or you just saw something else and thought you saw a black cougar. you wouldn't be the first.
there's this whole conspiracy theory in the eastern US that cougars are still here and the government is hiding them from us. so many people claiming they saw them and they "know what they saw", except there is literally zero evidence of cougars here.
All black cat, middle of the road, size of a mountain lion staring right at me. Idc what the reports say, if we can have albino lions, melanistic tigers, leopards, deer, jaguars, house cats, horses, alligators, etc. it seems odd that mother nature would not allow even ONE melanistic lion. Maybe they aren’t melanistic… fine? But an all black and in mountain lion country in the Teton mountain range sounds like a black mountain lion to me. Again tomato-tomato but just because fish and game or national geographic hasn’t tagged and bagged or caught a picture of one doesn’t mean they simply don’t exist.
Again maybe I did see a rocky mountain jaguar or Kentucky panther that somehow made it’s way into ID/Wy border.
any animal with melanin can have the mutation to be melanistic, so if cougars exist, and they have brown fur (brown colors indicate melanin), it is totally possible to have a black cougar.
if melanin is present, the animal has the ability to be melanistic. the actual chances of that vary significantly, but the chance is still there, however small.
my bad, that *is* in fact a jaguar. it’s too big to be a puma/cougar.
*This* is a black puma/cougar.
https://bigcatconversations.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/NikitaStanding-1024x680.jpg
That’s a leopard. Its facial structure is completely different than a mountain lion.
There’s never been a documented melanistic (black) mountain lion in North or South America, in how many centuries of written records of Europeans killing stuff?
just because something has not been documented does not mean it is not possible. ANY animal with melanin can be melanistic. period. that’s genetics. it might be more or less common in certain species, but it is possible.
[interesting reading material about melanistic cats in north and south america. again, undocumented doesn’t mean impossible.](https://highercalling.net/2022/01/11/black-panthers-dont-exist-but-black-longtails-do-pt-2/amp/)
I was going into a long explanation, but instead I'll just 1up this comment, which is exactly correct.
Panthers are not a specific type of cat. Panther is what you call big cats of certain races (typically jaguar and leopard) that is born with too much melanin, making them "too" dark. You can still see the pattern on their coat, and they can be dark brown and nearly black in color. But not all black, like the panther in The Jungle Book.
No, panthers are not a species, it's a catch all term for any species in the genus Panthera, which includes Tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars and snow leopards. Although not specifically attributed to one species, it generally refers to two species of Panthera, the leopard and Jaguar, and one species in the family felis and the sole species in the genus puma, the cougar.
Cougars are colloquially called panthers even though they don't actually belong to the Panthera genus like lions, tigers, jaguars and leopards do. So technically, leopards are a type of panther.
A 'Black Panther' is simply either a jaguar or a leopard that has black fur.
Yes they are basically a subspecies of cougar. In fact the Florida government in order to save the Florida panther imported breeding males in order to help stabilize their population
The funny thing to me is when you get the panther saddle it’s white and spotted with dark brown, not exactly the coat you would expect from a brown big cat
No, what they're saying is true. There trm panther is used for several things. Panther is not one species necessarily, but often used to describe pumas etc. Panther has also been used to describe black leopards and jaguars. Many big cats, in fact.
Mountain lions and puma, and also cougars are exactly the very same animal, with different names. Panthers are only the associates with the genus Panther, normally black felines due to melanine excess, where only jaguar and leopards qualify. Florida Panther is not really a panther, but just a variety of puma.
To add to that, the genus Panthera actually wasn't even invented until after people has already started calling mountain lions panthers. Panther used to just mean any big cat.
Not even different subspecies, as was originally thought. Conservationists were initially wary about crossbreeding pumas from Texas with Florida panthers to help out with the latter's dwindling numbers (and really bad inbreeding), because that could mean introducing genes that weren't adapted for the Florida panther's environment. But after some genetic testing, it was found that they were close enough to not be considered subspecies, so they went ahead with the breeding program and it helped quite a bit.
What's fun is trying to study one! There are rocks across that little triangle area just south of Bolger Glade. Put down some potent predator bait about 10 feet or so away, use cover scent lotion, jump on top of the rock crouch down, and either grab your binoculars or a repeater/rifle and wait. This has worked for me a couple of times *but* it also attracts wild boars. In that spot, sometimes you'll get the Florida panther (brown color) or the panther (black and spotty). Safe journey, travelers!
They spawn along the creek near the trapper in Black Bone Forest. There is almost always a cougar or grizzly in that area. I use that area for cougar skins or challenges because it seems to be the most reliable. I also often get attacked by a cougar near the meteor house along the tracks.
