Buzz on Hunter's Green panther turns to roar

Though a trapper finds no evidence of a Florida panther or escaped cougar, more residents say they have seen it and parents continue to keep their children inside.

By DAVID PEDREIRA

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 5, 2000

HUNTER'S GREEN -- The legend of the Hunter's Green panther continues to grow, but the trapper charged with snaring the elusive beast remains a skeptic.

While at least two more sightings of a large cat roaming near the community's golf course have stirred residents anew this week, no one has come up with any clear evidence that the animal is a wild Florida panther or escaped cougar.

There are no tracks and no photographic evidence, said Vernon Yates, a Seminole-based trapper who agreed to try to catch the phantom cat at no charge to the community.

A rooster Yates put in a trap out in the woods more than a week ago to lure the big cat is still crowing away every morning. If a panther were lose, Yates thinks the bird would be in its stomach by now.

"If he was a wild cat, he would shred that trap," Yates said. "There's just no hard-core evidence right now."

A lack of proof hasn't stopped the panther buzz running through Hunter's Green.

Many residents are still keeping their children indoors as new sightings get traded from community to community.

Saturday, another resident of tony Heritage Oaks saw a large cat near a pond on the Hunter's Green golf course. Later in the week, another sighting allegedly occurred at the Vinings apartment complex.

Every time the cat is seen, Yates said, it grows in size and menace. One resident swore the animal topped out at 180 pounds.

"It's getting bigger," said Yates, who runs Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation. "But so far, we've only caught a possum."

Ann Johnson, manager of the Hunter's Green Community Association, said all the people who reported seeing the animal are credible witnesses. The association has told all its residents to stay alert, she said.

"Some people think it's a panther, some people think it's a cougar," Johnson said. "For the most part, people are anxious for us to get the cat contained."

The Florida panther, or Felis concolor, is one of the most endangered large cats in the world. It is a relative of the western mountain lion.

Panthers, also known as cougars, mountain lions or pumas, usually don't roam north of Highlands County.

State wildlife officials have visited Hunter's Green several times in the last few weeks to look for traces of the big beast.

"We still haven't verified what it is," said Mike Cundiff, a wildlife officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Yates believes the animal is either a bobcat or a jaguarundi, a south American cat introduced to Florida in the 1940s. He plans to pull up his traps by the end of the weekend if the animal doesn't appear again.

"If someone had a picture of it today, it would be a different story," Yates said.

-- David Pedreira can be reached at (813) 226-3463 or pedreira@sptimes.com.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.