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Posts:
1,188
From:
Connecticut
Registered:
11/5/07
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Posts:
1
From:
maplewood,mn
Registered:
12/13/07
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(47 of 2575)
Dec 13, 2007 5:11 PM
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hey all you cat lovers out there!! i live in minnesota and have seen two cougars on several occasions, but the d n r thinks i am crazy. I would get a better response if i claimed to see an alien..... for the record the two i have come in close contact with have appeared to be black,the upper part of the back is actually much darker than the rest of the kitties, i wonder if that is why the black cat stories are so numerous??if you come accross one of these things with a flash light it is the eriest thing you have ever seen. these guys watch you, and i mean watch... no blinking at all - they follow you totally with there eyes.While i was being stalked by these cats they were laying down on the ground crouching , they look black. i saw a smaaler one(suspect female) run across my path 40 feet away early one morning, the cat ran across an unfinished shuffleboard court, its span from front paw to tip of tail spanned complete - 7 to 8 feet i guess. this thing was so fast and quiet my little dogs (walking with me) never even flinched. These cats follw the same path the deer take constantly, i can tell when they are here , the wild turkey group begins to dwindle alot, 18 turkeys a year ago , about 8 now. the rabbit population fluctuated from 10 plus to a couple of real fast ones remaining.last but not least the area i reside in is 6 miles from st paul minnesota, one mile from a larger shopping mall, so if you dont think they are not in your area , think again!!
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Posts:
2
From:
New Orleans, LA
Registered:
12/13/07
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(48 of 2575)
Dec 13, 2007 6:43 PM
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In 2005, I was traveling West on Interstate-20 about 6-8 miles east of Monroe, Louisiana( between mile markers 126-130 to be specific) and this huge black cat jumped onto the road and froze in front of me. I slammed on the brakes and came to a stop about 30 feet from this cat. It looked at me for a few seconds and then shot back into the woods. The cat was completely black and about twice the size of a bobcat, but smaller than a cougar. From watching it run, it ran close to the ground. To my knowledge, the last cougars were seen in Louisiana 40 years ago. Does anyone know what it might be? I’ve told many people and they shrugged it off, and I had forgotten about it until I saw a show on the History Channel last night(12/12/07)about Jaguar and black cat sightings in the USA. This was no big alley cat-I’ve owned cats all my life. This cat’s head was as wide as a large dog. I know what bobcats and cougars look like and how large they are because I regularly see them when I take my grandchildren to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, which is where I live.
I am curious if anyone has any ideas what I might have seen.
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Posts:
1,188
From:
Connecticut
Registered:
11/5/07
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(49 of 2575)
Dec 14, 2007 2:10 AM
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they do villify to some degree the animals, but as the saying goes knowledge is power , knowing there animals are there allows people to take precautions, like don't leave your pets out at night.
the Eastern Puma research fact sheet , if you scroll down from side one of it has a number of safety tips as well as info on what to do and what not to do .if you encounter a "big cat"
http://www.easternpumaresearch.com/factlistings.htm
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Posts:
33
From:
Washington
Registered:
12/6/07
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(50 of 2575)
Dec 14, 2007 1:59 PM
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I wasn't too into this episode. Does anyone else agree that big black cats didn't seem to fit the monster category? Maybe they do, but usually when I think of monsters, I think of Loch Ness or Bigfoot or Werewolves. It was an interesting show, just not my favorite.
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Posts:
33
From:
Washington
Registered:
12/6/07
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(51 of 2575)
Dec 14, 2007 2:08 PM
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Where does the term Black Panther come from if there are no actual black panthers? Maybe I missed that part of the episode. Also, did anyone think that one black cat in Minnesota looked like a house cat? I sure did and then the experts agreed. Maybe it was an optical illusion for the guy, in the way the moon looks huge on the horizon and small in the sky. While they say the camera never lies, it's often hard to judge size by video.
