Carolina Panthers are now extinct

[LinvilleGorge]

Just to be clear, I'm not necessarily defending the DOW here. DOWs will lie. Not for any kind of nefarious means, but due to lack of funding. The official CO DOW stance is that there is no resident population of wolves in CO. I've been told to my face by two different DOW officers that they know there is a resident population in the northern part of the state but they simply don't have the resources to develop a management plan for them which they'd have to do if they officially recognized them. So despite the fact that one gets hit by a vehicle about once a year and pictures emerge occasionally, their plan is to deny, deny, deny until it's completely undeniable. Until then, they'll continue with their story that those wolves were simply individuals that roamed down from Wyoming. It'll probably take a pup getting hit and that story going viral for them to finally be forced to recognize a resident population.

[stratopanther]

12 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Just to be clear, I'm not necessarily defending the DOW here. DOWs will lie. Not for any kind of nefarious means, but due to lack of funding. The official CO DOW stance is that there is no resident population of wolves in CO. I've been told to my face by two different DOW officers that they know there is a resident population in the northern part of the state but they simply don't have the resources to develop a management plan for them which they'd have to do if they officially recognized them. So despite the fact that one gets hit by a vehicle about once a year and pictures emerge occasionally, their plan is to deny, deny, deny until it's completely undeniable. Until then, they'll continue with their story that those wolves were simply individuals that roamed down from Wyoming. It'll probably take a pup getting hit and that story going viral for them to finally be forced to recognize a resident population.

This is what they do with mountain lions here in VA. There is a sighting every other year or so but state officials deny their existence to avoid allocating resources to them. 

[LinvilleGorge]

8 minutes ago, stratopanther said:

This is what they do with mountain lions here in VA. There is a sighting every other year or so but state officials deny their existence to avoid allocating resources to them. 

Sightings alone, even from a good source, don't carry much weight without other supporting evidence. Tracks, scat, a body, etc.

As has been shown by the CO wolf story, even irrefutable evidence of presence isn't enough to establish that there is a resident population. You have to have proof of a breeding population. Apex predators are known to roam crazy distances. As long as there's just an individual here and there the DOW can maintain that they're just that, roaming individuals.

[mc52beast]

Alex Jones says this is 

 

FAKE NEWS

[Porn Shop Clerk]

Name change conspiracy incoming.

[ThPantherFan]

4 hours ago, Sean Payton's Vicodin said:

Panthers started to dwindle in the 1800s.

We have big cats still in the mountains.  Call it what you wish but it isn't black.  There's not many, but they are here.  I've witnessed the beauty of one running along a mountain road.  No one can convince me differently. 

[ThPantherFan]

2 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

maintain that they're just that, roaming individuals.

You're from the same neck of the woods as me.  You've probably heard one if not seen one.  I agree that they are few and far between and yes to have absolute proof you have to have one stuffed.

[Car123]

So are Detroit lions

[PntherPryd]

< surprised there is still a Department of Wildlife

[PantherCam213]

3 hours ago, UpstatePanther said:

this is utter bullshit. I live in the foothills of the western Carolinas. People still see Panthers over here all the freaking time. sometimes we even see black ones. the Fish & Wildlife Service is full of 

I bet those are just lost Tennessee Panthers.

[Davidson Deac II]

From a distance, would people really know the difference between a Bobcat on the large side, and a Cougar?  The largest Bobcat can be about four feet long, while the smaller Cougars can be about 5 feet long.  Largest Bobcats are about 40 lbs, smallest cougars are about 65lbs.  So if one saw a large Bobcat from a distance, they might think its a Cougar.  But if cougars really existed in NC, someone at some point in time would get a picture of it.  

[LinvilleGorge]

50 minutes ago, ThPantherFan said:

You're from the same neck of the woods as me.  You've probably heard one if not seen one.  I agree that they are few and far between and yes to have absolute proof you have to have one stuffed.

If you think you've heard a mountain lion I'd bet a ton of money it was a fox. Those suckers can make all kinds of weird noises.

[jasonluckydog]

I hate humans

[heel31ok]

4 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

People see lots of things. Things like bigfoot and ghosts. Doesn't necessarily make them real.

They are only extinct "officially "