Pennsylvania Housecat Mis-ID

A large well-muscled orange tabby housecat (farmcat?) was photographed and thought a cougar by a Landenberg, PA, man. (Story and photos here.) Brandywine Zoo took a look and immediately recognized it as a domestic cat. The man isn't so certain, and now his neighbor says he's seen the feline and also thinks it's a cougar. (That story here.) The problem is that it is obviously not a cougar. It's nowhere big enough, it's the wrong profile, and it's a tabby. (Stripes are obvious on the tail, somewhat apparent on the body, and they aren't the same as what you might see on a juvenile cougar.) But, people see what they want to see...

Feline News

"Black lions" are reported from South Africa. (News source.)

Sightings of a big black cat in Tynedale (UK). (News source.)

Spain: Black Cat

A black feline in Spain is being blamed for attacks on pigs. (News source.)

California Black Cat Photo

A California man caught a black feline on a digital camera trap, and wonders if it might be a black mountain lion. Experts note that the feline is too far away, and the picture too blurred, to be identified. (News source.)

Big Cat Hunts

A large black feline was reported in Keene, New York. The sighting account is fairly interesting, better than most. (News source.)

And, over in the UK, police search for the Beast of Hoddlesden, "dapple pale brown creature which had a white spotted face and a dark ringed tail." (News source.)

Ohio: Exotic Feline?

A Granville, Ohio, resident says she saw an unusual feline, "tan-colored with a long tail and very pointed ears and weighed 60 to 70 pounds." It was "sparring like a boxer" with her golden retriever. (News source.)

Black Panther

Interesting report from California of an alleged black mountain lion: (News source.)

The Bay Area's ultimate wildlife mystery, the mythic black panther, may have been solved by a local wildlife expert who said he and a friend sighted an anomalous black mountain lion at Point Reyes National Seashore.
"'This lion was not darkish, not a brownish-tawny like some I've seen since, but jet black,' said John Balawejder, a longtime reader and avid hiker and wildlife watcher whose daughter, Alani, has written an academic paper about the sighting." ...
"Balawejder has seen more than 10 mountain lions (that beats my six in 25,000 trail miles), so he knows what he's looking at. Like many landmark wildlife encounters, his episode came by complete surprise. On a spring day, he was hiking with a pal, Burke Richardson, out at Pierce Ranch, located at the north end of Point Reyes, on an adventure to see elk, wildflowers and views of the ocean and Tomales Bay.
"'We came up a short rise through a grassy swale, and then, looking up, saw a large, jet-black mountain lion calmly sitting, eyes half asleep looking out at us from about 30 yards away,' Balawejder said. 'My friend and I stood there, stunned. It then started to slink away from us in a large semi-circle, attempting to hide in the grass.'"

Cougar Reported in North Chicago

A large tan animal, either feline or canine, was reported seen in North Chicago. (News source.)

"Coleman was in her car around 8:30 a.m. at the southeast corner of Argonne Drive and Seymour Avenue when she looked across the street and spotted what appeared to be a very large cat.
"The tan-colored, 30-inch tall animal was slowly walking between two houses in the 1400 block of Argonne. Its long, thick tail dangling behind."

Ontario Cougar Sightings

Cougar sightings continue in the Brantford region.

Irish Mystery Cat

A large black cat has been seen prowling the Ballylawn area of Manorcunningham, Co Donegal. Details here.

More UK Feline Sightings

Two more reports of black felines. (News source.) The first:

"Marketing and PR consultant Elma McMenemy, who lives at Barras, had a close encounter with the beast, which she described as similar to a panther, on Cheyne Hill while out walking her dogs on Tuesday morning.
"Mrs McMenemy's suspicions were first aroused when her dogs, both deerhounds, began scratching at a stone wall.
"She told the Leader: 'They were terribly attracted to the wall. One of my dogs jumped over it. I looked over to see what was happening and the cat stood up. It was right there, about three or four feet away from me.'
"Mrs McMenemy (56), said the cat was 'completely black, with a shiny, smooth coat' and the same height as one of her deerhounds - about 28 inches tall.
"'The dogs appeared to have interrupted its breakfast,' she continued. 'It had been gnawing at what looked like a deer's leg. My dogs gave chase, and it ran. It tried to take its meal with it, but dropped it a few seconds later'."

Another sighting involved a "cocker spaniel" sized, dark colored feline.

