Thought I would share these pictures I received from a long time Kimble County resident. This is near Junction TX. Amazing to think how Wild Texas once was not too long ago.

Look at those teeth. Think 100 years ago Texas had Lions, Bears, and Jaguars roaming.

That dog is just waiting for that Jaguar to move.

Still a lot of cougars in the Dallas area...

There's a copy of that Goldthwaite jaguar picture hanging by the bathrooms in the Cahoots convenience store in Goldthwaite. I stop to look at it every time I'm in there.

I'd wager that most Texans have no idea that jaguars were native to the state.


https://www.depts.ttu.edu/nsrl/mammals-of-texas-online-edition/Accounts_Extinct_Carnivora/Panthera_onca.php#:~:text=The%20jaguar%20is%20extinct%20in,4.8%20km%20(3%20mi.)

I often wish I could travel back in time (temporarily of course) to see Texas pre-European influence. Herds of elk and bison roaming the tall grass savanna. Lions, jaguar, wolves, and bear. Not a hog or horse on the continent. Untamed rivers. Natural springs. It would've been quite the sight to behold.

JD Shellnut said:

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I'd wager that most Texans have no idea that jaguars were native to the state.


https://www.depts.ttu.edu/nsrl/mammals-of-texas-online-edition/Accounts_Extinct_Carnivora/Panthera_onca.php#:~:text=The%20jaguar%20is%20extinct%20in,4.8%20km%20(3%20mi.)

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No, but they'd swear that Black Panthers are......

I knew there were Jaguars in Texas but I had no idea they got as far north as Goldthwaite. That's crazy.

Nagler said:

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I knew there were Jaguars in Texas but I had no idea they got as far north as Goldthwaite. That's crazy.

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Capt. Samuel Richardson,2nd Tx Cavalry CSA and his Jaguar skin uniform w/matching holsters


Gen. Sam Houston's vest

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Think 100 years ago Texas had Lions, Bears, and Jaguars roaming.

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Wolves as well! Gray wolves into the 1960's at least.
I read somewhere about Mexican Gray wolves being released into Big Bend, but the TP&W guys were worried about their not being enough game for them to eat. That landscape is still recovering from being heavily overgrazed & can't support enough prey

Cen-Tex said:

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Capt. Samuel Richardson,2nd Tx Cavalry CSA and his Jaguar skin uniform w/matching holsters

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Wealthy suburban housewives are imitating confederate soldiers?

Straight gangster right there!

Jaguars are cool and all, but how about those dudes hunting in a suit and tie. Surely those pictures were taken in the winter time?

Apache said:

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Straight gangster right there!

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must've been early in the war. His uniform is way too clean.

AustinCountyAg said:

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Jaguars are cool and all, but how about those dudes hunting in a suit and tie. Surely those pictures were taken in the winter time?

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Taking a stab at it here, but.....at least for the Mill County one, I know it was caught/killed at night. Read the full story once, they had been out coon hunting and their lights that they had at the time were not that great, they didn't know they had caught a Jaguar at first.

So, odds are that they got dressed up the next day for the picture.

Could you imagine that now? "Hey listen, I need all of you to go take of your Sitka gear off and put on a jacket and tie".......

Apache said:

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Think 100 years ago Texas had Lions, Bears, and Jaguars roaming.

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Wolves as well! Gray wolves into the 1960's at least.
I read somewhere about Mexican Gray wolves being released into Big Bend, but the TP&W guys were worried about their not being enough game for them to eat. That landscape is still recovering from being heavily overgrazed & can't support enough prey

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Weren't they trying to get the Ref Wolf population going again along the coast?

Years ago, I read about one killed near Center City in the early 1900s. I wonder if the Goldthwaite cat is the same one.

It wouldn't surprise me if a jaguar crosses the Rio grande once in a while. They see them in Arizona crossing the border occasionally.

don't forget the black panther. those are all over this state.

CorpsTerd04 said:

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Thought I would share these pictures I received from a long time Kimble County resident. This is near Junction TX. Amazing to think how Wild Texas once was not too long ago.

