Giant Cat Spotted in Ohio

05/27/2009

It was big, tan, and had a long tail. That’s how one Ohio resident described the creature she saw from just 200 feet away as it moved through the tall grass near her house over Memorial Day weekend. She says she got a good look at the animal’s face, and that it was definitely a cat. Her theory?  She saw a mountain lion.

Mountain lions were wiped out of much of their historic range in the lower 48 states. Once found from Canada down through South America, mountain lions—also called pumas, cougars or panthers—only survive in the U.S. in the western third of the country and in a tiny population in Florida. The eastern cougar is listed as an endangered species and was gone from most of its range by the early 1900s. Or was it?

Each year, sightings of large cats are reported in eastern states. The most recent comes from Ohio but earlier this month, a hunter in Arkansas got a photo of a cougar using a hidden camera. Reports are common in places like Michigan and New York , where there are large tracts of remote wooded areas and lots of white-tailed deer, the cougar’s main prey. After all, if white-tailed deer and black bears, both which also suffered massive population declines, can now be found in numbers greater than pre-European times in parts of their range, why couldn’t remnant cougar populations have survived and be expanding?

Unfortunately, the best evidence suggests otherwise. Despite sightings like the ones in Ohio and Arkansas, signs of these big cats that are common in areas with wild populations are lacking in the East. If the cats where there in viable numbers, tracks, territorial scratch marks, remnants of prey, scat and roadkilled cats would be found. Recent research expeditions mounted in NY, NJ, PA, MD, VA, WV, and KY all failed to find evidence of cougars in the wild in those states. Wildlife officials believe that most sightings are simply misidentifications of other animals such as bobcats, coyotes, large dogs or deer.   Some are hoaxes. The few cases where cougars have been confirmed were animals that had likely been released or escaped from captivity, or a rare individual that wandered in from the West.

While it’s probably unlikely that a viable breeding populations of wild eastern cougars have survived, given time and strong conservation efforts, mountain lions from the West could one day re-colonize former habitat in the East, which would be a cool thing indeed.

Learn more about the mountain lion and other big cats.

VIDEO: Watch these natural born warriors!

Comments

[bigcatcentral]

I always enjoy reading stories like this! I think it's possibly a small population of eastern cougars could have survived.

[David Mizejewski]

I'm hopeful that this is occurring too, but it doesn't seem likely based on the science. We can still hold out hope though! As I said in the post, both black bears and white tailed deer have recolonized habitat in the east all on their own after being decimated for decades. Given time and good conservation laws and practices, it's possible that cougars could do that same.

[Winter Dryden]

I am one of the people who witnessed the mountain lion in Aberdeen, Ohio. There have been about 7 people so far who have seen it. There's also one family who spotlighted 2 mountain lions in the field near our house while late night fishing. I am a Sunday School teacher, and 1 of the other witnesses is a preacher. There is no need to lie, or even a possibility of the mountain lion being something else. Bobcats are in this area, as are coyotes. None are as big as these cats. The Wildlife Officers make you sound crazy when you report this type of thing, and I am starting to wonder if they are perhaps trying to cover something up. Either way, if a rescue organization does not step up and come get these cats they will be killed. That is the reality here in hunter country. I am an animals lover myself, and would rather see them caught, and relocated. If anyone can help please post on the Ohio Mountain Lion Watch website.
http://ohiomountainlionwatch.wetpaint.com/

[Kristin Smith]

These sightings are common here in Ohio. We've been sighting puma here for at least three solid years in a small 10 mile radius. The thing in common to all the sightings is a river- namely the Little Miami and its tributaries. Two sightings here at our property were at close range- one within 100 yards and one within 100 feet. Both individuals are highly aware of the differences between coyote, bobcat, and other often mistaken animals. The good news is the closest range sighting scared the cat and it took off- this is not a human conditioned cat- at least yet. One sighting here was a typical tan colored cat of medium build, but one not far away down the river was of a juvenile with rings still present on its tail. That sighting was at close range. Reports come in all of the time and we're getting very close to obtaining proof by way of photograph that what we're seeing is real. 2008- 2009 has been an incredibly busy sighting season- it just doesn't appear as such because no one place contains all the sightings. I get notified every time one occurs and I am always astounded by the lack of news surrounding each event. Time will eventually prove what some fortunate people have been allowed to see to for themselves- but in the meantime, people need to be aware that they're out there, and it looks as if there's more than one.

