Big black cat sighting

[MagsC]

I was thinking about it and the reason I vaguely remember the Discovery channel thing was my middle daughter was all excited about it since she felt it validated HER sighting.
There is without a doubt some kind of big darker colored cat out there, whether its a dark brown cougar, jaguar, river cat or whatever.

I am sure there are some misidentifications but what my family has been seeing is consistent.
We have had the "weight of it" discussion with family members before and the consensus is generally 50 to 75 pounds.

 

[easttxchick]

Quote:
I actually live on the edge of the Big Thicket and have only seen one and heard one scream out in our pasture one night. One of the scariest sounds I have ever heard.
I haven't heard of them being called "river cats", but that was probably an old timer who had lived in the Big Thicket all of his life. We actually just call them black panthers. According to a book I read on the Legends of the Big Thicket, black panthers don't exist-go figure.
Guys up here see them pretty regularly when they are out on their deer leases. My husband and one of his hunting buddies were stalked by 2 of them and trapped in his camper overnight.
Don't know what you all saw Maggie-but I know what we have seen. I don't like the idea of any big cat being near my house!
More info than you asked for I know, but there it is!

 

[ChikeeMomma]

Ya never know. There have been cougar sightings in northern Michigan (lower peninsula). DNR had said they do not exist here in Michigan. And yet now there are signs up in some of the state and national parks. The signs say that there have been cougar sightings and what to do if you encounter one.

 

[MagsC]

Nope, Sheila, thats great info.

And yes, the person I talked to was almost 90 years old at the time.
I do appreciate all opinions, for and against? I truly dont expect everyone to believe it. If we didnt have the experiences we have had, I might be a little skeptical....but then again, maybe not, I tend to listen and think but I am not very judgemental when it comes to things. I have seen too much I cant explain.
Yeah, I dont care for them being so close to the house in broad daylight, it just makes me think something is wrong with the animal.

 

[dacjohns]

The original post is so far back I don't remember all that was said in it so this is response to some of the things since them.

When government agencies such as DNRs say that cougars don't exist they are usually talking about a breeding population. Males are known to roam for hundreds of miles. There are verified cougar sightings in many states that don't have breeding populations.

I don't know of any verified melantistic cougar (cougar, puma, mountain lion; the North American version of the big cat). There are melanistic versions of the southern cats; jaguar, etc. I have seen very dark bobcats but not melanistic. The pattern was still easily recognized.

South and Central American cats making it past our states on the border with Mexico. I don't think it is very likely.

 

[charmed one]

My neighbor found one of his calves dead up in a tree. Conservation people told him it was a bob cat.

Yea, right. a little bob cat toted that 100 pound calf up in the tree. Then later on, they were seen parked on a side road nearby pointing a satelite thing in the area. When pressed for answers, they admitted that mountain lions were released in the area to help with the deer population! The cats were all chipped when released and they were looking for them! Now another calf has been found dead. Don't always believe what officials tell you. You are only going to hear what they want you to know.

 

[lorieMN]

Quote:
I believe you,,I am guessing you where around the Grand Rapids-Remer area?..I have seen them myself when snowmobiling there,My ex-inlaws are from that area,I spent alot of time in the woods around there,they have been there for years,it is a very forested area,many parts I am sure still have never been seen by humans,a guy I know lives in Remer,he grades all those long lost back roads in in the forest and he has seen them also,he is proabably retired now.Just because the experts havent seen them doesnt mean they are not there,the experts keep saying there arent any cougars in MN,but one has been seen with pics taken in the metro area all winter.

 

[emmalynn]

We have 2 here in our area. I black one and a tannish yellow one (I guess the typical color) so yes I DO BELIEVE YOU. Our next door neighbor was out looking for some cows and got stalked by one. He is a big guy but states he was scared sh*&^ess!!

 

[MagsC]

Its good to know we arent the only ones that have been seeing them.
We are actually in southeastern Minnesota along the Mississippi River. There are a lot of animals live in those river bottoms.
Last year people in the area saw what they at first thought was a yellow lab drinking out of their cow tank and it turned out to be a cougar. I dont know if it moved on but for months there were times we would hear it scream.
Also, last year, in the Lake City area, someone sighted a cougar with little ones.(what do they call young cougars anyway? cubs? kits?)
The black cats, who knows what they are? From everything I have heard, they seem lighter in weight than a cougar and the heads look kind of different too.
The back of what I saw was as black and about the size of a yearling bear cub.
LOL, my nephews were awful excited about it. When they went downstairs to tell my mother, she said she thought at first I was teasing/working them up.

I told her "For shame! I would NEVER tease them!!!

)
And then my father told her what he saw.

 

[cedar post]

Quote:
We have these in Northern WI. also they are a color phase of a cougar. We have them in NW WI. and they are reproducing as we seen a female with two kits near our cabin in the woods this last fall they are very large. Now I suppose we that love the northwoods have another predator we have to be careful of. My wife made me buy a pistol a few years back because of very near encounters with wolves that we have had !! The predators in WI. have nothing to fear from humans and thus we have alot of problems and it will end with a human attack at some point. What your children. Mike