Arkansas Cougar

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission say that a big cat reported near Searcy is probably a former pet. From the news report:

"The sightings and incidents have taken place in an area three miles south of Panther Creek.
"Gary Lovitte said his daughter, Angela, came face to face with the animal, also called a mountain lion or cougar.
"'She was outside talking on the phone just after dark and saw a brown cougar sitting in her yard,' Lovitte said. 'It seen her and started after her, and she liked to have killed herself getting in the house.'
"A few days after that, James Johnson, who lives and raises cattle on Bostic Road in the area, had a close encounter with the animal. One day as Johnson rode his tractor through a pasture to check on his cows, the panther attacked the vehicle, leaving superficial scratch marks.
"Johnson thinks the animal was not trying to kill him but attempting to make him leave. His dogs had already left the area before the animal, which had a long tail and was not solid brown, appeared.
"'It was a good thing his tractor didn’t die,' Lovitte said.
"Johnson found one of his calves killed under some trees just before the incident. When Lovitte went out to see the calf’s body, it had been moved in broad daylight.
"Lovitte said another resident had an experience similar to that of his daughter.
"'It was just before dusky dark and she had her dog on a leash,' Lovitte said. 'It came down the road and meowed a couple of times, and the dog pulled her back inside. It screamed, and they sound just like a woman screaming.'
"Another calf, owned by Steve King, was also killed, Lovitte said, and two gas exploration workers recently spooked two panthers from a thicket as they went about their work."

[Full news posted to StrangeArk archive.]