I highlighted the bold wording. The mixing up of imported females, either by accident, or more often deliberately, has been common since Locales became financially distinctive with quotas in the late 90's. Many importers would deliberately change the label on, for instance, an imported Tamatave female, which could have been sold for approximately $100, to being an Ambilobe, and triple their profit. The "most reputable breeders" are just that because they know this, and when breeding and selling the offspring from that female, would wait until the male offspring colored up to verify the dam's locale purity. When it is obvious they have been snookered, reputable breeders do not try to pass off they newly produced locale hybrids as pure because a label somewhere said the dam was "this" when she ended up being "that". That said, you can go onto Kingsnake classifieds on almost any given day and see folks selling obvious hybrids as "pure", solely because the breeding stock label said so, whether they bought the breeding stock as an import, or in many cases, from another breeder. You may have meant to imply that a "reputable importer", who may also be a "reputable breeder", would market imports as labeled. True, but all female imports are unproven, as they can't have been "proved". All breeders of any experience in the business of purchasing WC stock know the risks involved. Those new to the business may have to learn like the rest of us did, the hard way, or they may be fortunate enough to figure it out ahead of time, or read here.
As for being the "all we know ..... 50-90% crosses ....", that would be for those who do not deal with breeders with long proven track records of dependable bloodlines. An easy way to minimize this risk is to buy offspring that are large enough to show colors (males), so at least the breeder has demonstrated an opportunity to prove their bloodlines. That, combined with a multi-generational track record, will take the "50-90%" and reduce it to less than 10%, IMMHO. Over time, reliable exporters/importers/breeders have developed solid track records of being honest. Those less reliable have earned their reputations, and have the opposite track records. Ask around.
I was attracted to this thread by the title. As explained very well by Chris and others, I believe the original premise was flawed. My short answer is that the concept of "naturally occuring panther hybrids" is an oxymoron. As pointed out, the "labels" we assign and expectations of color are just that, expectations of man, often driven by marketing. Mother Nature could care less.
Considering this, in my eyes it makes the whole "pure locale" thing seem like more of a tactic for marketing, than anything else.
