A photo posted to the Backroads of Arkansas Facebook page allegedly shows a panther at Toad Suck Dam. Arkansans are wondering what this animal really is.
Does Arkansas really have panthers (also called mountain lines, cougars, and pumas)? And if so, does this picture show one?
We showed the picture to Trey Reid of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. He doesn't normally like speculating about blurry photos, but he tells us this picture has a contradiction in it.
"You know, it's very hard to tell a lot of the times from a photograph, but I can say pretty conclusively," said Reid, "...that's not a mountain lion in that photo. Number one, because it's black."
The reason for that?
No one has ever documented a true panther with black fur. The animals called "black panthers" are actually black leopards in the old world. Here in the new world, they are black jaguars.
So, could it be a black jaguar?
That's a "no," according to the IUCN, the global organization that tracks endangered species. The group's scientists say there are no permanent jaguar populations in the U.S.
Sometimes, jaguars are found in Arizona and New Mexico. But the IUCN says those are stragglers, not marked on the map, because they traveled North from the forests of northwest Mexico.
Reid also calls attention to part of the Facebook post that alleges Game and Fish denies any big cats exist in Arkansas.
In fact, Game and Fish confirmed a mountain lion sighting just last year. A camera caught a cougar near Mammoth Spring in January of 2018. You'll notice, it has light-colored fur.
This one was the 14th puma confirmed in Arkansas since 2010.
If you have something you would like us to verify, please email us at verify@thv11.com.