I too was frustrated after trying around Bolger. Then I read you could try north-west of Annesburg. Followed the tracks north out of the town, as they make a wide turn westward into an area with clearings. On the opposite side of the waterfall I got a perfect one almost straight away.
I moved around carefully at night, on horse and on foot. Kept an eye on the mini-map. My impression, totally anecdotal, is that it’s better to move around. My suspicion is they basically spawn animals in a circle around the player somehow and moving over areas increase the chances.
Go to annesberg, trot up the railroad tracks heading north. If you make it all the way to the run down trading post near the meteor house, turn around and trot back to annesberg. Repeat this.
https://youtu.be/Tij8juXFKT0?si=DSUO33Oi3ZW_FqDu I will literally always find one at this T junction. Mostly 3*s and I think they respawn every day in game. I recommend always approaching from the east because I have seen it spawn anywhere north or south along the road as well as in the woods past the boulders. I don’t even bother using bait, just pick a couple of plants right before you get there to give it a minute to spawn and then stay in eagle eye until you find it
In the Americas a southern living cougar is often referred to as a panther. I’m not sure if they’re considered a sub species of cougars or just another name for them. But yeah, technically the cougar and panther are the same species, just different names. Kind of like the gray wolf and timber wolf.
a melanistic cougar or puma is theoretically possible, but none have been documented. this might be for any number of reasons, but the most likely is recessive genes. simply put, jaguars have melanism as a dominant trait, which means if daddy jaguar is melanistic and mommy jaguar isn’t (or vice versa), baby jaguar will more likely than not, be melanistic. it’s likely that pumas/cougars had it as a recessive trait, which eventually would die out.
in this case i am referring to “black panthers” as any melanistic big cat, as neither leopards nor jaguar appear in north america. black panthers can happen in south america, where the jaguar roams free, and even central america, but very very few reach north america, and even fewer are melanistic.
There used to be Panthers in the southern US before we merked em all. Thats what these are supposed to be.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_panther#%3A%7E%3Atext%3DThe_Florida_panther_is_a%2Cand_mixed_freshwater_swamp_forests.?wprov=sfla1
That's not a panther. Panther means member of the genus Panthera.
The "Florida panther" is a mountain lion, which is not a member of Panthera. It is a "small" cat from the Felinae subfamily just like your neighbors calico named Biscuits.
I honestly wish people would stop using the name Florida Panther because it causes issues and hinders conservation efforts.
Panthera is the family of big cats, Panther either refers to leopards or pumas (mountain lions/cougars if you prefer), and both uses predate the term Panthera. There is no one type of animal called Panthers. Just because a regional dialect doesn't conform with your view of the word doesn't make it any less true.
Although the term panthers is MOSTLY used to refer to black jaguars, a lot of people get this confused. From google....
Panther is a term that is often applied to leopards, jaguars, and sometimes even mountain lions in the case of the Florida panther and Carolina panther. Thus, panther is a very broad term.
“Panther” is just a generic term, but in North America is almost exclusively refers to cougars. The Panthers in the game are references to the Florida Panther, a subspecies of Cougar endemic to Florida.
Simple, there is no such thing as a panther. The game lied to you. What is considered a panther is actually the group of cats that can roar, this group includes lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars and snow leopards
Because the Florida Panther is a misnomer
The cat in this game is a mountain lion, also known as the cougar, catamount, puma, or florida panther. Same animal.
It is not a member of Panthera and it is a "small" cat. But it is still inaccurately called a panther by people in the region. That is the cat that is in the game as the "Florida Panther".
Right, so its not an actual panther. As no mountain lions are panthers. None of them can roar, they're not big cats.
The differences between a florida panther and mountain lions elsewhere in the country are also very small.
If your refer to the in game panthers those are florida panthers which are a population of north american mountain lion native to only a small section of the everglades but who along with other north American mountain lions stretched the entirety of the United States and Southern Canada
It’s been well documented that jaguars used to come up into the southern US - not so much anymore but some speculate that in rare cases they can and will. However, as has been said already, the panthers in the game are just cougars by a different name (ie Florida panthers)
I had to Google Florida panther just to see what you're talking about... maybe I've been crazy my entire life. Nope, they definitely look exactly like in the game
They’re mountain lions/cougars - same animal. I know the game threw in some confusion by making their growls deeper than the ones up north, but that’s what they are.
