How did the Carolina Panthers get to be called the panthers?

Answer 1

Its a regional name, the south has a lot of Cougars that are known by various names throughout the south such as Moutain Lions, Cougars, Pumas and Panthers, thus when Carolina was given a team they went with a regional name to represent the location just like the New Orleans Saints (due to Louisianas catholic heritage), San Fransisco 49ers (for the 1949 California gold rush), Miami Dolphins (based on the tropical nature of the ocean next to Miami) and a few others that are pretty obvious. Why did they choose it? Mascots are best when they are A aggressive in nature and B relevant to the teams location and/or its heritage, thus you get the Panthers