vicious killer pony with..sharp...pointy...teeth..*rawr*

At the risk of sounding like a weed-worshipping, tree-hugging, save the whales type...

That's one gorgeous animal.

The news photos aren't doctored, merely underexposed. I wonder if wptv has an anti-photoshopping policy that prevents them from making brightness adjustments.

Don't see tufted ears or outsized paws. Teeth are still white so it's surely young.

Felines are certainly charismatic. Ever met a semi-domesticated lynx? Charming animals.

I wonder if the color phase might be due to interbreeding at some point with a domestic cat. This kind of cross-species breeding is difficult but not impossible for many small cat species. Some wild-domestic mixes have become trendy, if controversial, pets.

Someone on the Freep thread Dennis linked, suggests it could be a jaguarundi, but as I understand those cats have a small head by proportion to the body, and smallish, more rounded ears.

Looking at the pictures I can certainly see how someone might think it's a bobcat, but my vote goes to it being a black Maine coon cat. The long muzzle seems more like that than a bobcat.

Not that I'm an expert, of course.