"Are there black panthers in West Virginia,” a close friend, with limited outdoors knowledge, once asked me. "There have to be, because I saw one the other night in my backyard."
It’s a conversation I’ve had with numerous West Virginians. Every time I’m in a position to chat with the public, the subject seems to come up at least once.
The friend in this particular case lives in the Kingwood Pike area outside of Morgantown. Our conversation was about two years ago. The neighborhood isn’t far from where my in-laws live. They too claim to have seen a black panther hovering around their backyard. Other family and neighbors also claim to have witnessed a similar creature. I received second hand word such an animal had been spotted at the Pikewood Golf Club, only a few miles up the same stretch of highway. All of these sightings were concentrated in one particular watershed.
The West Virginia DNR doesn’t officially recognize the black panther or any other large cat as still being part of the West Virginia wildlife. Many years ago, mountain lions did roam the hills in sufficient numbers to make them a major player in the state’s ecosystem. However, as man moved into the mountains, the mountain lion began a downward spiral, eventually being killed out to make way for sheep and cattle farming.
Each year there are a number of claims of sightings. The most common and distinctive feature in each report is a long, slender tail. DNR biologists say it’s likely a mountain lion brought here as a captive animal, which either escaped or was released deliberately when it became too big. Other states allow for the keeping of mountain lions, which are vast in their numbers in the western United States.
But these are credible people. Often seasoned outdoorsmen will explain the sightings in vivid detail. I refuse to tell anybody they don’t know what they’re talking about, after all, they know what they saw and I wasn’t there. I’d be a bit appalled if I was lampooned or ridiculed for simply telling a story. Some say it’s a common reaction. Many tell me they’re treated as if they’re making a report of a UFO.
Rob Silvester is the manager of the West Virginia Wildlife Center in French Creek. He has a theory that makes complete sense, particularly in the Kingwood Pike incidents. He suggests what many may have seen wasn’t a black panther, but a fisher.
"These animals can be up to two or three feet long including the tail. They’re dark and they have cat-like features about them,” said Silvester. "They have a cat-like face and they lope around like a cat."
A few years before the "black panther" stories in this area of Monongalia County a trapper friend told me he had seen a fisher in the same watershed. I had heard of them, but like most West Virginians have never actually seen one in the wild.
Once Silvester related his theory, it seemed pretty plausible.
"I’m sure that some of the individuals who see what they think is a black panther, and it was probably a fisher,” said Silvester.
The theory may not solve all of the mysteries, but it certainly could be the story behind a few. Fishers are skittish creatures, which most people rarely see in the wild. Many who report the sightings have only a brief encounter and see the animal disappear in the blink of an eye. Add those attributes to the cat-like appearance and Silvester may have solved a lot of mysteries.