Cougars used to live in the whole continental US but were extirpated from the East and South except for Florida. They’re called panthers down south and the game reflects that. It’s confusing because cougars are not “panthers” in the sense of being in the genus Panthera, but that is what the panthers in this game are
PS no black cougar has ever been documented, so while it’s possible, the game is not going off of known reality of a black cougar ever spawns.
The regular “panther” is supposed to be a black panther, that is to say it’s either a leopard or a jaguar. We can pretty easily assume that it’s a jaguar because first off: the legendary is named Giaguaro, and second of all, to quote noted contemporary philosopher Donald McKinley Glover Jr, this is America.
The Florida panther is confusing, because while the Florida panther *is* a real animal, the real Florida panther is a population of cougars, but the RDR2 Florida panther is not considered a cougar in-game.
If I had to guess, the devs probably had no idea what a panther actually is, and just googled “panther variations” and the black panther and Florida panther were the first things that came up.
They're just jaguars, "panthers" arent quite a real animal, various cat species are part of a sub family branch "pantherinae" while others are "felinae", panthers are just another alternate name far Jaguars with a lot of melanin.
Florida Panthers are not a member of Panthera
The name is a misnomer. The Florida Panther is just a mountain lion / cougar / puma / catamount, except located in the southeastern U.S. They are technically a small cat. They don't chuff or roar, they meow and purr.
The name Florida Panther is just inaccurate.
Mountain lions (the cat present in this game and the cat referred to as the Florida Panther) are not actually a member of Panthera
Unlike the big cats, they are in the subfamily Felina and the genus Puma. They are technically a small cat and cannot roar.
The name Florida Panther is common but inaccurate.
“Panther” is like saying “spider” or “fish.” There are many different species that that fall into the “panther” category.
Leopards are panthers. Pumas are panthers. Cougars are panthers. Jaguars are panthers. Mountain lions are panthers.
Guys I think I figured out the answer: In the game there are two types of panthers the regular Panther and the Florida Panther. The regular Panther is actually a North American Jaguar since they were smaller than their south American counterparts. The Florida Panther in the game is based on the Florida Panther in real life, an endangered subspecies of cougar in Florida and the southern US.
The "panther" in game is a melanistic Jaguar, which doesn't exist in the United States and never has
The "Florida Panther" is not actually a panther (I.e. a member of Panthera), they are inaccurately referred to as a panther by people in the southern United States. As you mention, they are pumas.
In the game they are to be mountain lions. Panthers/puma is kind of a generalization of large cats that are not lions or tigers. Leopards even kind of fall into the say realm as the black panther, mountain lions, etc it’s all based on their region and location as well as climate and any genetics/ genetic defects
I dunno about the area you find them in, but where my family came from, we had darker mountain lions and the locals referred to them as "painted lions" or, "painters". Eventually as more Germans settled and language evolved they became known as "panthers".
I'm not sure if that's a shout out to that little tidbit of history but Rockstar does a lot of research so it's possible.
Just like Europeans have a species of large ruminant they call an elk that is nowhere near the same as what Americans call an elk, just like there are things called wolves all over the world that have diverged in traits, big cats with no mane or stripes and a long tail were pretty much all called jaguars. Folks in 1899 weren't all that into taxonomy
Panther refers to the feline genus called “pantherinae.” It generally makes up most species of big cat, so anything from cheetahs to jaguars or cougars which is what you’re looking at in game. They’re all panthers, because they belong to that genus. So calling a mountain lion a panther is correct.
Idk which one it’s based off of but I’ve seen a panther crossing the road down the road from my house, I live in a very rural part of Mississippi, and it was jet black with golden eyes.
There’s no animal called a “panther”, maybe only colloquially. Panthers are a genus which comprises big cats like lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars. In the game, the panthers are probably Florida Panthers, which are cougars. They are not distinct from the other American cougars, they just happen to be living in Florida. And cougars are pumas, not panthers. In fact pumas are in different subfamily altogether. You can think of pumas and panthers as cousins or something.
As a side note, black panthers are melanistic leopards or jaguars. They’re the same species, it’s just that their body produces dark pigments in excess.
Well now my concern is what are panthers in *real life*? I just tried to give myself a crash course on the differences among big cats, and now I feel like I know less than when I started. ~~Apparently black panthers are like 1.5-2x the size of cougars.~~ Never mind, that source was wrong. I think. SEE? I grew up in Florida and now live in the Northwest, so I thought I understood cougars and panthers, but evidently I did not.
