Big black cat sighting

[WoodChic]

Black Panther?

 

[MagsC]

cedar post, several years ago my youngest daughter saw one around here (we live even closer to the river bottoms than my parents, and are on the edge of a very small town.) It was quite a bit bigger than the ones we have seen out at the family place and was chasing something through ours and the neighbor that lives in back of us yards. She saw it through the upstairs window when she was getting ready for school. She didnt want to go out to the bus stop by herself, even though it seemed to be gone, so I went and waited with her.
I had talked to a cop about it (at that point, wasnt sure WHO to let know? Now I probably wouldnt tell these ones around here if my life depended on it, TRY to take care of it myself. Sigh.

) and he said "We dont have bear around here." What???? A bear looks and runs different than a CAT. I never even brought up bear.
On a different note, he had to eat his words about a month later because as a matter of fact we DO have bear,lol. It was on the golf course of the next town over. Before that though, bear had been seen in the fields and sometimes raiding garbage cans....so I guess I didnt understand such a blanket statement.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

I just hate the idea of cougars, panthers, leopards -- whatever they are. I hate it even more so than any other predator that would be in Michigan.

 

[OccamsTazer]

I've never seen a cougar in person but I have literally crossed paths with them.
When I was 9 or 10, I was camping with my dad in Capitol Reef National Park. I walked down the mooshie streambank for a mile or so, exploring. As I walked back to camp, I found mountain lion tracks in the mud ON TOP OF the footprints I had just made.
Chills.

My vote for your black cat is a melanistic jaguar or leopard that was some loon's pet and got released. They have a lot of evidence in Britain of breeding populations of big cats as a result of this.
I just don't see a jaguar making it that far north without help, and like has been said, melanistic cougars are undocumented.
Scary, either way, but cool!

 

[MagsC]

Yeah, it makes me wonder. If thats the case, its more than one person that has released them. Maybe they have interbred with local cats. Is that even possible???
That WOULD be scary as a 9 year old coming upon the footprints.
We kept an eye on my nephews the rest of the weekend when they were outside. They arent big kids and you just never know I guess.
I also took the little dogs out on leashes.
Maybe a over reaction but I thought better safe than sorry.

I am still turning it over in my mind on WHY it would be so close and at that time of day.
Any other time they were seen, it was early morning or approaching dusk.

 

[FortWorthChicks]

Quote:
Panther/cougar/mountain lion/puma... many names

 

[OccamsTazer]

Well, if it is a released exotic pet, that would fit with it not having proper behavior. Yeesh, I don't think you're paranoid!

 

[MagsC]

If it is a released or exotic pet make it less or more dangerous?

But I would think the first one(s) would have had to been released a long time ago since there seems to be a breeding population? Or maybe once in a while another idiot lets another one loose.

 

[ravencreek]

Someone saw my black Great Dane and called the park rangers cause they saw a panther heading for my barn(they knew I was in there). Park rangers showed up at my house asking if I was ok, about that time my dog comes out of the barn and the guy laughed and was like "So YOUR this panther I'm chasing after!" We both had a good laugh at the crazy neighbor that thought I might have been attacked by a panther yet never came by to check on me....

 

[ChikeeMomma]

Quote:
I am guessing it would be more dangerous because it would have been around people. So it can associate people with food since it would have been fed by a person at one time in it's life. But maybe that's only if it's natural prey isn't abundant. That's why we aren't supposed to feed any wild predator or leave trash out for bears, etc. So maybe the same logic here. Just guessing, though.