Posted on 08/29/2015 8:23:32 AM PDT by Theoria
Officials ponder changing cat’s status, causing roar of protest; sighting a ‘U.F.O.’
Diana Marchibroda insists she saw the beast near the Appalachian Trail in Virginia in May. From the woods sauntered a “tall, very sleek” mountain lion, she says. Ms. Marchibroda, a dentist who is 62 years old, says she and her silver-haired miniature schnauzer, Sophie, “both watched in awe.”
“My sighting is ABSOLUTE,” she wrote the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in July. “I know what I saw.”
Dozens of similar missives have poured into the agency as it proposes removing the Eastern mountain lion from the list of endangered species, where it has been since 1973. That change comes because the agency believes the creature no longer exists and would effectively render the subspecies extinct.
The roar of protest is from Easterners who contend the formidable felines still roam forests, fields and backyards from Maine to Georgia.
“There was no mistaking that long tail!” wrote one commenter to the agency in June, about an alleged sighting in New York. “Big as my bike,” promised another about a purported lion in Harrisburg, Pa.
The debate is “sort of in the realm of Bigfoot,” but with more scientific basis, says Noah Charney, an expert animal tracker in Western Massachusetts. The occasional mountain lion is spotted in the East, after wandering in from the West, but it is exceedingly uncommon and officials say people are reporting far more sightings than technically possible.
Also called cougars, pumas and panthers, mountain lions boast impressive tails, buff builds and often tawny-brown coats. They thrive in the West and have expanded eastward in recent decades, breeding in spots like South Dakota, with sightings increasing in the Midwest.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
The most downloaded female pic for many,many internet years Cindy Margolis.
A picture of one just like this was captured last week on a trail cam in Chipley, Florida. I saw the picture. I don’t know if the Eastern Mountain Lion is the same as the Florida panther but the one I saw looked exactly like this picture.
It’s like Florida panthers. They are still out there but are better at staying away from humans. I saw one a few years ago near Wakulla. It stayed visible long enough to see the kinked tail. It wasn’t one of the puma imports. People see them occasionally in the Appalichicola National Forest and sometimes but rarely down in the Glades. The panther is smaller than the Western lions and some non-locals who see them think they are seeing some long tailed wildcat or a really big feral kitty cat.
My neighbor, here in Connecticut, is positive that he saw one. Claimed he saw it last year, and it was not a lynx.
I consider him to be a reputable source.
I saw one cross the dirt road in northern Mexico. It was not standing tall, just the opposite. It was crouched down with is belly very close to the ground as it ran. Same as I have seen feral tomcats run, trying not to be seen. It’s tail appeared to be as long as it’s body.
I got an image from the Army Long-Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System (LRAS3) that proves otherwise, taken at night at Fort Benning, Georgia around 2007-8. Looked to be a sixty - seventy pound cat with a long slightly curled tail. We had been out on foot in the area where the image was taken just minutes prior to when we saw him.
Always listen to government experts. Then make sure they see you ignoring them.
L
Her sister "Valar" has been popular lately, too.
Didn’t one get killed on a highway in CT not long ago?
I think there a few of those near here 40 years ago. Rural locals called them Wampus Cats. To the small towners they were that along with bobcats. I haven’t heard of anybody seeing one anywhere local in a long time. I think they were mostly in Central Florida. My wife’s grandmother had a couple of pictures of that thing with it’s heavy tail taken in the thirties. I think she was down in Pasco County at the time.
Yep, no mistaking that tail.
The locals "see" them all the time here in soviet Red Hampshire. It's a good thing they "don't exist"...that would be bad news for people with property around here. My neighbors "saw" a mountain lion recently; just a few hours before they spotted a bobcat. I saw the bobcat from a distance of three feet, but I didn't see the lion.
No, really.
My wife and I saw one crossing the rural road where we live in Connecticut in July of 2012. It crossed 50 yards in front of us at 10:00 in the morning. It was light brown, had a rounded head and its tail was about as long as it’s body. it was clearly feline but was about the size of a large dog but had much thicker legs. The same weekend we saw it there were several sightings within 10 miles or so. we live adjacent to an 8000 acre forest preserve contiguous to several hundred acres of meadow and parkland thick with deer and turkey.The state police had no interest in taking a report from us.
impressive tails and tawny brown coats....kardashians.
Florida panther, and cubs with camouflage markings. Nice!
And some are saying the FL panther is beginning to get up to N. GA mtns having followed various creeks and river/tributaries up from Okeefenokee swamp.
Pretty impressive to hear them at night. Long ago, did anyway.
Are bobcats anything to worry about? We’d heard of sightings in our rural subdivision in eastern TN for a couple years. Then last night one strolled in to our back yard and hung out for 15-20 minutes. Gorgeous animal. I’ll have my camera ready next time, if there’s a next time.
That could have been a jaguar. They have been reported moving up into TX from the jungles of mexico. Awesome critter, and a stalker not a chaser— a belly walker.
I’ve never heard of anyone being stalked and killed by a bobcat. Are they all sweetness and light? No, retreat if you encounter one out walking or hiking, leave them alone. They can do serious damage. But, predation upon humans is not a behavior that bobcats exhibit.
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