Look at those teeth. Think 100 years ago Texas had Lions, Bears, and Jaguars roaming.

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I shared this picture with my buddies who hunt Runnels Co. not too, too far from Goldthwaite. The response was: **** I'm wearing my church clothes next time we go to Ballinger.

Cen-Tex said:

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Capt. Samuel Richardson,2nd Tx Cavalry CSA and his Jaguar skin uniform w/matching holsters


Gen. Sam Houston's vest

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He looks like he was selling pokes down at the local saloon.

O.G. said:

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AustinCountyAg said:

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Jaguars are cool and all, but how about those dudes hunting in a suit and tie. Surely those pictures were taken in the winter time?

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Taking a stab at it here, but.....at least for the Mill County one, I know it was caught/killed at night. Read the full story once, they had been out coon hunting and their lights that they had at the time were not that great, they didn't know they had caught a Jaguar at first.

So, odds are that they got dressed up the next day for the picture.

Could you imagine that now? "Hey listen, I need all of you to go take of your Sitka gear off and put on a jacket and tie".......

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Go back and look at old pics and see how people often dressed when hunting & fishing.












And of course there's the traditional attire when hunting in the UK and Ireland with the tweed jacket, breeches, shirt & tie, with Wellingtons which was because before camo the gamekeepers (ghillies) wore green/brown tweed which was actually pretty effective concealment when stalking a stag and the thick wool was warm and pretty water resistant.

Lions....I assume we mean of the mountain variety right.

Just asking for clarity here...

Lonestar_Ag09 said:

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Lions....I assume we mean of the mountain variety right.

Just asking for clarity here...

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Lions…. Of the North American Lion type.

I don't think it was dressing up back then. I think it was just getting dressed. Look at many old pictures, and you will see most everyone not farming dressed similarly.

98Ag99Grad said:

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don't forget the black panther. those are all over this state.

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A co-worked showed up with one of these on. When questioned, he got all defensive and said "What do you think it means?". When pressed for his opinion, he wouldn't say more. He is wholeheartedly convinced there are black panthers, but doesn't have the cojones to come out and say it.

He thinks there are grizzlies in Southern Colorado still, and I suspect he toys with the idea of Sasquatch in the back of his mind.

Get Off My Lawn said:

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I often wish I could travel back in time (temporarily of course) to see Texas pre-European influence. Herds of elk and bison roaming the tall grass savanna. Lions, jaguar, wolves, and bear. Not a hog or horse on the continent. Untamed rivers. Natural springs. It would've been quite the sight to behold.

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And clouds of passenger pigeons and prairie dog towns that stretched for a 100 square miles. It was truly like the African savanna.

cupofjoe04 said:

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I don't think it was dressing up back then. I think it was just getting dressed. Look at many old pictures, and you will see most everyone not farming dressed similarly.

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Yeah, didn't mean that people got dressed up. They just dressed more formally.

i've always wanted to get a full tweed hunting suit and show up to hunting camp. but, dropping over a grand for a goof is probably not smart money.

zooguy96 said:

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Lonestar_Ag09 said:

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Lions....I assume we mean of the mountain variety right.

Just asking for clarity here...

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Lions…. Of the North American Lion type.

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No shlt! Never heard that. Jaguars I knew yes, never heard about lions

This sounds like Jerry Clower's souped up wildcat story!

Go back 10-15 thousand years, we had not just American lions, but camels, mammoths, giant sloths, horses, giant beavers, smilodon...

That would have been amazing to see.

cupofjoe04 said:

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98Ag99Grad said:

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don't forget the black panther. those are all over this state.

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A co-worked showed up with one of these on. When questioned, he got all defensive and said "What do you think it means?". When pressed for his opinion, he wouldn't say more. He is wholeheartedly convinced there are black panthers, but doesn't have the cojones to come out and say it.

He thinks there are grizzlies in Southern Colorado still, and I suspect he toys with the idea of Sasquatch in the back of his mind.

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My favorite bit on Bear Grease is Clay ribbin his dad about it.

Steiner Ranch Steakhouse has no shortage of cougars!