Texas man's photo of 'black panther' creates buzz. Wildlife experts say it's not possible

Panthers in Texas? One local man in Huntsville says it's true.

Jerel Hall, who lives in the city about 70 miles north of Houston, snapped a photo that has prompted a barrage of questions on social media and follow-up articles in national news outlets. The grainy photo, posted to Facebook on Saturday, appears to show a dark-colored feline that's larger than a house cat and has a long tail.

"Well we have officially spotted a panther on our property!" Hall wrote on the post.

While Hall did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for a comment on Wednesday, he told the Houston Chronicle that the photo was taken from around 120 to 150 yards away and that he estimates the animal to be between 80 and 100 pounds.

"Growing up, I've heard screams like a lady before but typically those are bobcats or lynx," Hall told the newspaper, adding that he previously saw a black panther nine years ago, chasing a herd of feral hogs.

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Wildlife officials say there's 'no such thing' as black mountain lions

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is debunking Hall's claim, saying that there is "no such thing" as a black mountain lion, officially known as the Puma concolor species. The species has many different common names, including puma, cougar, or panther.

However, the department's mammal specialist told USA TODAY that melanistic (dark-skinned) jaguars and leopards do exist, "but of course neither of those are in Texas."

"To note though, there can also be melanistic bobcats. Jaguarundis, like jaguars, have not been confirmed in Texas for many decades," said Dana Karelus, adding that the last documented jaguar in Texas was in 1948.

Karelus believes the animal in the photo to be a house cat. The officer said that it is hard to confirm the animal's species given the image quality but it is "certainly not a mountain lion based on the tail length."

"Size can be tough to tell in photos and unless you have a good reference, 'apparent size' is often misleading," Karelus said.

Black panthers and jaguarundis in Texas

Black jaguars do not exist in North America, according to the wildlife department, and no one has ever captured or killed a black mountain lion.

Also called cougars, pumas, panthers, painters, and catamounts, mountain lions are found throughout the Trans-Pecos in Texas, as well as the brushlands of south Texas and portions of the Hill Country, according to the Texas Wildlife Department's website.

Mountain lions usually have light, tawny brown fur that can appear gray or almost black, depending on light conditions, the department says.

Meanwhile, jaguarundis are also extinct in Texas due to loss of habitat. The last confirmed sighting of a jaguarundi in Texas was in Brownsville in 1986, according to the the department's website. Slightly larger than a domestic cat, these endangered felines are mostly found in northern Mexico and central and south America. They weigh between 8 and 16 pounds and have a solid-colored coat, either rusty-brown or charcoal gray.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.