As we approach the end of 2021, I’ve been looking back. Amazingly enough, I have been writing my blog “Indian River Lagoon,” since 2013. I have now written over one-thousand posts and one of the most popular is not about toxic algae, Lake Okeechobee, or even the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon. One of my top posts is about black bobcats -properly called, melanistic bobcats.
I wrote my first black bobcat post in 2014 specifically about the high documentation in my home of Martin County, Florida. Since then, many readers have contacted me about melanistic bobcat sightings outside of Martin County. Most recently, two more from Georgia.
Today, I share these two reports, one from 2019 and the other from 2021. These special creatures are a rare sight to see and of unforgettable beauty.
I.
The gorgeous photograph of the melanistic bobcat above was taken in Georgetown, Georgia, in 2019. I learned about the sighting this December at a baby christening in Stuart, Florida. Mrs Kight was nice enough to find the photo and send to me after we got on the subject of all things -black bobcats!
II.
This next photo, above, is a screen shot of a “doorbell” black bobcat -2021- sighting in Waleska, Georgia. CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO OF BLACK BOBCAT.
Mr Kaiser, of Waleska, Georgia, who sent the doorbell video, wrote interesting observations included below.
Mr Kaiser: “Greetings. We live in north Georgia on the east side of Pine Log Mtn. Have recent video of what could to be a melanistic bobcat in our front yard. We have seen it twice and saved on Ring video. Would like to share it with you and your thoughts. Thanks.”
JTL: “Dear Mr Kaiser, I am so glad you contacted me. I can’t wait to see the video of this incredible creature. Please send.”
Mr Kaiser: “Hi Jacqui. Wondering if you got the brief video and thoughts. I took down 2 Ring cameras today (temporarily) while they were cleaning up our yard. When I went back outside I saw the animal walking right down the middle of our quiet street. (that gets maybe 12 cars a day). The animal looked at me briefly and it appeared to have yellowish/greenish eyes. It looked all black with apparently no charcoal or grey. It had a knob for a tail and the upper hind legs looked a little bigger. We do have a few neighbors as we live in the higher elevation end of our community and so far no one has identified it as a pet or seen it before. Thanks.”
JTL: “I did receive. Thank you so much. What a creature to behold and see eye to eye! Where do you live?”
Mr Kaiser: “We live in Waleska GA (Cherokee County) in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mtns. and on the east side of Pine Log and Bear Mountain. Please feel free to share this information on your blog. My wife and I are surrounded with all this fascinating wildlife and this is so educational studying their seasonal habits. Any information you can share would be appreciated and likewise I can certainly pass on to you with updated pictures/ video clips. This is our 3rd sighting of this animal and we don’t know bobcat habits. When it walked by yesterday it looked at me briefly but didn’t stop or act afraid or defensive. That is when I got a split second look at the eyes.”
JTL: “This is so amazing. Thank you so much for sharing and letting me share! Tell me more!”
Mr Kaiser: “We set this Ring camera up to video the black bears that visit us. Never seen this before and shared with 2 wildlife experts. I do have another separate video and would like your take. Both sightings were midday and have the camera mounted on the front porch hopefully for more views. It appears to have a firmer walking stance on the hind legs. Also have pictures and videos of our visiting black bear. We have various animals that live and roam our property including a fun to watch fox family. If you think this video is of interest I can keep you updated.”
JTL: “Please do. ! I hope in the future to see more including bears and foxes. Love the wildlife, especially the melanistic bobcat, people are really fascinated by them. A mythical creature indeed!”
Thank you to Mrs Kight and Mr Kaiser for sharing and I hope more people, inside or outside of Florida, will tell of their black bobcat sightings too!
~Jacqui
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Wow. What passion and dedication with your writings. Thanks for sharing these stories. Always interesting. Merry Christmas to you and yours. Have a great 2022.
Thank you Mike! Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!
I was riding my bicycle through Pine Log WMA this morning and caught a quick glimpse of what looked like a large black cat crossing the road in front of me. I only saw it for a brief second and it was gone. I couldn’t find any tracks. Got home and got to Googling and found this article.
Looking at a map, I was on the west side of Pine Log Mountain, just east of Little Pine Log Mountain. Mr Kaiser’s video and description and proximity to where I spotted the animal make me more confident that it was a melanistic bobcat. I just wish I could have viewed it longer to be sure.
I live in Putnam County Ga. I had my eyes dilated at the eye doc yesterday. Pulling back in my driveway I seen a “huge” black cat running off into the woods. I thought my eyes were playing with me because of the drops. So as I pulled around my driveway I looked into the woods and there it was. I still wasn’t sure what I was looking at so I got out to get a closer look. I know for a fact it was a “cat”, but not a typical cat. This cat was really big. He crouched down and was glaring at me from behind a tree that had fallen down. He never ran but never approached me either. When I was able to focus my eyes a little I realized what I (thought) i was seeing. I came inside real quick and watched it out my dining room window. It eventually got up and calmly walked off. I’ve been doing some research since yesterday and just came across this article.
Certainly it was a black bobcat or other large cat! I bet it will be back. Beautiful to see! A special, special cat. Thanks for comment. Funny as I also had my eyes dilated on Friday.
I saw what I believe is a black bobcat in Florida last summer (2022) near cape Canaveral right after a Space X launch. I even managed to snap a photo and short video of it. Who can I send it to for verification?
Hello David. You can send it to me at jthurlow@me.com
I’d love to see!!!! I will write you back and thanks for writing.
Weird! I saw a mom and 3 babies at around 8am near the north end of Merritt Island Natl Wildlife Refuge (same vicinity as the Cape) a few years ago.
So they are definitely around here.
The babies were dark grey with black spots. The mom was nearly totally black but you could see her spots in the sun.
Sandra they must be so beautiful? I would love to see the kittens especially. Thank you for sharing your Merritt Island black bobcat story!
I have no doubt all-black & melanistic bobcats are out there, as well as other darker color variations (slate-gray, silvery-gray with black spots, etc.), but after watching that Ring video, it appears to be something else possibly… but I don’t know; something in the cat’s jaw & chin is very “scruffy”, & maybe it’s a seasonal coat of thicker fur, but its ears, & its head in general, appear more like a breed of domestic cat. Possibly a Manx. I also don’t see a signature “bob” tail like a bobcat has—or as my friend said, a “living tater tot”-stump! Lol. From the video, it almost appears tailless… which is how some short-tailed breeds appear. Could be a hybrid!
There are domestic stub-tailed & bobtailed breeds, as well, from around the globe, besides the famous Manx. We used to own an American Bobtail, which is essentially a Labrador retriever stuck in a domestic “ocelot” body. Albeit with a very active, wriggling tater tot tail! Haha.. actually, Bobtails are colored and spotted more vividly than a bobcat, almost more like one of the hybrid F1 savanna cats or a margay.
I think it’s also worth noting that just as “coywolves”, “coydogs” and wolf-dogs are an emerging phenomenon (although wolf-dog mixes and dogs with wolf genes have been purposely bred for years), hybrids of bobcats & outdoor-roaming domestic cats have been observed. It’s possible these darker colored bobcats are indeed the offspring of random encounters between Lynx rufus and Felis cattus…
Erik, wow! Thank you for your comment and the fascinating information. I am very intrigued by domestic and wild animals creating hybrids or otherwise. Just last week, I saw what I thought was a bobcat in the large lot behind our house, how it walked-stalked, then I realized it could have been “just a cat,” or a mix. In any case your observations are so helpful. Thank you and hope to hear from you again!