Big Cat in NJ - Part 3

03/19/2010

This week I've written a few posts about an odd animal sighting near my home town in New Jersey: a large, long-tailed cat that has been spotted chasing deer.

You've shared your thoughts on what it could be, and I've shared some of the cat species that this mystery animal could potentially be.  While we'll probably never know for sure what it actually is, I would put my money on it being a hybrid of a domestic cat and an exotic wild cat. 

In recent years, these hybrids have become trendy pets.  They are more exotic looking than true domestic cats and many are much larger too--just check out the photo to the right to see what I mean. There are several types that go by various names.  There are savannah cats (African serval hybrids), bengal cats (Asian leopard cat hybrids), safari cats (South American Geoffroy's cat hybrids), Chausies (Asian jungle cat hybrids) and a few others. 

If the witness reports of the cat spotted in New Jersey last week are accurate, the animal has a long tail, which rules out a bobcat.  In my mind, it's much more likely that the cat is an escaped hybrid pet than it is that it's a mountain lion that wandered in on its own or escaped from captivity.

Now, before you get all excited about the possibility of getting one of these cats as a pet, be aware that there are some serious issues with breeding and owning these hybrids and their descendants.  Here's a video from Scott Lope of Big Cat Rescue, Animal Planet's 2009 Hero of the Year, discussing some of the issues surrounding these hybrid cats.

Photo source: 105.1 The Buzz Blog

Comments

[Raymond Ho]

It seems plausible considering how small the track was (just realized the object on top of the track is a $10 bill). However, wouldn't they be too small to chase down white-tailed deers?

Perchance the track was made by the hybrid and eyewitness account was that of a cougar?

[David Mizejewski]

Anything's possible, Raymond. I personally think chances of it being a mountain lion are really, really remote. That said, you're right that it's doubtful that a savannah cat would try to take down a deer, so who knows?

[data recovery]

very cute cat. Though I fear from cat but love to see their actions

[Andrew]

Im really intersted in this im a 17 year old kid in rehab in houston,tx and im intrested in becoming a zoo oligist or a researcher for big cats,reptiles,marsupiles,aquatic animals ect... but this cat really intrest me i think its very strange how this kind of thing of thing could be possible a wild cat being intamit with a domestic cat and i really want to know what this big cat exactlly is or a name for this strange animal????????