Travel Bug Origins - United States

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Owner:
CMS8thGradeSS Send Message to Owner Message this owner
Released:
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Origin:
Maine, United States
Recently Spotted:
Unknown Location

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Current Goal

I am a black panther and the mascot of the Central Middle School in Corinth, ME. The 8th grade students have sent me on a mission to travel to as many places as I can so they can track me.  I would like to travel to areas where my relatives live; South America, Asia, and Africa. If all else fails, taking me to a zoo to come face to face with a live black panther would be really awesome! No matter where I end up, please take pictures of me so that the students at my school can see where I have travelled. 

About This Item

"Black panthers" are not really a species of big cat and they are not really solid black! They are actually a leopard or jaguar with a rare gene mutation that causes black pigment. The gene is called the agouti gene and it causes an access of melanin. These big cats are called "melanistic". These amazing cats actually have spots that are easy to "spot" in the direct sunlight. 

What is really fascinating is that in the jaguar the gene mutation is dominant so a black jaguar can produce either black or traditional spotted offspring. However, in the leopard, the gene mutation is recessive so some spotted leopards can produce black cubs. 

 

Gallery Images related to Travel Bug Origins - United States

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    Tracking History (231.1mi) View Map

    Mark Missing 4/18/2016 Lasa* marked it as missing   Visit Log

    This is an automated message. This Trackable has been marked 'missing' by a cache owner or site administrator. Trackables are marked missing when it is determined that they are no longer located in the cache they are listed in or in the hands of the current holder. Review the most recent logs on this Trackable to learn more information about its current state.
    Discovered It 3/20/2016 NeffelWib discovered it   Visit Log

    Heute beim Event "Äquinoktium" gesehen. Danke fürs zeigen. NeffelWib
    Dropped Off 1/17/2016 Maine to Massachusetts placed it in CITO 2015 - Earth Day Massachusetts - 181.05 miles  Visit Log

    I have been unable to meet up with any other panthers, nor able to send this one off to panther-friendly territories in a timely basis, so it was time to part ways. The cache I put it in was place in conjunction with a CITO event. CITO (Cache In, Trash Out) events are Geocachers getting together to clean up a particular area as part of our commitment to the environment which we hold so dear. Keeping our world's environment healthy is crucial to keeping its inhabitants healthy, including people and panthers.

    • Panther in the Wild This panther trackable is out in the wild once again, seeking its path to meet up with other panthers.
    Visited 1/3/2016 Maine to Massachusetts took it to The Breakfast Club - January 2016 New Hampshire - 187.06 miles  Visit Log
    Visited 1/1/2016 Maine to Massachusetts took it to 2016 New Year's Day Brunch w/ Loch Cache Massachusetts - 200.5 miles  Visit Log

    To start the new year correctly, this panther looked around an event's crowd that is known to have world travelers present. Unfortunately, nobody seemed to have and plans to head towards South America, Africa or Asia in the near future (which actually was a surprise). I'll give it another attempt of finding a travel partner before school is in session once again.
    Write note 12/31/2015 Maine to Massachusetts posted a note for it   Visit Log

    During this panther Travel Bug's break between two Geocaching events, and while still in Southern Maine saying farewell to 2015 and hello to 2016, it sought out a Panther to be photographed with, preferably outside of a zoo.

    • True Panther Pride! It found one - an actual, non-captive CMS8thGradeSS Panther student in the wild!
    Visited 12/31/2015 Maine to Massachusetts took it to Time T - 14 Maine - 123.87 miles  Visit Log
    Retrieve It from a Cache 12/23/2015 Maine to Massachusetts retrieved it from Down by the Stream Maine   Visit Log

    This travel bug, along with the new Down by the Stream Geocache I found it in, is a great example of Panther pride within Corinth's Central Middle School.

    The closest I have come naturally to any Panther was while hiking through the Bosque Eterno de los Niños (Children's Eternal Rainforest) in the Central Highlands Region of Costa Rica. (I was studying at the nearby University for Peace at the time.) Unfortunately, the panther is close to extinction in this part of Central America.

    As I am not anticipating any reasonable opportunities to visit panther-friendly areas in the near (or more distant) future, I will at least move this travel bug along to assist it in its goal, and to show the Panther pride it represents.
    Dropped Off 12/12/2015 Fancysannie placed it in Down by the Stream Maine   Visit Log
    Grab It (Not from a Cache) 12/12/2015 Fancysannie grabbed it   Visit Log

    Will place it in 3-2-1 GO!
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