Australian Mystery Animals

Northern region of New South Wales has a thylacine-like mystery animal: "Perhaps these animals are just mangy foxes or wild dogs. Farmers and other rural dwellers regularly observe these introduced species. However, the descriptions sound more like an animal that is supposed to be extinct. The strange, waddling gait, the kangaroo-like tail and the brown bands across the back remind us of the remarkable thylacine." (News source.)

The same writer records 50 sightings of thylacine-like animals, that he received during 10 years on an Australian radio program. (News source.)

And, a veterinarian opines that the mystery animals reported at Maraylya are possibly introduced black leopards. (News source.)

Feline Sightings Worldwide

A UK fisherman reported seeing "a dark grey animal the size of a fox, with a long thick tail," on the other side of a Snodland lake. (News source.)

A Crawton (UK) woman saw a 3-foot-long dark colored feline about to attack a neighbor's cat. The locals call the creature "The Beast of the Mearns." (News source.)

The Chicago Tribune has an article on cougar sightings in the US.

Washington County, IL, may be home to a cougar, according to some residents. (News source.)

More "black cat" sightings from Australia. (News source.)

Irish Big Cats

From Ireland, sightings of a "family dog"-sized black feline continue. (News source.)

Kentucky Black Feline

A cell phone photo is the only evidence for a "black panther" reported in Whitley County, Kentucky. The photo, on the news site, shows a feline with a profile matching that of a domestic housecat. (It does not match that of larger species: cougar, leopard, etc.) Nothing in the photo gives an accurate idea of size, so I don't know why anyone is saying that it is larger than that of a housecat. (Or, one of the ever-present large feral barn cats.)

Lynx in Wales?

From the news:

"A big cat spotted by a family as they drove home through Radnorshire was probably a lynx, according to an expert. The beast was spotted near Felindre by Anne Owen, of Newtown, who was travelling home with her family after an evening in Knighton.
"She has described the cat as being the same size as a big dog, but with cat-like ears and a flecked white coat.
"Anne said: 'It happened near Felindre at 10.45pm last Saturday. My husband was driving and got a better view of it as I had just turned around to talk to our son, but we saw a very unusual creature.
"'It was the size of a large dog, long and thin, with mainly a dull white coat, but with large, long grey and black flecked markings, with cat like ears.
"'I thought it had a long curled tail and it certainly didn't seem bothered about the car. It just looked at us and sauntered on past.' ...
"The sighting – the latest in a long list in Mid Wales – has excited big cat expert, Danny Bamping, who suspects the animal Anne saw was a lynx ...
"He said: 'It sounds very much like a lynx with the exception of the mention of the long tail, as they have only very small ones, but this is a good sighting by all accounts.'"

Scottish Wildcats

An independent film-maker has shot what may be only the second documentary on the rare Scottish wildcat. (News source.)

Beast of Castor

From the UK, the "beast" of Castor has been spotted again, by a man walking his dog. He reported a black feline, about 2 1/2 foot long in body, with a tail about as long. (News source.)

Scottish Wildcats

The Aspinall Foundation is planning to breed-and-release hybrid-free Scottish wildcats into various parts of the U.K. (News source.)

Another Australian Big Cat Sighting

From Harcourt, Victoria, Australia, comes a big black cat report:

"Coliban Water bailiff Dennis Clapham spotted the large animal while on his way to turn on channel water for Harcourt Valley Vineyards shortly before 7 am on Sunday." ...
"Mr Clapham said from a distance of less than 100 metres he estimated the animal to be about 60 cm high and with a body length of up to a metre that moved with a distinctly feline quality." ...
"Harcourt Valley Vineyards owner Kye Livingstone said his brother had first sighted the paw prints at the dam’s edge on the weekend, but had suspected them of being a neighbour’s dog.
"But, he said his neighbour’s dogs tended to wander off together and the single set of prints, each measuring eight centimetres across, indicated something much larger."

Beast of Bretton

Coming from the UK:

"Howard Moody was cycling to work in the evening on Tuesday, when he stumbled across a big cat – thought to be the Beast of Bretton – running across his path.
"Mr Moody, (40), from Woodston said: 'I was by Lea Gardens, on my way to work at about 7.30pm, when a big cat crossed the path in front of me.
"'It was definitely not a dog – you could tell by the way it was running – and it was far too big to be a normal house cat. It was three foot high and five or six foot long.'" (News source.)

