Misidentifications

A woman new to Texas thought she had a lemur in her backyard; turned out to be a native ringtail cat. (News source.)

A video of a black "big cat" in Australia looks like a large domestic feline. (News source.)

Hairless Raccoon

A "chupacabra" body in Texas turned out to be a hairless raccoon. (News source.)

Lioness was a Dog

Spanish police shot what they thought was a female lion, after a massive search for the animal. It turned out to be a dog. (News source.)

Michigan Housecat Misidentified

A rather clear image of a housecat was being promoted as "cougar evidence" in Michigan, until DNR officers pointed out the misidentification. (News source.)

One-Legged Snake

A Chinese woman killed what looks like a "one-legged snake." (News source.)

The leg is coming out of the snake's stomach region, however, so despite the similar coloration, it doesn't look like it actually belongs to the snake.

Another Big Housecat

A DEC officer in New York went out on a "cougar" call and came back with a photo of the culprit: a very large housecat. (News source.)

Washed Up Mystery

A big animal with at least one horn washed up on a Trinidad beach, leading to all kinds of speculation. Officials eventually said it was a bull from a herd that roams a plantation in the region. (News source.)

Misidentification

An old newspaper account from Arizona illustrates that even widely different animals can be confused by some people.

Giant Snake Reported

A 39-foot (12 meter) snake (but only 8 inches thick) is being reported by terrified farmers in the Córdoba region of Colombia. (The dimensions, of course, are incompatible. Such a large snake would be much thicker.) (News source.)

Black Cat Mis-ID

In the latest of a series on NC big cat sightings, the columnist relates how a black feline turns out to be canine...

Fossil Worms Weren't

Turns out that some fossil tubeworms were misidentified: "scientists discovered that what was previously identified as fossilized tubeworms were actually fossilized tubular escape hatches for methane, a major constituent of natural gas." (Eurekalert)

Not Quite

Big tracks in Australia are likely from a canine, not a feline. (News source.)

Apparently this passes for news today: The RCMP has not captured a live Sasquatch. (News source.)

Deep-Sea Misidentifications

An interesting case where male, female, and larval forms of deep-sea whalefish were separated into three different families, and now resolved. (News source.)

Black Cat in Arkansas

An Arkansas couple think there's a "black panther" in the neighborhood; a Game and Fish officer saw the animal, and says it's a house cat. A police officer saw the cat and says he thinks its as big as a rottweiler. Images and video were taken of the cat, but are not posted online, as far as I can see. (News source.)

Big (House)Cat

After sightings of a "lion" in Virginia, officers responded to a call from a woman who saw an unknown animal sleeping in her backyard. Turned out to be a big housecat. (News source)

Another Fuzzy Video

A black "panther" video was taken in Wisconsin -- it's just a dark-colored housecat. Doesn't look anything like a cougar or any melanistic exotic feline. (News source.)

Tennessee Cougar Alleged

Tracks found in western Tennessee have some people thinking "cougar." (News source.)

Now, looking at the enlarged version of the tracks (at the news site), it doesn't look that much like a cougar track. The claws are prominent and the shape is wrong. It's probably a dog. See this nice little brochure for more details on distinguishing tracks.

"Cougar" Attack Called Hoax

The PA Game Commission has, after testing the evidence, been unable to find anything that points to a cougar as the animal that allegedly jumped a Lancaster County man. They think it is a hoax.

Now, it may be a hoax, or it may be misidentification/exaggeration by fear. This never did sound like a cougar incident to me, but I am concerned about the hoax charge (and the statement that they may file charges against the man) -- if it was not a deliberate hoax, this may create further impediment for future potential witnesses. (News source.)

Lancaster Co., PA, "Cougars"

Frankly, there's nothing at all in this story that sounds like there are cougars here in Lancaster County, PA. Maybe some exotic felines, but I wouldn't rule out large feral housecats. I've heard quite a few stories of "mountain lions" here, which were patently not based on actual cougar sightings. (News source.)

Dog Might Be Panther

Republic, Missouri, police think a Great Dane known to them is probably responsible for a panther sighting in the area. (News source.)

Univ. MD "Cougar" Isn't

Police think the feline spotted on University of Maryland's campus was not a cougar, but a "savannah cat," a serval-domestic cat hybrid. This is based on video, which I've not seen, (and I don't see it on the UMD police department website, though reported there by the news). I don't know how accurate the identification is; it's fairly common for a simplistic exotic solution to be "jumped on" by authorities when the evidence is vague. Might just be a large patterned domestic cat, sans hybridization. Of course, in comments on the story, most will overlook the "hybrid" part of the explanation, and freak out over the "African wild cat" part.

U MD Cougar?

A big light brown cat was spotted on the University of Maryland campus. (News source.)

Illinois "Cougar"

Questions remain on alleged cougar sightings in Palos Heights (news source), and tracks in Alton are canine (or maybe otter).

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...

PNG Lizard Hunt Called Off

The search for a "Komodo dragon" reportedly roaming loose on the west coast of PNG has been called off, as it appeared to be a case of hysterical rumors with no substantial evidence that such a lizard was actually present. It may have been a hoax, or a misidentification. (News source.)

Ape or Squirrel?

A Florida Fish & Wildlife investigator thinks the "orangutan" seen in Baker County was just an orange-phase fox squirrel. From the news:

"Fish and Wildlife investigator Ken Holmes said the creature is not behaving like a primate, especially with its nocturnal activity." ...
"On Oct. 30, Holmes said he got a call about the mystery animal stealing the sweet snacks from a bear hunter who lives near Macclenny. Holmes looked into the tall pine tree and saw something 100 feet up moving around but couldn't confirm if it was an ape, squirrel, monkey, raccoon or even a cat.
"So Holmes decided to lay doughnuts at the base of the tree to lure the creature out. The animal left but wasn't seen or captured.
"From the way he was eating the doughnuts, Holmes said it probably wasn't an ape.
"'Orangutans are messy eaters. If the animal were an orangutan, you would expect to find pieces of donuts or fruit scattered all over the place, rather than just neatly nibbled,' Holmes said."

Not a Cougar

A motorist in central Florida called 911 to report a dead panther alongside the road. A police officer sent to investigate found only a dead raccoon. (News source.)

Feline Fur was Fox

A fur sample collected by a witness in Maine turned out to be red fox, not mountain lion. The witness is still adamant that the animal he saw was feline. (News source.)