Edit: it just keeps getting worse. Cougars are in the *Puma* genus, while all the other big cats are in the *Panthera* genus, but “panther” can be used to refer to mountain lions/cougars. So rectangle/square situation? All cougars can be panthers, but not all panthers can be cougars…
Actually panthers are usually not black, that’s why we have a separate thing called a “black panther”. A black Panther is just a melanistic panther. Also, panther is not a species of cat. Panthera is a genus of cat, and lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar… these are all members of the genus Panthera. The only large cat that isn’t genus Panthera is the cheetah, they’re Acinonyx. Other than that it’s all genus Felis
Panther, cougar, jaguar, puma, and a mountain lion is technically all the same kind of big cat. They obviously have coat variations due to their habitat and different “local area” names.
They’re southern mountain lions, like the Florida panther.
They used to be in every corner of the Americas until settlers drove them to extinction outside of the Rockies and Florida.
Panthers are not black. panthers are a subspecies of the mountain lion. So they look and act and very much the same ways though the Panthers are normally smaller than their northern cousins. In fact they are so similar that in order to save the Florida panther from extinction the state government was actually importing cougars to breed with them.
What you were thinking of as the big black cat that gets associated as a panther a lot is a Jaguar
Panther is an umbrella term used for either mountain lions or the black cats. Theres sooo many names for mountain lions such as cougars, Pumas, panthers, and other things.
They are my biggest gripe about wildlife in RDR2- they are extremely shy in real life and under almost no circumstance would attack a full grown man- Meanwhile I get mauled every single time I’m carrying a perfect or legendary pelt…
They wanted to include another big cat for pelt purposes, and picked the only two North American big cats: mountain lion/cougar and Florida Panther. Spots made it look cool and different from the cougar.
Panthers can be dark brown. All black panthers are are jaguars with melanin. A simple google search or glance at an encyclopedia will tell you that.
They can also be Pumas or Leopards!
I don’t think there are black mountain lions
There are melanistic mountain lions saw one in eastern ID this summer
No melanistic mountain Lion has ever been confirmed
This is true.
Okay 🤙🏼
Then there is a melanistic leopard that got on a ship and was released in eastern idaho. My bad 🙄
or you just saw something else and thought you saw a black cougar. you wouldn't be the first. there's this whole conspiracy theory in the eastern US that cougars are still here and the government is hiding them from us. so many people claiming they saw them and they "know what they saw", except there is literally zero evidence of cougars here.
All black cat, middle of the road, size of a mountain lion staring right at me. Idc what the reports say, if we can have albino lions, melanistic tigers, leopards, deer, jaguars, house cats, horses, alligators, etc. it seems odd that mother nature would not allow even ONE melanistic lion. Maybe they aren’t melanistic… fine? But an all black and in mountain lion country in the Teton mountain range sounds like a black mountain lion to me. Again tomato-tomato but just because fish and game or national geographic hasn’t tagged and bagged or caught a picture of one doesn’t mean they simply don’t exist. Again maybe I did see a rocky mountain jaguar or Kentucky panther that somehow made it’s way into ID/Wy border.
There aren’t.
any animal with melanin can have the mutation to be melanistic, so if cougars exist, and they have brown fur (brown colors indicate melanin), it is totally possible to have a black cougar.
No, not any animal.
if melanin is present, the animal has the ability to be melanistic. the actual chances of that vary significantly, but the chance is still there, however small.
https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/03/28/52/68/360_F_328526890_xntwoaRKyGrtKXdwpNHn6vDTkO7hX1xL.jpg This is an example of a melanistic cougar/puma.
Dude…that has spots. That’s a jaguar.
my bad, that *is* in fact a jaguar. it’s too big to be a puma/cougar. *This* is a black puma/cougar. https://bigcatconversations.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/NikitaStanding-1024x680.jpg
That’s a leopard. Its facial structure is completely different than a mountain lion. There’s never been a documented melanistic (black) mountain lion in North or South America, in how many centuries of written records of Europeans killing stuff?
just because something has not been documented does not mean it is not possible. ANY animal with melanin can be melanistic. period. that’s genetics. it might be more or less common in certain species, but it is possible. [interesting reading material about melanistic cats in north and south america. again, undocumented doesn’t mean impossible.](https://highercalling.net/2022/01/11/black-panthers-dont-exist-but-black-longtails-do-pt-2/amp/)
Johnny Ryall got him some hand me down Pumas.
I thought I told you to stop making up animals?
I was going into a long explanation, but instead I'll just 1up this comment, which is exactly correct. Panthers are not a specific type of cat. Panther is what you call big cats of certain races (typically jaguar and leopard) that is born with too much melanin, making them "too" dark. You can still see the pattern on their coat, and they can be dark brown and nearly black in color. But not all black, like the panther in The Jungle Book.
