Forgotten Tales of Pennsylvania by Thomas White

Author:Thomas White
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2013-11-09T05:00:00+00:00

MAN SHOT PANTHER THAT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO EXIST

The eastern panther has officially been extinct in Pennsylvania since 1874, though several were said to have been shot in 1891. After a bounty was put on the animal by the state in 1807, it took less than a century to wipe out the population. Killing one of the feared animals became a matter of pride for hunters. Over the years since their extinction, there have been many panther sightings, but none has been substantiated. There is one exception.

On October 28, 1967, John Gallant of Edinboro, Crawford County, shot a panther a mile and a half southeast of town. The panther was a young, half-grown female that weighed about forty-eight pounds. It was with another larger panther that was wounded but escaped. The wounded panther and a third panther were allegedly caught in a trap a day or two later, but they escaped again.

The dead panther attracted substantial attention from naturalists, who debated the possibility of the animal’s survival after so much time. There was some speculation that the animals may have escaped from a circus performer’s farm just over the border in Ohio, but no definite conclusions were reached. At least one wildlife biologist who examined the case in the 1980s thought that the panther showed some signs of domestication. Occasional panther sightings are still reported throughout Pennsylvania and neighboring states, though no new specimens have been captured.

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