Etoniah Creek State Forest-Mystery Tracks and Other Things

[Gray Blazer]

Last Saturday, Mrs. Grayblazer and I and Blaze and Wolfgang had a picnic on the FT not too far from Gainesville. Etoniah Creek State Forest is a diverse place. It is also known as the Bardin Booger Woods with many documented sightings of the Bardin Booger (aka Big Foot). We drove our car on the Cablegate road to that cement picnic table in the middle of nowhere near where I saw the Big Foot prints several years ago. I gave a few hollers, but got no response. We did see some animal prints that I was hoping some of our experts here could help me identify so I could be lazy and not look them up. I think they are the prints of a very large dog. What say you?

I hope I load these pics without the dreaded GrayBlazer's Disease.

The first pic is the rare Etoniah Jasmine (or rosemary, I can't remember which). Supposedly only grows in Putnam County.

More pics to follow.

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[Gray Blazer]

The FT is constantly being rerouted at Etoniah. There are several ponds, sinkholes, A beautiful spring fed creek and a very deep ravine. I have seen bears and bear cubs, otter and eagles, etc,

Here is a picture of the Bardin Booger Woods Hunt Club sign100_0304.jpg just North of Rice Creek. The FT used to go in there, but not no more.

[Gray Blazer]

Now in that area a few years ago, I saw a gutted deer with a broken leg on the side of the trail which I've learned from the TV show finding Big Foot (which I think is more of a waste of time than following Dakota Joe's Facebook) that it is Big Foot sign. I did not get pics of the BF prints I saw on Cablegate Road years ago cuz I was really scared.

However, here are the prints I saw the other day. Can you Identify?100_0700.jpg

[Gray Blazer]

Here are some more.

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[Gray Blazer]

Mrs. GrayBlazer, Wolfgang, Blaze and I thank you.

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BTW, here is the link to my BFRO report in 2007. http://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=25979

You can still get to this beautiful section of the FT off of Highway 100 in Florahome, Go north on the Coral Farms Road and turn right at Tinsley Road. The Trailhead is right there.

[rangeley]

Maybe a mountain lion or a bobcat. I'm almost positive it's some kind of cat since you can't see marks from the claws. Are there big cats in florida?
I am no expert animal print identifier though

[burger]

Black bear. For sure.

[WingedMonkey]

Are there big cats in florida?

Oh no! Please don't get him started on THAT.

[Pedaling Fool]

For those of you interested in this topic, which I'm one of, there are some specials on National Geo this Sunday http://www.locatetv.com/tv/bigfoot-t...idence/8358520 starting at 8 pm EST.

From what I've read this has something to do with DNA evidence supporting the idea that the Yeti is possibly an unknown primative bear that was thought extinct, some say a living example of the relict “ancient polar bears.”

Which is kind of interesting in its own right. But the case is still ongoing, despite the airing of this show....

[Knocky]

I hike Etoniah often. While familier with the Etonia Rosemary, I have not seen a big foot yet.

[lilricky]

Definitely a Black Bear track. I see them all the time in Ocala.

[Gray Blazer]

Maybe a mountain lion or a bobcat. I'm almost positive it's some kind of cat since you can't see marks from the claws. Are there big cats in florida?
I am no expert animal print identifier though

I saw a black panther late one night near Wacahoota, in between Gainesville and Ocala.

[Pedaling Fool]

For those of you interested in this topic, which I'm one of, there are some specials on National Geo this Sunday http://www.locatetv.com/tv/bigfoot-t...idence/8358520 starting at 8 pm EST.

From what I've read this has something to do with DNA evidence supporting the idea that the Yeti is possibly an unknown primative bear that was thought extinct, some say a living example of the relict “ancient polar bears.”

Which is kind of interesting in its own right. But the case is still ongoing, despite the airing of this show....

A reminder for all you bigfoot aficionados

[aficion]

Pretty sure that is Dakota Joe. Walks barefoot y'know.

