What is that? Mystery cat prowling Phoenix Mountains Preserve

[@jinx6573]

I came from a post I've found on Facebook on the Arizona jaguars, and I wanted to say that at 8-ish or so years old, on a car ride to my parents(foster care), I've witnessed a heavy set SOLID black bigcat strolling through the desert toward the road. Between Maricopa to Coolidge was our route. It was such a long time ago and it was only a glimpse, I KNOW what I saw. A Melanistic Jaguar. Had the blocky head shape and it glistened in the sun, and walked so effortlessly, healthy looking too

[@S.Trades]

Very obviously and clearly a panther. 🤦‍♂️

[@jinx6573]

@@S.Trades 'Panther' is used for mountain lions, jaguars, leopards, and such. Panther comes from the scientific word 'panthera' and is in every feline species.

[@deanfirnatine7814]

Black is a dominant genetic trait in Jaguars so if you get one male that is black in a region who then breeds with several females whose territories his overlaps then you end up with a lot of black cubs.

[@charlessmith4242]

@@deanfirnatine7814 * If black is the dominant genetic trait, then all Jaguars would be black. As I recall, there's only one place in South America where black Jaguars are found in the wild.

[@Returntonature145]

​@@jinx6573cougars are not panthers. Panthers are able to roar ans growl like leopards and lion, tigers

[@MaryWhite-ne3mj]

I saw the same animal crawling on rocks along Highway 89 traveling on a tour around Bryce-very agile climbing the rocks -definitely a large black jaguar like animal, very muscular.

[@jannisares]

Or I should say prospective range. Beautiful kitty.

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

Looking at how it moves, I'd swear it's a cat of some kind.

[@SandyTenney]

Jagurundi?????

[@deanfirnatine7814]

@@SandyTenney Too big

[@ElaineRowton-bg5bh]

Amy Lee road 10 and just the other night about two nights ago I seen a weird same looking creature in my backyard where I live and it may have killed my dog I don't know how my dog was torn up pretty badly and he's a pretty big dog but whatever this was it by why

[@TheMidnightBeest]

I’m just thankful that they are deciding not to hunt it and harm it

[@SharelleCountz]

Yeah just leave them alone

[@dr.emilschaffhausen4683]

Like the jaguar shark being hunted by Steve Zissou and his team.

Too late.

[@dartmart9263]

Is that so? Go play with it, then. Or go hike around those hills, and take your kids with you, and your dog too. Nah, it’s more likely to come out of hiding and say hi if you go alone. Go ahead.

[@TheRetroGuy2000]

It's almost certainly a melanistic jaguar. Jaguars have been seen all over southern Arizona, within 100 miles of where this animal was spotted. It's just traveled a bit northwest of where other jaguars have been found.

[@ryanbrazeal8901]

Yea but you dont know

[@matthewfors114]

why couldnt it be a melanistic puma/panther/mountain lion? im just wondering? is it the ears or something? the footage seems to grainy to say it isnt a mountain lion

[@TheRetroGuy2000]

@@matthewfors114 no melanistic cougar has ever been documented.

[@llamabot9889]

​@@ryanbrazeal8901what does it look like to you? What on this planet else would it be? Do you have eyeballs working properly? Did we all watch the same video? It's a dark big cat and mountain lions can certainly look that way. NOTHING LIKE HUMANS BURIED IN THEIR PHONE IN THEIR SAFE HOMES TELLING PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE WOODS WHAT ANIMALS ARE.

[@deanfirnatine7814]

Exactly

[@jonmacdonald5345]

Seen one in southern California about 25 years ago!!!!

[@chubbrock659]

*saw

[@ronwade5646]

Indigenous to this desert, the black Jaguar

[@xAxCx]

You're not from here are you? Jaguar sightings are on the Mexican border. They're not seen in Phoenix which is about 200 miles north.

[@RoseNZieg]

there had been unconfirmed sightings for decades if not centuries. I think there may be some truth to the claims.

[@KingSally92]

@@xAxCxim not from out there but I know there’s Jaguars are in the Tonto National Forest. They are in AZ.

[@xAxCx]

@@KingSally92 You're not from here but yet you "know". There are no jaguars in the Tanto National Forest. BTW I live less than a mile away from Tonto's Sonoran region and since I've lived here 28 years I actually know what I'm talking about unlike you.

[@swerne01]

@@xAxCx Just because "they're not seen in Phoenix" doesn't guarantee that it can't happen. There's a first time foe everything. I think this explanation is possible. What's your hypothesis?

