“As we walked along, still in desert reverie,
ahead of us about 20 yards, a panther
silently stepped out onto the path, walked
down the trail a short distance and then
slipped back into the mesquite and brush.
We both had stopped walking; we were in
astonishment. We waited several minutes
before we finished our hike back to the
parking
lot,
feeling
amazed
by
our
encounter. Folk tradition says that sighting
a panther means good fortune. We both felt
truly fortunate to have seen one.”
young javelinas here in Big Bend, to alligators or beaver elsewhere.
They do not roar, as lions or tigers do, but similar to your house cat,
panthers both purr and meow. A single panther needs a large territory
for hunting and rarely socializes, but they do have families with
overlapping territory. Some male panthers pair up with one female,
while others have several partners.
It is rare to see a panther anywhere. They are solitary and shy. If
you do see a panther stay calm. Hold your ground or slowly back away.
Face the lion and stand upright. Never approach a panther, especially
one that is feeding or with kittens. Panthers will try to avoid a
confrontation. Give them a way to escape. Do not run. Running makes
you look like prey. Look them in the eye. If you have small children
with you, pick them up if possible so they don't panic and run.
Although it may be awkward, pick them up without bending over or
turning away. If the panther moves towards you, make yourself look
big and intimidating. Be loud and firm. The idea is to convince the
Panther that you are not prey and that you may be a danger to it so it
will leave. If that fails and the Panther does attack, FIGHT BACK! A
panther will go for the head or neck, so remain standing and face it.
If you are involved in a face-to-face encounter with a panther, contact
a ranger at one of the park's visitor centers or a sheriff as soon as
possible. But don’t worry if you do see a panther. In the past 100 years
there have been only 25 fatal panther attacks in the entire United
States.
In many tribal cultures in the Americas, the panther is a noble
animal, a sign of good hunting, often associated with fire and the color
yellow. It can represent a clan of healers and is thought to convey good
luck when you see one. The natives of the Southwest considered the
panther to represent one of the six directions. Today the panther
represents formidable athletic ability—for example, The Pittsburgh
Panthers Basketball Team or The Carolina Panthers Football Team.
I have just one more tidbit to tell you about panthers. Black
panthers are not really panthers at all. In the Western Hemisphere
they are jaguars and in the Eastern Hemisphere they are leopards.
The black coat coloration is caused by a rare combination of alleles
(part of a gene) which increases dark pigment, melanin, in the
animal’s fur and skin. They can’t purr, but they can roar. Our tawny
lion of the Western Hemisphere purrrrrrrs. n
Cenizo
Spring 2020
19