Speaking of cats...
- Thread starter TIDE-HSV
- Start date
WOW..Is that what they call a Bobcat or a Mountain Lion Earle???..Even though it's a beautiful creature..Those creeps me the heck out man..
The stones are quite large in that wall and those are iris in the front left. Also, it has a long tail which you can see the beginning of and is tucked under it. Bobcats are sort of brindled and have no tail to speak of (hence the name). Cougars are a uniform tawny color. Neither is normally seen out lounging in midday. It may be an exotic pet that got too big for the owners...
Yup..Here's an article I found about cougars & bobcats in Alabama are usually family pets that got to big for them to safely raise in a home..Here's a pic that looks a lot like the one in your pic..
Here'The Link..CLICK ME
Cougar sightings in Alabama are rare. It is suspected that most of the large cat sightings in Alabama today are actually bobcats or possibly cougars that were raised as pets and released or escaped into the wild. Adult mountain lions measure five to six feet from tip to tail, and bobcats are about half that size and have a short stubby tail. Over the years, residents have reported seeing large black cats described as black panthers, but there has been no physical evidence confirmed by a wildlife professional in since the 1960’s.
Here'The Link..CLICK ME
Cougar sightings in Alabama are rare. It is suspected that most of the large cat sightings in Alabama today are actually bobcats or possibly cougars that were raised as pets and released or escaped into the wild. Adult mountain lions measure five to six feet from tip to tail, and bobcats are about half that size and have a short stubby tail. Over the years, residents have reported seeing large black cats described as black panthers, but there has been no physical evidence confirmed by a wildlife professional in since the 1960’s.
The stones are quite large in that wall and those are iris in the front left. Also, it has a long tail which you can see the beginning of and is tucked under it. Bobcats are sort of brindled and have no tail to speak of (hence the name). Cougars are a uniform tawny color. Neither is normally seen out lounging in midday. It may be an exotic pet that got too big for the owners..
Yeah, the tawny color was throwing me off. But what looks to me like facial tufts don't really fit with cougar either. Though much more rare, there are some near-tawny bobs as well.
The picture's a bit blurry though - hard (for me anyway) to tell just from the picture whether what I'm seeing as tufts or what you're seeing as a tail are actually there or not.
But if you saw this cat in person and are calling it a cougar, it was a cougar - I know that you know your wildlife. If so, I'd have to agree: an exotic pet that made an escape. Not sure if I buy the reports of truly wild cougar in the eastern US outside of a tiny population in south Florida (around 100 animals).
I agree. It's either an escaped or released pet. I guess somebody thought that, because they're called "mountain lions," Monte Sano would be a good home. We've noticed that our squirrel and chipmunk population has crashed. If they would stick to that, I'd invite them into the yard. However we have two pet cats wandering around. Funny, but I thought we'd have the black bears here first. They're already as close as Little River Canyon, about 60-70 miles away, and, with the state park, the Land Trust Lands, Forever Wild and lands too steep to be developed with the present slope regulations, we have thousands of acres of woodland around us. Bears are omnivores, despite their classification, and they are really interested in your food. I understand and don't fear them, having dealt with them in the mountains, backpacking, for many years. Big cats, predators of opportunity, are a different story. Now, if cougars would decimate the deer overpopulation up here, I'd still be all for them...
I don't see the tufts. I do think I can see the bend in the tail. Certainly it doesn't have the characteristic bobbed tail. My wife thinks she can see it's eating a snake, which is part of their normal prey. I didn't see it in person, but I am familiar with that wall and the size of the stones. It's way too large for a bobcat. Bobcats here range from 20-25 lbs. Our Maine Coon cat is 22. This pictured cat is much larger than that...Yeah, the tawny color was throwing me off. But what looks to me like facial tufts don't really fit with cougar either. Though much more rare, there are some near-tawny bobs as well.
The picture's a bit blurry though - hard (for me anyway) to tell just from the picture whether what I'm seeing as tufts or what you're seeing as a tail are actually there or not.
But if you saw this cat in person and are calling it a cougar, it was a cougar - I know that you know your wildlife. If so, I'd have to agree: an exotic pet that made an escape. Not sure if I buy the reports of truly wild cougar in the eastern US outside of a tiny population in south Florida (around 100 animals).
I believe that Shenandoah NP also has a population.Yeah, the tawny color was throwing me off. But what looks to me like facial tufts don't really fit with cougar either. Though much more rare, there are some near-tawny bobs as well.
The picture's a bit blurry though - hard (for me anyway) to tell just from the picture whether what I'm seeing as tufts or what you're seeing as a tail are actually there or not.
But if you saw this cat in person and are calling it a cougar, it was a cougar - I know that you know your wildlife. If so, I'd have to agree: an exotic pet that made an escape. Not sure if I buy the reports of truly wild cougar in the eastern US outside of a tiny population in south Florida (around 100 animals).
A friend that lives up on the mtn around the Chula Vista area off I20 put a video on FB about a year ago of a black bear rummaging through his back yard. For those that travel I20- this is the really craggy ridge line between Pell City and Moody on the north side of the interstate. I was shocked to see one in our area. I've heard that there are some in the Sipsey. I've never seen any and typically don't worry about hanging my food. A few transients at Cheaha wouldn't surprise me either, but Chula Vista was dang unexpected.
The existence of black panthers was debated frequently in the 70's among my people on Lookout Mountain and Sand Mountain. Some would swear they heard one ("sounded just like a woman screamin', I swear, it'd raise chill bumps up your spine") and others would dismiss it out of hand. I never saw one personally, but it wouldn't shock me to find that a few remained into the 70's or even later.
Black Panthers just don't exist. They may have seen a mountain lion moving through though: https://www.outdooralabama.com/watchable-wildlife/Watchablearticles/blackcats.cfm
Edit: I should say that they don't exist in the western hemisphere.
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As I told you earlier, I'm going to head over that house and take a couple of reference shots of that wall - with a tape - so the size can be judged better...
Good article. Here's another backing it up.
I don't concern myself much with whether the so-called panthers are/were actually mountain lions. That's undoubtedly true, but a little bit tangential. The issue that the folks argued when I was a child was when/whether the last black cats disappeared from Alabama. It looks as if they were pretty well gone by the 50's, with one or two confirmed reports in the 60's. I'm not particularly vested in the debate, but it does make for interesting reading.
That's the article I actually tried to find to initally link. I couldn't remember where I'd read it. Yes, big cats were here, but the black, big cats never were.
I didn't know bob cats could get so big. THis says up to 41", but that doesn't mean that they get that big here: http://www.defenders.org/bobcat/bobcats
In some of the reading this morning, I saw where there isn't a bobcat population here either. I didn't realize that. I thought that they were scattered about.
In some of the reading this morning, I saw where there isn't a bobcat population here either. I didn't realize that. I thought that they were scattered about.
You might want to go over there packing, you know, just in case it's hungry. :biggrin2:
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