[MuddyWaters]

I saw a black panther late one night near Wacahoota, in between Gainesville and Ocala.

panthers.jpeg

Any black cat would be melanistic leopard. Possible in Mexico, not Florida.
Florida panthers are a subspecies of eastern cougar, are tawny, and do not have melanistic traits.
They do have a crook at the end of the tail.
I grew up in Fla and saw a few, tracks, and a deer kill by one once, even though they were not officially supposed to exist in northern Florida. Wildlife agent confirmed to me they were there and that they had found the evidence,but they kept it quiet since the species was endangered.

Wildlife and fisheries tried stocking mountain lions from out west there in the 80s, it failed. After a year all the cats had starved to death or wandered out of the area. Sometimes these and offspring may have been responsible for cougar sitings in other southern states where they arent supposed to exist.

[WingedMonkey]

Wildlife and fisheries tried stocking mountain lions from out west there in the 80s, it failed. After a year all the cats had starved to death or wandered out of the area.

I think if you research it you will find that what saved the Florida Panther was the fact the the crossing with western species was indeed successful. Their own inbreeding was one of the things doing them in.

http://www.floridapanthernet.org/ind...ts/inbreeding/

[MuddyWaters]

When they transplanted the western cougars, they were trying to see if they would survive, so that they could consider transplanting the the florida panthers out of s. florida to increase their range into less developed areas. The idea was considered a bust when the cougars died and left the area. Hunting game in the piney woods was too difficult compared to where they came from I suppose.

Loss of habitat is what really threatened the florida panther. The most insane thing was when the state built a hotly contested highway right across the Big Cypress Preserve, the only home of an endangered animal. In a couple of years MANY were hit by cars.

They were left obviously with a fairly concentrated gene pool by the time they got down to 30-40 animals,not surprising.

[Gray Blazer]

I'm not trying to start an argument, but there are black panthers in North FL. The locals in Wacahoota knew the abandoned house where it lived. I saw one late at night when I came around a corner and caught it in the headlights. I teach school in Archer and I get eye witness reports from my students and their parents about spotting Black Panthers, Big Foot and UFOs (which I've never seen).

[Pedaling Fool]

The science of DNA is a great thing, but it's important to note that this science is still relatively young and we still have to take the results of testing with a grain of salt; too many people take these results as gospel.

There are a lot of examples of this issue with DNA testing. Anyone watch the special on the Human Lampshad Holocaust Mystery?


http://tvblogs.nationalgeographic.co...caust-mystery/



There is some that say the Florida panther should be reclassified as a Distinct Popuation Segment (DPS) and they also say that there is reason to believe that many supposed subspecies never existed, rather they all fall under North American Cougar. But who knows...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/sc.../03cougar.html

Excerpts:

"Scientists are moving toward the conclusion that the Eastern cougar was erroneously classified as a separate subspecies in the first place. As a result of a genetic study conducted in 2000, most biologists now believe there is no real difference between the Western and Eastern branches of the cougar family."

.................................................. ...............

"Also as a result of genetic research, Dr. McCollough said, the Florida panther, which is under protection under the Endangered Species Act, might eventually be reclassified as a distinct segment of the larger cougar family. "

[MuddyWaters]

I'm not trying to start an argument, but there are black panthers in North FL. The locals in Wacahoota knew the abandoned house where it lived. I saw one late at night when I came around a corner and caught it in the headlights. I teach school in Archer and I get eye witness reports from my students and their parents about spotting Black Panthers, Big Foot and UFOs (which I've never seen).

Unfortunately, there has never been a confirmed melanistic cougar. There are melanistic leopards and jaguars, but they dont exist in the US. There are some melanistic jaguars in mexico.

Cougar

There are no authenticated cases of truly melanistic cougars (pumas). Melanistic cougars have never been photographed or shot in the wild and none has ever been bred. Unconfirmed sightings, known as the "North American black panther", are currently attributed to errors in species identification by non-experts, and by the memetic exaggeration of size. Black panthers in the American Southeast feature prominently in Choctaw folklore where, along with the owl, they are often thought to symbolize Death.