A snowbird visiting The Villages who believed he captured an image of a Florida Panther, instead caught the image of a bobcat.
Bruce Small, an amateur photographer from Maine, had been attempting to photograph the Super Moon on Jan. 31. He was surprised by a sound and quickly captured an image of a large cat about 100 yards away.
He wasn’t sure what it was.
He and his companions from the shoot turned to specialized sites on Facebook where the majority of responses confirmed their opinion that the animal was, indeed, a panther.
However, officials determined otherwise.
“I knew immediately that was not a panther – but definitely was a bobcat,” said Greg Workman, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
FWC’s “panther team of experts” determined that based on the pattern on the fur along with the distinctive shapes of the head and hindquarters that the “subject in question was a bobcat.”
“Also bobcats are much smaller than panthers. Male bobcats, which are larger than females, are smaller than female panthers,” explained Workman, the Commission’s Northeast Region’s public information coordinator. “While a panther sighting is perhaps plausible in Orange or Volusia counties, it’s highly unlikely to see one further north.”
The Florida Panther, Florida’s official state animal, is one of the most endangered animals on earth, with 100 to 160 adults remaining in southern Florida reports the Commission’s website.
“Sightings of bobcats and coyotes are more common in The Villages area especially because of its large tracks of undeveloped, wooded areas,” he continued. “They usually prey on rats, birds and squirrels.”