[David Mizejewski]

Thanks for sharing Winter and Kristin. It would indeed be cool to get a clear photograph, video or some other definitive evidence. Keep us posted here!

I recently posted about a video taken of an unidentified creature in Britain that could be a big cat. Check it out and let me know what you think the video shows.

http://blogs.discovery.com/animal_oddities/2009/08/big-cat-sighting.html

[cellulite cream]

OMG! that's a big and dangerous cat, but still a wonderful creature.

[Anti Cellulite Cream]

That cat is so pretty. It is beautiful.

[lifecell]

That cat is humongous! It is very beautiful too.

[wrinkles cream]

What a huge cat! She is such a beautiful cat though, if only she wasn't aggressive.

[ab rocket]

i saw a show about this on the discovery channel. i recommend looking for the video online... it's worth watching

[Sigrid]

Hi. I'm in Ohio and am one of the people Kristin wrote about previously. I saw the cat, clearly a mountain lion, @ 100 ft. from me. It wasn't running, it wasn't a flash, it strolled. That was the day after Thanksgiving 2008 . I'll never forget it. We also heard it a few times .A sound you will never forget.
Tonight my husband and I both heard it scream. It's been almost exactly a year .
That sound ,the scream, is as interesting to me as the cat.I now believe in genetic memory.

[Jim]

On Monday, December 28, 2009, I was traveling north on interstate 71. A winter storm, made travel slow, and I saw a mountain lion sitting off the road. This was just south of the turnpike exit. Wish i had a camera, or more time to stop. Guys at work thought I was crazy, but I am sure of what I saw. Biggest cat I've seen. I would say it was 3 feet tall, head to feet as it sat there, definitely not a bobcat ...anyone else catch this beautiful sight?

[voip phone adapter]

very interesting read. thankfully, i saw the headline in one of my RSS feeds and had to come here to read the full story!

[jmc]

I live in Ohio and there are indeed mountain lions about. Every few years there are reports of a lion spotted outside of Pickerington (an eastern subburb of Columbus, OH), and recently outside of Xenia (near Dayton). In the fall of 2006 I personally witnessed 2 mountain lions walking across I-675 on my way home from studying one night. It was between SR725 and SR48. There were few cars on the road and seeing two gold colored 4-legged creatures ahead of me I slowed down (thinking they were dogs about to run over the hwy). I slowed down and 100 - 200 ft in front of me were 2 lions causally crossing the interstate! I was north bound and they were going east to west. One was a little bigger than the other, and they were without a doubt mountain lions. I only wish I could have dug my phone out of my bag fast enough to get a picture. I was simply awe struck!
I assumed they lived in a nearby state park. That following spring, 2007, I saw another mountain lion dead on the side of I-70, near Enon.
I've been told that they usually hunt at night and their territory is large enough that they are not commonly seen. Though plenty of people have reported seeing them.
I'm not sure why people dismiss the idea of large cats in Ohio--we are close enough to the mountains and there is plenty of uninhabited forest for them to thrive. Perhaps it is the need to believe we have control over the land.

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[Stacy]

I, too, have seen a large black wild cat. I live near the Little Miami and I live near the woods. I saw it creep in and out of the woods. I saw it just for a moment and it had a super long tail. I have a large sized lab/german shepard dog and it was larger than him. I called the local police department and they told me that there is the possibility of large wild cats here in this area. Many people thought I was crazy, but I have come to find out that another person has recently seen another large black cat and it was at first mistaken as a large black rotweiler dog, but once close to their face and seeing the body close, it had all feline characteristics. I do hope that we as humans and animals can live together in harmony.

I have been hearing crazy screams now this time of year behind my house and I am wondering what animals those are coming from.

[lifecell]

Wow, I never even knew that. That's amazing.

[t touch expert]

Wonderful, I'm glad I found this post.

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Now I have been informed.

[imaginationacres]

We live in Germantown, Ohio and near the Germantownship Reserve. My 18 year old first seen the very large black cat about midnight. She swore it was massive, large as a dog, but was a cat. We laughed. Then I too spotted this about 4 months later at about 10:30 at night just about 1 miles from the location she had spotted it. Then today we found the remains of a black feline on the side of the road. To large to be the average house cat. What are they?

[mind movies bonus]

I was looking for a post on this topic and I finally found it. Thanks.

[world at war dvd]

i love cats, but know that one of these could gobble me up sends shivers down my spine.