There has never been a documented case of a black cougar, commonly called panthers. In all these years, there has not been one trapped, killed or even caught on a game camera that was black.
There has not even been a melanistic stage documented in cougars in the northern hemisphere. A friend that is a vocational ag instructor and hunter education instructor assigned a research project to his students to see if they could find any evidence (online or in books) of a black panther/cougar. No verified documentation was found, only tales of sightings. I've listened to many game and wildlife biologists discuss this matter at length.
There are indeed, cougars in this area and we have personally seen two in daylight hours over our years in Texas. Many acquaintances have also seen evidence of cougars and for the most part they are not aggressive. They primarily hunt small game like birds and rabbits. If they attack larger livestock taking an animal down from the hindquarters.
The black jaguar has been known to range far into the US but it would be a much smaller cat both in stature and body weight.
On the other hand, I am a believer. I am fascinated by the many tales that I've heard and hope someday that someone will be able to verify the black cougars' existance. Hopefully not by having to kill one.
Glad you were able to see something that many people will never have a chance to witness.