[@ShastaBean]

close encounter and aggressive behavior with a human would be that fly at 1:44 - and constantly getting into trouble at 1:57

[@Himchamberlain]

😂😂😂😂

[@BeenDelivered]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@helen_124_user]

😂😂😂⭐

[@cathyburrows8162]

Now that all I can see is that fly right by that man's mouth, awaiting to fly right in.😱😂😝

[@ShastaBean]

@@cathyburrows8162 🪰👄🤑

[@jwwj30]

Live & let live. She’s just trying to survive like the rest of us.

[@damaslpressath]

later the cat came home for sure.....not a jaguar, for sure, no cougar...look at tail, proportion body and head

[@larissamatthews9817]

It looks like a black jaguar or panther. The size, tail and way it moves.

[@TingTong2568]

Its just a melanited jaguar. There's no such thing as panther

[@damaslpressath]

no, non of those big cats have such long bushi tail and head is in proporton to jaguar to small.....

[@smplfi9859]

It's definitely a jaguar. Not sure why 12news would write that off. They've been sighted in Arizona. Jim DeVos didn't say it's not a jaguar, the 'journalist' did. Don't put words in his mouth 'It's not a jaguar, mountain lion, bobcat or house cat, according to the Jim DeVos with the Arizona Game and Fish Department.' It's simple things like this let the world know how disingenious and manipulative you news people really are. It doesn't take a genius to know the wild animals are alive in well in Arizona, it takes stepping into genuine desert. I have seen elk in the valley before and many don't believe simple things like that, this is the most verdant and lush desert in the world. The animals have plenty of options and we should let them be as they once were.

[@ShastaBean]

12 news: It's not a great white or a hammerhead...but it might be a tiger shark. Let's ask the expert....

[@runfargetlost991]

if its a jaguar its not a wild one, there has been no jaguar sightings in phoenix az. this is not a wild jaguar just living in the city

[@mattbrown837]

Historic range. Why not?

[@southwesthardypalms]

Definitely a Jaguar, they should have asked someone else about this. This guy didn’t seem to have any knowledge of jaguars or what they look like. Jaguars absolutely have ranged - and most likely still do on occasion up to Phoenix. That’s an incredible find.

[@runfargetlost991]

theres no jaguars moving towards phoenix

[@1445Juan]

How can you be so sure? You never know

[@arthur-qm8qs]

Actually there's already been spottings of jaguars in southern Arizona and that was a couple years ago sooo... Yes absofukinlutely it can and probably is a jaguar 🐆

[@Quadratic4mula]

The experts remain doubtful that those animals travel all that way unassisted. They believe it was forcibly brought nearby then intentionally released or it escaped.

[@ricodelavega4511]

maybe he didnt want people going to search for it if he mentioned black jag. If i lived there, I'd definately go looking for it, but if turned out to be an african panther hell no would i ever go on a trail in that area.

[@Goldenraptor_]

I believe it is a melanistic or dark colour morph of a jaguarundi. Jaguarundis are slimmer and thinner built, but when they crouch closer to the ground, they match the shape and also look to be about the same size. So i do think it is a jaguarundi

[@andresand12]

Too small for a jaguarundi.. actually jaguarundi are smaller in size than a bobcat

[@JimYeats]

It seems like the most logical conclusion would be that it’s a melanistic Jaguar, since it A: looks like it, B: lack of other plausible options, and C: it looks like it. There has never been a case of a melanistic mountain lion (black coloration). It sure isn’t a bear. It’s not a house-cat. It’s not an ocelot. But hey, maybe it isn’t. Maybe it’s just one of those other lion sized black cats that we have in mid to southern Arizona.

[@shanezen5194]

Possibly a jaguarundi...otherwise yeah a Jaguar

[@JimYeats]

@@shanezen5194 Maybe, but they’re smaller. That was a pretty big cat.

[@MrPanetela]

for those people making silly comments look at the tail, it is clearly feline; it is also big! Big enough to take a teenager or small man down. So don't go hiking, jogging, or bicycling in that area if you are smart. Once they get hungry enough people as friends goes out the door and into the kitchen menu.

[@AliciaDasta]

That's what I think to it's too big to be a black jaguarundi... but you never know?

[@AliciaDasta]

​@shanezen5194 ha ! Thank you that's what I said it's a black one and a big one at that

[@danstrayer111]

Five days from now: "The mystery creature which went viral on social media was a rare all-black cougar. It apparently died from fear and stress when over 10,000 people came out to see if they could find it".

