"Heavens to Murgatroyd! Exit stage left!"
Posted on 09/19/2008 10:18:00 AM PDT by P8riot
BLACKSTONE, Va. - Like some other residents of this small town, Mary Elizabeth Goodwyn doesn't go outside after dark much anymore.
| ADVERTISEMENT |
Goodwyn, 81, used to welcome the dusk under a red maple tree in her front yard every evening, but that was before cougars started showing up in Blackstone _ at least in the local newspaper.
Since 2003, the Courier-Record has run at least 15 stories on cougar sightings in town and in the neighboring 41,000-acre Army National Guard training base.
Wildlife officials say that except for a known population of 100 in Florida, the large cats _ also called mountain lions, pumas, panthers and the fitting "ghost cats" _ were wiped out in the eastern United States by 1900. They claim sightings most likely are cases of mistaken identity _ perhaps a bobcat, deer or even a Labrador retriever.
(Excerpt) Read more at sg.news.yahoo.com ...
Ping!
AM, please fix the title. Don’t know how “Search:” got in there.
They were not wiped out. My grandmother heard them up in the mountains here in GA back in the 80s.
A pack of cat hunting blue ticks ought to be able to prove this claim in pretty short order, I would say... If y’all are short of them down there, there’s plenty in the Rockies raring to go...
It is his 33-1/3 Birthday, after all...
We used to live in the country close to Asheville, NC. When we spoke with the folks who’d lived in the area for years, they just smiled when we mentioned that the “experts” said that “painthers” were extinct.
Now, I live in Asheville and know of a sighting right near a densely wooded section of town where a number of individuals saw a very large cat scavenging in a dumpster outside our local WalMart. He was scared away when a garbage truck backed into the dumpster as it prepared to empty it. Note: This was in broad daylight.
Folks around here don’t have a lot of respect for the opinions of “experts.”
There are two mountain lion that I know of here in NY.
Officialdom says they are not here.
I’d like the officials to tell the cats that.
Thats nothing, my MIL won't let her dog out alone in broad dayight. She's seen on TV that there are bears, cougars and coyotes in WA state. I've tried to tell her we live in town. :)
see tag line: “The experts are to be believed.”
lol.
Semi-Crypto Ping!
Whats the big deal? I exist and I grew up in Virginia 40 years ago. Case closed :^)
I don't believe they ever left. Back in ‘65 we occasionally found their tracks along deer trails and beside creek beds. I would tell my parents about it, but they never believed me until the night my Dad and I were standing on the front porch, and a cougar screamed in the deep woods about 100 yards out. I think they've always found a way to remain largely unseen among us. Some of the old timers would tell me cougars were the ghost of Johnny Reb, silently slipping through the poplars, and still spoiling for a fight. Even in developed suburban neighborhoods there's plenty of cover and things to eat (we're up to our armpits in Va. Cottontail and deer, too many deer), and our respective schedules keep us out of each others hair...most of the time.
Jaguar’s are back in some of the states that border Mexico too, they have undeniable proof, I think this is kind of cool.
Absolutely. Several of my neighbors have seen them here in southwest VA. I have seen a photo of a dead one taken near here, too. Why all the secrecy?
Yeah, I saw that article too. Interestingly enough it was researched and written about the same time we wer visiting my in-laws in the mountains just outside of Tucson.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.