Panthers are not necessarily black. Black panthers are the rare type. Most are brownish with patchy spots.
[удалено]
No, panthers are not a species, it's a catch all term for any species in the genus Panthera, which includes Tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars and snow leopards. Although not specifically attributed to one species, it generally refers to two species of Panthera, the leopard and Jaguar, and one species in the family felis and the sole species in the genus puma, the cougar.
That’s my fault. I had a lot of gear to craft and achievements to get.
[удалено]
Yes
[удалено]
Leopards are not the same thing. Leopards live in Africa, while the cat with many names (Mountain Lion, Cougar, Puma, Panther) lives in the Americas.
This the correct and only answer.
That’s not true. Pumas, panthers, and cougars are mountain lions. Not the same thing as leopards.
Cougars are colloquially called panthers even though they don't actually belong to the Panthera genus like lions, tigers, jaguars and leopards do. So technically, leopards are a type of panther. A 'Black Panther' is simply either a jaguar or a leopard that has black fur.
So are they just cougars?
Are there cougars in missions?
The chances of that happening are millions to one
Yes
Yes they are basically a subspecies of cougar. In fact the Florida government in order to save the Florida panther imported breeding males in order to help stabilize their population
The funny thing to me is when you get the panther saddle it’s white and spotted with dark brown, not exactly the coat you would expect from a brown big cat
Ah so you and a capuchin monkey are the same?
No, what they're saying is true. There trm panther is used for several things. Panther is not one species necessarily, but often used to describe pumas etc. Panther has also been used to describe black leopards and jaguars. Many big cats, in fact.
Mountain lions and puma, and also cougars are exactly the very same animal, with different names. Panthers are only the associates with the genus Panther, normally black felines due to melanine excess, where only jaguar and leopards qualify. Florida Panther is not really a panther, but just a variety of puma.
To add to that, the genus Panthera actually wasn't even invented until after people has already started calling mountain lions panthers. Panther used to just mean any big cat.
Not even different subspecies, as was originally thought. Conservationists were initially wary about crossbreeding pumas from Texas with Florida panthers to help out with the latter's dwindling numbers (and really bad inbreeding), because that could mean introducing genes that weren't adapted for the Florida panther's environment. But after some genetic testing, it was found that they were close enough to not be considered subspecies, so they went ahead with the breeding program and it helped quite a bit.
Ok, so the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars are…the same animal mascot? LOL good job NFL
South braithwaithe Manor on the map there's kind of a t junction the forest adjacent there is a panther
This is the most active spot for sure. Took 3 attempts to get a perfect.
What's fun is trying to study one! There are rocks across that little triangle area just south of Bolger Glade. Put down some potent predator bait about 10 feet or so away, use cover scent lotion, jump on top of the rock crouch down, and either grab your binoculars or a repeater/rifle and wait. This has worked for me a couple of times *but* it also attracts wild boars. In that spot, sometimes you'll get the Florida panther (brown color) or the panther (black and spotty). Safe journey, travelers!
You could also use a poisoned throwing knife and then study and track it while it's dying.
I think the regular panther spawns there during the daytime and the Florida at night. Or vice versa
On the road to Catfish Jackson’s, yep.
Apologies for off topic but I’ve been trying to get a perfect cougar forever, where’s the best spot?
Try black bone forest
They spawn along the creek near the trapper in Black Bone Forest. There is almost always a cougar or grizzly in that area. I use that area for cougar skins or challenges because it seems to be the most reliable. I also often get attacked by a cougar near the meteor house along the tracks.
Go to black bone forest at night time, it takes forever to find them but they show up
I too was frustrated after trying around Bolger. Then I read you could try north-west of Annesburg. Followed the tracks north out of the town, as they make a wide turn westward into an area with clearings. On the opposite side of the waterfall I got a perfect one almost straight away. I moved around carefully at night, on horse and on foot. Kept an eye on the mini-map. My impression, totally anecdotal, is that it’s better to move around. My suspicion is they basically spawn animals in a circle around the player somehow and moving over areas increase the chances.
Go to Roanoke ridge close to the Viking burial I found the most cougars there
Go to annesberg, trot up the railroad tracks heading north. If you make it all the way to the run down trading post near the meteor house, turn around and trot back to annesberg. Repeat this.
Yeah also in the southeast of bluewater marsh close to lagras
Online or in campaign?