[@runfargetlost991]

nah

The lady who lives next door to me is a Cougar I can tell you that.

[@paulw2872]

That fly

[@billrebsamen1810]

I didn't hear a word that poor man said!

[@debbiecessna4435]

@paulw2872 I came to the comments just to see if anyone else was gonna comment about the darn fly!😂I thought it was gonna crawl in his nose or mouth! Thank you for making my day!❤

[@debbiecessna4435]

@@billrebsamen1810😂😂

[@abril417]

Probably a jaguar.

[@damaslpressath]

look at proportion, long thick tail...no yaguar for sure....small head in proportion to body!

[@ReneeNme]

I bet it's a melanistic Jaguar that somehow escaped captivity

[@damaslpressath]

dont bet, look at its long bushy tail, proportion of head to body.....housecat

[@SampsonRoofing]

What a nice cat 😮😮😮

[@Mac-ix4qp]

Someone had a blank panther at one time or another.

[@pilbomags488]

I was more interested in why the camera makes such a sound when zooming in and out.

[@myrrhavm]

Can easily go and measure the rocks where it was at and determine size. Nice to see Fish and Game ha no plans on hunting it down and killing it as they would in California.

[@arthurbrumagem3844]

My thoughts as well. It seems wild animals have no right to exist near humans.

[@myrrhavm]

@@arthurbrumagem3844 Yup. Even if it were an exotic animal. Just let it live. Hell, half the plant life here in the states is not native yet they sell them at stores. Should be penalties.

[@arthurbrumagem3844]

@@myrrhavm I don’t think some types should be legal - pythons were a great example. But if a Jaguar etc comes up from Mexico or so on its own I’m ok with that as at one time they were in the SW

[@myrrhavm]

@@arthurbrumagem3844 I get it. Some are invasive, some are anomalies. That’s if that’s the right word.

[@pyrovania]

Fish and Game in California doesn't hunt big cats. Stop telling lies.

[@abbayhvhreigns7iloveyeshua650]

An Exotic Pet Escaped or Exotic Cat from Zoo??? Very Interesting indeed does it have a chip or needs to be chipped & monitored / tracked by Game and Wildlife Thanks for Sharing 😊👍

[@swerne01]

Have there been additional sightings of this animal since the video was made?

[@joshuatodd2319]

That is definitely a jaguar.

[@damaslpressath]

look again ;) that tail, proportion of body and head....houscat

[@shipwreck8847]

What's more intriguing is how that fly just stayed on that man's face forever without him trying to swat it away.

[@smackfpv]

the fly....

[@girthbrooks8606]

Wakanda Forever

[@RagnarRobledo]

Are they the experts ?? Man looks like he has never step foot outside his backyard , let alone him being and expert in wildlife😂

[@aydankhaliq2967]

I know Jaguars are about to become native to Arizona, but that's a feral cat. The thickness of the body suggests that it's a feral cat. They can grow up to enormous sizes in the wild, just ask Australia.

[@shanezen5194]

Jaguarundi? Supposedly extinct in Arizona but several sightings per year

[@jefferymccormick3380]

Looks too big for a jaguarundi

[@andresand12]

Too big for a jaguarundi

[@leegrass6954]

There was a jaguar a few years back in Christopher Creek- It ran cross the road in front of my car. It was unmistakable. That’s a pretty far away from the border!

[@stevehughes55]

I did a internet search for Melanistic Jaguar. Over the last few years there have been several reported roaming around in Arizona. Images posted of the Big Cat look like the one in this video

[@Lazar532]

If it was a pet, it will just come and ask humans for help.

[@valdivia1234567]

What's the estimated size? What's the scale used? Jaguarundi?

[@armageddonready4071]

Seems to be doing fine.

[@NotYoung3592]

These videos are ALWAYS blurry.....I think it's an all black jaguar.

[@ShastaBean]

I had a Motorola phone that took very decent footage. Cracked the face so I bought a new Motorola and it takes video that looks like this trash. Amazingly, companies are capable of making tech get worse. Super annoying. But hey, at least I quadrupled my odds of seeing a sasquatch or little green men. So I have that going for me.

[@ace.45-g8e]

Why are they calling it small? That cat looks huge.