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Posts:
1,188
From:
Connecticut
Registered:
11/5/07
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(52 of 2575)
Dec 14, 2007 2:11 PM
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No , It really didn't fit the monster catagory
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Posts:
33
From:
Washington
Registered:
12/6/07
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(53 of 2575)
Dec 14, 2007 2:27 PM
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Good, I'm glad someone else agrees. Black cats exist in nature already. We know this. Now, if it were about mutant cats that are possibly a hybrid breed of some sort, that's a different story. I do know I wouldn't want to be attacked by any cougar be it black or brown...
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Posts:
3,354
Registered:
11/30/07
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(54 of 2575)
Dec 14, 2007 3:04 PM
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You are right, it really doesn't fit the monster category. I mean, we already know that there are large black cats like black leopards and jaguars. So it is entirely possible that the eyewitnesses are seeing a black couger, instead of a monster cat. It isn't a monster, it's just a big, black cat.
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Posts:
1,188
From:
Connecticut
Registered:
11/5/07
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(55 of 2575)
Dec 14, 2007 3:18 PM
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It would be helpful to the people effected , to know which type of Black Cat they are dealing with cougar, leopard, jaguar , exotic/domestic cat hybrid , Florida panther etc. So they know better how to handle the situation like the ranches in Oklahoma a leopard is probably a lot more dangerous than a cougar , so if it's a leopard that escaped captivity or was released ,they need to know ,especially if it has kittens , which raises the possibility of a breeding pair.
It's an important subject , but I agree with Yeti16 at the end of the day they are still big cats ,and not monsters
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Posts:
3,354
Registered:
11/30/07
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(56 of 2575)
Dec 14, 2007 3:23 PM
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The people do need to known what species of cat they are dealing with but then again, that's all it is, a big cat.
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Posts:
1,048
From:
Crystal Springs, NV
Registered:
11/11/07
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(57 of 2575)
Dec 14, 2007 4:34 PM
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I agree that it's not considered a monster and shouldn't have been show material. But I am glad they did do it because it has raised awareness of the cats being around. Me as well as others here know they exist but the general population probably doesn't.
--
Area 51
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Posts:
3,354
Registered:
11/30/07
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(58 of 2575)
Dec 14, 2007 4:42 PM
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The general population knows that there are cougers out there, but I don't know if eveyone knows that they can be black. That's why people interpret them as alien big cats.
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Posts:
1,188
From:
Connecticut
Registered:
11/5/07
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(59 of 2575)
Dec 14, 2007 5:11 PM
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Here is information quoted fromthe Eastern Puma research fact sheet
from
Things to know about about Eastern Native King Cats, Cougars and Pumas section
6. over 7,700 sightings since 1960 by trained observers with wildlife, forestry management,law enforcement backgrounds
10. documented clusters of cougars, panthers and pumas have been verified in the Eastern United States since the early 1900s
From side one of flyer
Description
Adult colors
Tawny,sand,tan,blond,brown,crimson red,rust,toast,charcoal,gray,coal black and chocolate
Size 3-7 feet
weight 85-120 pounds
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Posts:
536
Registered:
12/5/07
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(60 of 2575)
Dec 14, 2007 6:06 PM
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Well, if you want to get technical, Cryptozoology is the study of any animal thats not officially recognized by science, yet is thought by some to exist anyway. That could be Bigfoot, Nessie, Sea Serpents, or lets say, a pink tiger.
In a broader sense, it also encompasses animals that did at one time exist (dinosaurs, etc.) of which some people have reason to beleive they still exist.
It also emcompasses animals that seem otherwise 'normal', but don't belong in certain places. For instance, there are no bears in Africa, yet there have been many (seemingly reliable) sightings of the so-called Nandi Bear.
So sightings of a big black cat in the US definatley falls in this category.
Calling the show Monsterquest is a bit misleading. They obviously went with a sensational and entertaining title.
edit: I see your info CThuntress. Does the rest of the scientific community share the same opinion that puma's can be black? Or does that particular organization include info from 'undocumented' reports. If its now considered official, then yes its no longer in the realm of cryptozoology.
I missed this episode and will have to catch it in reruns.
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Edited by ugot2bekidding at 12/14/2007 6:13 PM
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