I sent a link of the photo to the Florida Wildlife Commission and received the following reply:
Yes, we did receive that picture through several outlets. In our opinion, it is a picture of a house cat based on the overall proportions of the animal. House cats have petite feet at the end of skinny legs and the cat is not much taller than the red-flowered shrub it is standing beside. A panther would stand over 2 feet tall whereas this cat appears to be no more than a foot tall.
Darrell Land
Florida Panther Team Leader
FL Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
298 Sabal Palm Road
Naples, FL 34114
Office: 239.417.6352
As I stated in my earlier post, a photo of something at the same spot, of known size, would help. And I do know the tail difference between a bobcat and a panther. I simply stated I have seen a bobcat at Heron/Pelican.
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Men plug the dikes of their most needed beliefs with whatever mud they can find. - Clifford Geertz
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