Mystery Black Felid Photo: Identified

An update on the mystery black felid photograph (see various enhancements on this page) reveals some new information, which, in context, makes much sense.

The picture was taken December 2005, according to the photographer’s letter shared with me last night by felid researcher Ben Willis. The photo was taken by a retired biology professor from a Georgia university, Dr. Edward Yeargers . Dr. Yeargers had seen the cat, which he identified as a black bobcat, “several times” in his yard. The location of his yard – Palm City, Florida. Palm City is located in Martin County, Florida.

I was a biology professor at Georgia Tech for 30 years – I’m a close observer. This one was about 18″ tall when it sat on its haunches (much taller than a domestic cat), had pointed ears and a short tail. When it walked, its hind quarters were higher than its front. I have also seen bobcats with conventional coloring in my yard, so I know the habitat supports them. Unfortunately, the whole area is about to be cleared and developed.

Considering that Martin County, Florida, is the major location for melanistic bobcats in this country, the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fit together.

Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

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