[@DrAnderson1]

It’s rare, but bobcats can be melanistic and we have bobcats in abundance. We also have a big cat species known as the “ jaguarundi” which can also be melanistic. We have a large population of mountain lions too, though no black mountain lions have been found & probably never will

[@twasbrillig33]

This had a long tail, not a bobcat

[@jacktrout5807]

​@@twasbrillig33bingo

[@pyrovania]

jaguarundis aren't that big though. Maybe ocelot sized?

[@twasbrillig33]

Is there such a thing as a melanistic Ocelot?

[@K2S66]

I see they used the Bigfoot lens.

[@mjohhnson]

It's a jaguar. Every cat species has a different way of moving. Very cool!

[@ottomatic3123]

It's big. Looks like it could be a black jaguar, but highly unlikely. Probably some idiot who thinks it cool to keep such wildlife as a prisoner/pet.

So Jonathan Winters retired to Phoenix?

[@pendiesel1825]

Out here in Missouri I was told by old hunters that some panthers were released to lower the deer population. The local authorities in the rural areas are aware of them. I worked with a guy who swore he had to carry a dead one out his neighbors chickens coop after he shot it.

[@paulaschultze6197]

Looks like a black panther or Jaguar.

I owned a black Jaguar once. Darn thing was always in the shop for repairs, Major quality issues,

[@jms6605]

They should’ve gone to same spot to get perspective of the size, could’ve settled some of the questions.

[@erichhunterph.d.198]

Jaguarundi. I saw one in Sedona Az. recently.

[@kemolowlow]

Not the first....they make their way up from South America .

So you’re telling us that Trump’s wall failed?

[@kemolowlow]

Was the wall ever completed? Next dumb comment

[@delta-theoryarizona4256]

Thats a black panther, baby

[@YaYaPaBla]

Melanistic jaguar

[@skydiver8163]

😂kity cat!!😂😂😂

[@Phuq_it]

It’s a bengal tiger! GO BENGAL’S

[@Meant2BVegans]

Its moving just like a house cat though. Hes hanging out by the houses because he doesnt belong in the wild. Someone cruel abandoned it out there - for the world to deal with. Cool people do that🙄 Maybe they cross-bred it

[@3dickeys]

That my friend is the black jaguar! The true black panther.

[@MOCskoden]

What if the football team was called the Arizona Jaguars and that was our mascot 😮

Yeah and what if Santa is real and lives in a closet at the mall? Huh? What if eh?

[@MOCskoden]

A jaguar that’s real vs Santa… huh? What if eh?

[@4202cvinc]

The person filming this anomaly needs to show G&F exactly where this cat like creature was filmed from. G&F will map the distance and terrain to get an idea of the perspective. Plant heights, rock sizes etc. Without those crucial measurements, identification will remain a guess.

[@Sprigatito687]

It's a leopard look at the body shape jaguars have bulky body's and short tails also jaguars are much larger this is just a simple black leopard one out of many roaming the US

[@elvenking62]

It’s a freaking black jaguar cmon

[@jkpalmdaleca]

Looks like a Jaguar.

[@The5Venomz]

Black jaguar...

[@thomasmcculey7942]

Looks like a jaguarandi. They are related to mountain lions, though much smaller but come in different colors.

[@TruFrag]

That cat is moving just like Jaguar...

[@Minimumholloway]

Jaguars live in arizona

[@amishpat5201]

Final answer. It's clearly a which-a-ma-call-it. Many sightings lately.

[@andresflores9235]

Too small to be a Jaguar?? I believe it can be an Onza , very rare!

[@Bigfacts1117]

What is a onza? I thought that was a myth

[@WesleyBegay-f9c]

It's a black Cheeto

[@iamtoothewalrus]

Bigfoot's pet got loose, I fell sad for Bigfoot.

[@celestehilmi534]

Fisher cat.

[@frisk151]

That is a fine looking piece of puzzie! Sure looks like a black panther.. They are NOT only on the border with Mexico... When I lived on 150 acres in East Texas, there were a bunch of them, and they were well fed.. They were killing the cattle so we removed them.. I think.there were 18 of them in the bottoms by a river about a mile from my place... They absolutely DO exist far into the US.. It really is hard to scale its size... It however looks way larger than a cougar.. That looks like a version of a full size tiger, though in black.. It just seems too large to be any version of cougar or jag.. It sure moves like a cat though.. IF I lived there, I definiteloy would track it if possible.. Game cam littering the surrounding areas.. I would not do this to hunt it.. I quit hunting.4 leggers two decades ago.. No sport in it for me... I'm just really curious about what exactly it is.. Oh, and I will have my 10mm on my chest tracking!!! Feel free to tell me I am wrong.. That thing based upon the house / building and rocks looks absolutely huge to me... I bet they are right and it is some exotic imported and set free.. Hope it finds a good food source sooner than later! Else, kids might go missing!