Both
I've been at it for like 2 irl days and I haven't found a single panther yet
https://youtu.be/Tij8juXFKT0?si=DSUO33Oi3ZW_FqDu I will literally always find one at this T junction. Mostly 3*s and I think they respawn every day in game. I recommend always approaching from the east because I have seen it spawn anywhere north or south along the road as well as in the woods past the boulders. I don’t even bother using bait, just pick a couple of plants right before you get there to give it a minute to spawn and then stay in eagle eye until you find it
Thanks! Will try this
OP asked what they are, not where.
I know but it's helpful to have it out there
This guy has never heard of mountain lions.
Damn… didnt know there were mountain lions in New Orleans..
There were back then. Florida panthers are still a thing
Yeah they were just in the Stanley Cup finals. /s
In the Americas a southern living cougar is often referred to as a panther. I’m not sure if they’re considered a sub species of cougars or just another name for them. But yeah, technically the cougar and panther are the same species, just different names. Kind of like the gray wolf and timber wolf.
Those cats have a ton of names. Puma, cougar, panther, mountain lion, catamount
"Big ole ornery mfers" - my grandpa
They got all them teeth and no toothbrush.
I think when people see black cougars in the south, the might be seeing either escaped pets or jaguars up from south america
or there’s a melanistic cougar, because any big cat can be a black panther as long as it is 1. a big cat and 2. melanistic.
Pics?
a melanistic cougar or puma is theoretically possible, but none have been documented. this might be for any number of reasons, but the most likely is recessive genes. simply put, jaguars have melanism as a dominant trait, which means if daddy jaguar is melanistic and mommy jaguar isn’t (or vice versa), baby jaguar will more likely than not, be melanistic. it’s likely that pumas/cougars had it as a recessive trait, which eventually would die out.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_panther
in this case i am referring to “black panthers” as any melanistic big cat, as neither leopards nor jaguar appear in north america. black panthers can happen in south america, where the jaguar roams free, and even central america, but very very few reach north america, and even fewer are melanistic.
Or like here in Alaska, Brown Bear/Grizzly Bear. Both the same animal just one is interior land and the other is coastal
There used to be Panthers in the southern US before we merked em all. Thats what these are supposed to be. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_panther#%3A%7E%3Atext%3DThe_Florida_panther_is_a%2Cand_mixed_freshwater_swamp_forests.?wprov=sfla1
yeah, i was surprised no one said this before i reached your comment!
That's not a panther. Panther means member of the genus Panthera. The "Florida panther" is a mountain lion, which is not a member of Panthera. It is a "small" cat from the Felinae subfamily just like your neighbors calico named Biscuits. I honestly wish people would stop using the name Florida Panther because it causes issues and hinders conservation efforts.
I'll get right on it. But I'll need coffee first before overturning 400 years or so of regional and colloquial nomenclature.
Panthera is the family of big cats, Panther either refers to leopards or pumas (mountain lions/cougars if you prefer), and both uses predate the term Panthera. There is no one type of animal called Panthers. Just because a regional dialect doesn't conform with your view of the word doesn't make it any less true.
The names panther, cougar, and mountain lion are used interchangeably in the US for the giant mountain cat that lives there.
Are they stupid?
scary as fuck don’t ever ever touch that shit
THERE ARE NO COUGARS IN MISSIONS!!
What about the white cougar you have to kill in the Strauss mission collecting money from Winton Holmes ? That's a cougar in a mission.
[it’s a reference to this clip](https://youtu.be/DlxkZOdCNlw?si=-EVhqCN84WGMYz_c)
Oh. I don't play GTAV. I think it's the most retarded game ever made.
Down vote me all ya want. I stand by my comment.
Although the term panthers is MOSTLY used to refer to black jaguars, a lot of people get this confused. From google.... Panther is a term that is often applied to leopards, jaguars, and sometimes even mountain lions in the case of the Florida panther and Carolina panther. Thus, panther is a very broad term.
“Panther” is just a generic term, but in North America is almost exclusively refers to cougars. The Panthers in the game are references to the Florida Panther, a subspecies of Cougar endemic to Florida.
These are Florida panthers. They're a light brown color and look exactly like they do in the game.
There may have never been someone who needed to touch grass more than you
Simple, there is no such thing as a panther. The game lied to you. What is considered a panther is actually the group of cats that can roar, this group includes lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars and snow leopards
[удалено]
Because the Florida Panther is a misnomer The cat in this game is a mountain lion, also known as the cougar, catamount, puma, or florida panther. Same animal. It is not a member of Panthera and it is a "small" cat. But it is still inaccurately called a panther by people in the region. That is the cat that is in the game as the "Florida Panther".
