Florida Panther (Puma concolor) in Collier Seminole State Park

This is a video tape my buddy Jeff and I were lucky enough to capture in Collier Seminole State Park just South of Naples Florida. Real panther, in the wild. We followed the Panther for about twenty minutes down one of the park roads at dusk. The best shots occur at 1:18, 2:27, 3:30 & 4:30.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Florida
• panther
• cougar
• wild
• cat
• puma
• big cat
• wildlife
• parks
• sighting
• endangered
• species
• rare
• animal
• swamp
• everglades
• concolor
• naples
• south
• florida
• wildcat
• mountain
• lion
• tiger
• cheetah
• bobcat
• nature
• outdoors
• wilderness

[TGreen338]

the thing is if you ask any Florida Fish and Wildlife officer if there are such things as the Florida panther in the Northwestern Region they will tell you no they do not. They also claim that Black Panthers do not live in Florida period. But why is it that they cant i have seen a black an tan one together where im from in Florida. Have witnessed yard dogs chasing them. My question is do you think that Black Panthers exist in Florida?

[AdamFreedify]

@TGreen338 You never know what resides in a swamp that big and thick. i really don't know what a black panther is. is it just a color mutation of a regular puma? if that is the case then their presence in Florida is certainly possible.

Keep a camera on you and your eyes open. You never know when proof will cross your path.

[AdamFreedify]

To clarify, we were completely unarmed. We were not hunting. Not that there's anything wrong with taking out deer.

[rcruz003]

What was the distance when it first came into view ,......150yds or more?

[AdamFreedify]

@rcruz003 We spotted the cat at ~70 yards and got as close as 15-20 yards.

[rcruz003]

@AdamFreedify ...pretty neat seein one .

I seen 3 so far this year , none collared. One on 41 by HP Williams and the other 2 crossing Turner Rvr Rd , all broad daylight . Not so reclusive any more it seems.

[AdamFreedify]

@rcruz003 I believe there has been an effort to introduce texas pathers to bolster the florida population over the past decade. That effort is working and can explains the increase in sightings. 

[craig79792000]

Great footage. Really rare to get that close. I just hope no one come on here and says they saw a sasquatch in the frame at :51. Happens all the time. Nice job though.

[tweeetme]

That's a house cat you idiot !

[picasso298]

very nice,, animals should b watched not harmed.. nice video

[wilatemodel]

that was really cool!..Is there anyway next time you can have somebody hold the camera that dosen't have Parkinson's. Thanks.

[MrPlayerAG]

It's nice that you got to see one, they are rare.. That's one of the reasons I love hunting, you get to see things people don't get to see everyday. " Live Free or Die" said it all

[DSMANDARIN]

I saw one of those in Osceola National forest in 1996. I was using a fawn bleet call during deer season. It came all the way up to the base of the tree that I was stand hunting from. I fired a round into the ground after blowing a whistle and yelling at the large cat did nothing to turn the animal. Even after firing a .44 Mag, the cat just turned and walked away. I though i was dinner for a few mins.

[SunWhiteWolf]

i got so dizzy from watching this video DX it's really cool that you got so close, poor thing