[@user-tb2jy9lu3d]

That's most certainly a Jaguar...and one that you do not want to come across while hiking.

[@BCT-fx7wg]

Thats huge. Looks like Jaguar paw from apocalypto.

[@kimb8773]

It's probably a fisher cat. Whenever I see them I have to look twice. They can live anywhere

[@TheRAYviewYT]

The extremely rare and elusive house cat……

[@rexxer2792]

Please STOP filming in vertical for long distance ...

[@debbiecessna4435]

At 00:13 Has anyone else seen the HEART perfectly carved into the wall /mountain directly behind the big cat? Way too perfect to be from a rockslide etc!

[@Ivellisse43]

There going to wait that its in contact with human 😮wow that's a smart man 😮

[@JamieJohnson-q3f]

Looks like a black cougar we have them here in Missouri

[@howardpratt1946]

That's my long lost pet cat spot

[@fastdak25]

saw this, which of course led KZbin to give me an 11 month old video from Joe Rogan with a guy talking about re-introducing jaguars in North America, during which he mostly mentions Arizona

[@SlyFlickz]

I swear i just saw this in my drive way

[@chucker211]

Jaguarundi? Smaller but with big cat traits. Dark in color and known to range up that far. Also a lesser known cat.

[@splinterinthemind5158]

In northern AZ also…

[@Pinkielover]

Jaguars are native to Arizona not a big deal if it's a black one

[@runfargetlost991]

yeah well not in phoenix, this is not a wild jaguar

[@TropicGal777]

​@@runfargetlost991exactly. People don't realize that Phoenix is a hotspot for the exotic animal trade. They get smuggled in from Mexico all the time I literally saw a LIVE snapchat my old drug dealer posted it was a damn tiger for sale here in Phoenix 😂 He said he wouldn't sell it to me because it would eat me

[@lloydchristmas1086]

They were all killed off.

[@tylerfish6206]

That’s my cats sniffles !

[@Duskybuddy1234]

So maybe it is a Bobcat or a leopard but it's just got some kind of weird coloring where instead of having brown Fur. It's got really dark brown Fur. But it definitely has spots on it and it's fluffy.

[@mikefleek9259]

Sure is comforting all the EXPERTS cannot id the animal. Maybe mr Devos needs some schooling..... Black jag, way too big for a housecat. WHy can=t people ZOOM a camera

[@James-e3m4x]

I was probably wrong about it being a mountain lion it’s a jaguar which makes more sense with the black color.

[@Los-pf3bi]

It's a snow leopard.

[@lamimis2093]

Theres been sightings in the past 4 years last year as well and last month now this they are out their

[@robbiereilly]

How many people looked up melanistic today? ;)

[@poweruparies007]

It is a black jaguar in the 1930s the Arizona jaguars (Panthera once Arizonensis)were a Subspecies hunted to extinction by colonial settlers so it would be possible that the jaguar survived and there are such things as black jaguars in the Amazon

[@Domm_Diggity]

Yo that fly almost went in your nose

[@bobcaygeon975]

Send someone out to that rock, and film them to get a proportional reference.

[@deanfirnatine7814]

Black Jaguar simple. There are at least three known Jaguars in Southern Arizona, it is not like the Phoenix area is that far from SE Arizona, look at the range of a cougar for how far big cats travel. The historic range of the Jaguar went well North of Phoenix, Occams razor man.

[@DISGUYROX]

It's a former running back who was cut by Jacksonville of the NFL.

[@rkba4923]

It's a feral, black housecat.

[@Duskybuddy1234]

If you take a picture of this video and freeze it and manipulate like the contrast and stuff. This thing whatever it is does have spots on it. You just can't see him cause i'm really dark against the dark fur, but it's definitely something spotted

[@James-e3m4x]

Looks like a mountain lion,moves like one it’s tail looks like one so it is one .

[@rhensontollhouse]

Somebody’s black leopard got away.

[@smokedbrisket3033]

Of course it's a jaguar. They used to exist all the way into Louisiana, last one killed there was in 1905 near the west bank of the Mississippi River, close to Donaldsonville. For big cats, they certainly don't seem to have the history of being man-eaters the way lions, leopards, and tigers have done throughout the centuries.

[@ShopTunes999]

It's a jaguar 🐆 I've seen them before in az ....