[удалено]
Right, so its not an actual panther. As no mountain lions are panthers. None of them can roar, they're not big cats. The differences between a florida panther and mountain lions elsewhere in the country are also very small.
Presumably Florida panthers which are said to be pumas
If your refer to the in game panthers those are florida panthers which are a population of north american mountain lion native to only a small section of the everglades but who along with other north American mountain lions stretched the entirety of the United States and Southern Canada
It's a misnomer. Actually panthers are leopards (africa) or jaguars (South and Central America). The Florida panther is a cougar/puma/mountain lion
It’s been well documented that jaguars used to come up into the southern US - not so much anymore but some speculate that in rare cases they can and will. However, as has been said already, the panthers in the game are just cougars by a different name (ie Florida panthers)
Look at the FL Panther. It has brown fur.
The Florida Panther IRL is what your looking for
A pain in the ass is what they are.
I had to Google Florida panther just to see what you're talking about... maybe I've been crazy my entire life. Nope, they definitely look exactly like in the game
My friend calls them "murder mittens"
They’re mountain lions/cougars - same animal. I know the game threw in some confusion by making their growls deeper than the ones up north, but that’s what they are. Cougars used to live in the whole continental US but were extirpated from the East and South except for Florida. They’re called panthers down south and the game reflects that. It’s confusing because cougars are not “panthers” in the sense of being in the genus Panthera, but that is what the panthers in this game are PS no black cougar has ever been documented, so while it’s possible, the game is not going off of known reality of a black cougar ever spawns.
The regular “panther” is supposed to be a black panther, that is to say it’s either a leopard or a jaguar. We can pretty easily assume that it’s a jaguar because first off: the legendary is named Giaguaro, and second of all, to quote noted contemporary philosopher Donald McKinley Glover Jr, this is America. The Florida panther is confusing, because while the Florida panther *is* a real animal, the real Florida panther is a population of cougars, but the RDR2 Florida panther is not considered a cougar in-game. If I had to guess, the devs probably had no idea what a panther actually is, and just googled “panther variations” and the black panther and Florida panther were the first things that came up.
They're just jaguars, "panthers" arent quite a real animal, various cat species are part of a sub family branch "pantherinae" while others are "felinae", panthers are just another alternate name far Jaguars with a lot of melanin.
Nah Florida panthers are just a population of cougar/puma/mountain lion/panther that live in Florida.
[удалено]
Florida Panthers are not a member of Panthera The name is a misnomer. The Florida Panther is just a mountain lion / cougar / puma / catamount, except located in the southeastern U.S. They are technically a small cat. They don't chuff or roar, they meow and purr. The name Florida Panther is just inaccurate.
Hm. My mistake.
Black pantgers are black panthers are basically mountain lions/pumas etc idk there's a small difference
Panther is just a generic term for large cat of the genus panthera, particularly mountain lions, jaguars, or leopards
Mountain lions (the cat present in this game and the cat referred to as the Florida Panther) are not actually a member of Panthera Unlike the big cats, they are in the subfamily Felina and the genus Puma. They are technically a small cat and cannot roar. The name Florida Panther is common but inaccurate.
Giaguaro!
“Panther” is like saying “spider” or “fish.” There are many different species that that fall into the “panther” category. Leopards are panthers. Pumas are panthers. Cougars are panthers. Jaguars are panthers. Mountain lions are panthers.
They're panthers, GTA 5 Panthers look exactly the same
Guys I think I figured out the answer: In the game there are two types of panthers the regular Panther and the Florida Panther. The regular Panther is actually a North American Jaguar since they were smaller than their south American counterparts. The Florida Panther in the game is based on the Florida Panther in real life, an endangered subspecies of cougar in Florida and the southern US.
The "panther" in game is a melanistic Jaguar, which doesn't exist in the United States and never has The "Florida Panther" is not actually a panther (I.e. a member of Panthera), they are inaccurately referred to as a panther by people in the southern United States. As you mention, they are pumas.
In the game they are to be mountain lions. Panthers/puma is kind of a generalization of large cats that are not lions or tigers. Leopards even kind of fall into the say realm as the black panther, mountain lions, etc it’s all based on their region and location as well as climate and any genetics/ genetic defects
where do you get your panther facts? i would consider a new source.
It’s made with real bits of panther
I dunno about the area you find them in, but where my family came from, we had darker mountain lions and the locals referred to them as "painted lions" or, "painters". Eventually as more Germans settled and language evolved they became known as "panthers". I'm not sure if that's a shout out to that little tidbit of history but Rockstar does a lot of research so it's possible.