Misc. Feline News

A Clemson University employee reported seeing a "panther or cougar" this past weekend. (News source.)

Vermont confirmed their first lynx in 40 years, when a Derby farmer shot it to protect his farm animals. (News source.)

Despite numerous sightings, Iowa DNR says cougar are rare there. (News source.)

Chinese Gov't and the Tiger Photo

Chinese officials are going to continue their search for South China tigers despite evidence that the photo recently publicized is a fake. Looks like they may be planning to create a tourist draw in the area. (News source.)

Cougar in South Carolina?

Big feline sightings coming from South Carolina:

"When Dee Field read in the newspaper that at least two Clemson University security officers saw an animal on campus that was described as a panther or cougar she thought that it could have been the same animal she saw bound across her back yard." ...
"Ms. Field said before she and her husband David left for Maine in late May, they were sitting on their deck, which overlooks a gentle sloping back yard leading to a large wooded area in Heritage Oaks.
"'It was huge,' Ms. Field said. 'It weighed at least 70 pounds and came across our property. I know what I saw. I had such a great look at it. It was right beneath me. I saw the full length. It had the longest tail. It was as long as its body.'"

More on WV "Lion"

A Charleston, WV, businessman has offered $3,000 for the safe live capture of the "African lion" being reported in that region. (News source.)

OOPs

What may be a sika deer is wandering Newark, OH. (News source.)

A feline that looks like a maned lion has been reported in West Virginia. (News source.)

Electrocuted

Six Asian elephants (in a herd of 40) got drunk on rice wine fermenting in a farmers' hut, went berserk, and uprooted utility poles, electrocuting themselves. (News source.)

Five Asiatic lions in western India were killed by electric fences surrounding crops near a wildlife sanctuary. (News source.)

Strange Felines around the World

Miami's Metrozoo held a birthday party for their resident king cheetah, one of only 5 in the U. S. (News source.) [via Kevin Stewart]

A North Yorkshire farmer found 5-inch long prints of what he thinks may be the Beast of Ryedale. (News source.)

Nye County, Nevada, Sheriff's Office received a report of a tiger seen by children waiting at a bus stop. Volunteers went searching, but no tiger was found. (News source.)

Some hunters in Wisconsin think they saw a cougar. (News source.)

Some people online have questioned the authenticity of the South China tiger pics, which is upsetting the photographer and the local officials. (News source.)

NC "Feline" Elusive

Nothing new on the supposed "big cat" from Bolivia, NC, though more canine-like tracks have been found, so officials are suggesting it might be "a large wolf or bobcat." The rumor mill is pointing to a closed-down private zoo, empty for a year, as a possible source. (News source.)

NC Varmint

Bolivia, North Carolina, has reports of a large feline stalking the area, possibly killing two local dogs. A large paw-print taken near attack, however, features claws, which points to a canine, not a feline. (News source.)

Beast of Sedgemoor Again

Peggy Brant recently found and recorded on tape some rather large animal prints.

Is this the Beast of Sedgemoor again?

The Sedgemoor beast is one of the British Mystery Cats, described as a large panther like cat. The feline has been haunting the area for at least 2 decades now and has spurred a number of reports.

Clouded Leopard - News - But Why Now?

News has hit the waves of a reclassification of the clouded leopard from Borneo from sub-species to full species classification. This is good news for conservationists, and felid follows.

But, the news is making the waves now, creating the appearance it is new.

The actual reclassification was presented in December 2006 in the journal Current Biology (volume 16, issue 23, December 2006).

In the paper Molecular Evidence for Species – Level Distinctions in Clouded Leopards, the researchers identified genetic differences splitting the previous Neofelis nebulosa diardi into Neofelis diardi. The distinctions being significant enough to compare to the differences exhibited between the known Panthera species (which include lions, tigers and leopards).

This entire scenario is also supported, and vice-versa, within the same journal in the paper Geographical Variation in the Clouded Leopard, Neofelis nebulosa, reveals Two Species”. Here the researchers here looked at the morphological differences on the pelages .

These two papers support the basis for a species reclassification on a genetic and morphological basis.

The question therefore is raised, why now is the story being heralded as a new discovery?
The association over to conservation on mainland Borneo is one strong suggestive reason. The more attention the area receives, the more pressure is acclimated to a protection basis. While all this is great, we still must keep our attention to the details behind what is reported.

Please see the December 18, 2006 post here at Strange Ark for more details.