EXCLUSIVE: St. Augustine family catches possible panther on doorbell camera

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Sean and Susie Rogers just moved into their St. Augustine home, just minutes away from the sprawling Palencia neighborhood.

Like any new neighbors, they maybe expected a visitor or two bringing housewarming gifts, but, instead, they got an unexpected visitor and a heart-stopping surprise when they woke up Sunday morning.

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“I was actually doing dishes last night, and [Sean] said ‘Babe, there was a panther on the doorbell camera last night,’” Susie Rogers said. “And I literally said ‘Shut up, no there’s not,’ because that’s something he would jokingly say.”

But then, not only did Susie Rogers see what her doorbell camera caught the night before, but the couple saw it again after the next night. They almost thought it wasn’t real.

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“Our dogs didn’t even notice that there was a big cat out there on our front porch, which is just wild,” Sean Rogers said.

Once they looked a few more times at the footage from the front doorbell camera, they thought it may have been a housecat or a bobcat, rather than a Florida Panther.

Action News Jax’s Finn Carlin brought the video to Bill Samuels, founder of the Florida Panther Project, a nonprofit focused on helping the endangered animal, who said the Rogers made a good first guess at what it was.

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“That looks like it could be a panther,” Samuels said. “It definitely looks larger than a housecat or a bobcat.”

Samuels has been studying the Florida Panther for the past 30 years. He said he’s seen a lot of videos from a lot of people claiming to have seen a panther, only to find it was a different cat. He was surprised to see what he thought truly looked like a panther.

This comes after the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission reported two confirmed sightings in St. Johns County back in the spring. Samuels believes not only could those sightings be of the same cat, but it may have stuck around and stopped by the Rogers’ house.

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“It’s probably a lone male looking for new territory, maybe looking for a girlfriend,” Samuels said.

The FWC said this potential panther sighting and the two other ones from earlier this year are the first, locally, in 40 years.

“We’ve only been here for a couple weeks, and what are the odds a panther turns up on my porch?” Sean Rogers said.

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Aside from being in awe, the Rogers are becoming fond of their new friend. Since one of their German Shepherd dogs is named Chicken, they’ve thought of naming the cat Waffle.

“As much as we wish we could keep her, I think it’s best to let the wildlife be wild,” Susie Rogers said.

If you come across a big cat or panther near your home, the FWC said not to try to approach it. If you’d like to report a possible Florida Panther sighting, you can do so at the link here.

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