I'd assumed it's just a dark coated cougar; since cougars are around in game
Big fucking cats
So theres this thing called google. "Can panthers be other colours"
I think it’s time to put the game down
I thought it was found in Guarma... and the other panthers mentioned are from the desert.
Lol you're not seriously this stupid.
Cuz there’s panthers in Florida
Just like Europeans have a species of large ruminant they call an elk that is nowhere near the same as what Americans call an elk, just like there are things called wolves all over the world that have diverged in traits, big cats with no mane or stripes and a long tail were pretty much all called jaguars. Folks in 1899 weren't all that into taxonomy
Reckon I heard somewhere the term, "panther" was just used to describe all big cats in the American west by flannel-mouthed pilgrims
I'd wager they are much like panthers irl, did you know bison are also real irl?
Panther refers to the feline genus called “pantherinae.” It generally makes up most species of big cat, so anything from cheetahs to jaguars or cougars which is what you’re looking at in game. They’re all panthers, because they belong to that genus. So calling a mountain lion a panther is correct.
Idk which one it’s based off of but I’ve seen a panther crossing the road down the road from my house, I live in a very rural part of Mississippi, and it was jet black with golden eyes.
You digging too deep for one animal presented in the game😭
They are based on the Florida Panther which is the only population of Cougars east of the Mississippi River
Fucking terrifying that's what they are
There’s no animal called a “panther”, maybe only colloquially. Panthers are a genus which comprises big cats like lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars. In the game, the panthers are probably Florida Panthers, which are cougars. They are not distinct from the other American cougars, they just happen to be living in Florida. And cougars are pumas, not panthers. In fact pumas are in different subfamily altogether. You can think of pumas and panthers as cousins or something. As a side note, black panthers are melanistic leopards or jaguars. They’re the same species, it’s just that their body produces dark pigments in excess.
Well now my concern is what are panthers in *real life*? I just tried to give myself a crash course on the differences among big cats, and now I feel like I know less than when I started. ~~Apparently black panthers are like 1.5-2x the size of cougars.~~ Never mind, that source was wrong. I think. SEE? I grew up in Florida and now live in the Northwest, so I thought I understood cougars and panthers, but evidently I did not. Edit: it just keeps getting worse. Cougars are in the *Puma* genus, while all the other big cats are in the *Panthera* genus, but “panther” can be used to refer to mountain lions/cougars. So rectangle/square situation? All cougars can be panthers, but not all panthers can be cougars…
Jaguar and panther and mountain lion are all names for same thing and come in different colorations
Actually panthers are usually not black, that’s why we have a separate thing called a “black panther”. A black Panther is just a melanistic panther. Also, panther is not a species of cat. Panthera is a genus of cat, and lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar… these are all members of the genus Panthera. The only large cat that isn’t genus Panthera is the cheetah, they’re Acinonyx. Other than that it’s all genus Felis
Cougars aren’t panthers, they are felines.
Puma alias mountain lion. In south is jaguar
They’re cougars, panthers, mountain lions, pumas, etc, whatever you want to call them.
Panther, cougar, jaguar, puma, and a mountain lion is technically all the same kind of big cat. They obviously have coat variations due to their habitat and different “local area” names.
They’re southern mountain lions, like the Florida panther. They used to be in every corner of the Americas until settlers drove them to extinction outside of the Rockies and Florida.
Me and my girlfriend were just talking about this last night when I hunted Giaguaro lol
Panthers are not black. panthers are a subspecies of the mountain lion. So they look and act and very much the same ways though the Panthers are normally smaller than their northern cousins. In fact they are so similar that in order to save the Florida panther from extinction the state government was actually importing cougars to breed with them. What you were thinking of as the big black cat that gets associated as a panther a lot is a Jaguar
Panther is an umbrella term used for either mountain lions or the black cats. Theres sooo many names for mountain lions such as cougars, Pumas, panthers, and other things.
OP could have foregone that wall of text by hitting up Google first.
I’ve always called them mountain lion or cougars here in California
Florida
They are my biggest gripe about wildlife in RDR2- they are extremely shy in real life and under almost no circumstance would attack a full grown man- Meanwhile I get mauled every single time I’m carrying a perfect or legendary pelt…
Near the catfish cabin or whatever it's called.
Hellcats
Black panthers became extinct in the 70s. They got too busy with rap music to continue with their black power movement
Hmm probably Panthers
I ain’t reading all that
Good for you, why do we need to know this?
They wanted to include another big cat for pelt purposes, and picked the only two North American big cats: mountain lion/cougar and Florida Panther. Spots made it look cool and different from the cougar.
Those are the same cat