<P> There are no authenticated cases of truly melanistic cougars . Melanistic cougars have never been photographed or killed in the wild, and none have ever been bred . Unconfirmed sightings, known as the "North American black panther", are currently attributed to errors in species identification by non-experts, and by the mimetic exaggeration of size . Black panthers in the American Southeast feature prominently in Choctaw folklore where, along with the owl, they are often thought to symbolize Death . </P> <P> In his Histoire Naturelle (1749), French naturalist Georges - Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, wrote of the "Black Cougar": </P> <P> M. de la Borde, King's physician at Cayenne, informs me, that in the (South American) Continent there are three species of rapacious animals; that the first is the jaguar, which is called the tiger; that the second is the couguar (sic), called the red tiger, on account of the uniform redness of his hair; that the jaguar is of the size of a large bull - dog, and weighs about 200 pounds (90 kg); that the cougar is smaller, less dangerous, and not so frequent in the neighbourhood of Cayenne as the jaguar; and that both these animals take six years in acquiring their full growth . He adds, that there is a third species in these countries, called the black tiger, of which we have given a figure under the appellation of the black cougar . The head is pretty similar to that of the common cougar; but the animal has long black hair, and likewise a long tail, with strong whiskers . He weighs not much above forty pounds (18 kg). The female brings forth her young in the hollows of old trees . </P> <P> This "black cougar" was most likely a margay or ocelot, which are under 18 kg (40 lb) in weight, live in trees, and do have melanistic phases . </P>

Where are black panthers located in the united states