[jackmichigan]

Originally Posted by TAZORAC

Guess what...Cougars aren't black, only Leopards and Jaguars. So thats not possible.

When it comes to wildlife, nearly anything is possible. Since there have been no known dark or "black" Cougars, it's very unlikely he saw a Cougar...however, there were numerous sightings in Michigan of "black panthers" several years ago. Whatever species it was, chances are it was an escaped or released pet, but even that is not 100% certain. Many of these species can travel great distances, so one should not say that something is never possible. Heck, we had a Cougar in Michigan which had traveled from South Dakota through Minnesota and Wisconsin. That's quite a distance for a Cougar, but his travels were not finished: the Cougar met its demise along a highway in Connecticut.

Mountain lion killed in Conn. had walked from S. Dakota

[MikeBear]

Originally Posted by TAZORAC

Guess what...Cougars aren't black, only Leopards and Jaguars. So thats not possible.

Ok, so it was a Black Panther, which is what I said if you'll look again at my post.

My point still being it was a cougar-size cat, and in mid-Michigan where the DNR claims they don't exist.

[zthatzmanz28]

They say a few have strayed from Brighton bars into the Milford area. Oh wait, that is a PANTHER that has been sighted in Milford, the bars appear to be clear.

[ludwigvondrummer]

I have family and friends with first hand accounts of seeing cougars in Benzie, Wexford, and Grand Traverse counties from as recent as last fall to as far back as the 1950s. These accounts are from outdoorsmen, hunters, and farmers. Farmers with tell tale injuries to livestock, and hunters with trail cam pictures. If you tell a DNR official about these accounts, you may just as well be speaking about space aliens. You are treated as an imbecile who has mistaken a stray cat or a deer for these "extinct" wild cats. If you hand over pictures, you'll never see them again. I'm not sure what the conspiracy to deny the existence of cougars is all about, but I know they are out there and have been for a very long time.

[TAZORAC]

Originally Posted by jackmichigan

When it comes to wildlife, nearly anything is possible. Since there have been no known dark or "black" Cougars, it's very unlikely he saw a Cougar...however, there were numerous sightings in Michigan of "black panthers" several years ago. Whatever species it was, chances are it was an escaped or released pet, but even that is not 100% certain. Many of these species can travel great distances, so one should not say that something is never possible. Heck, we had a Cougar in Michigan which had traveled from South Dakota through Minnesota and Wisconsin. That's quite a distance for a Cougar, but his travels were not finished: the Cougar met its demise along a highway in Connecticut.

Mountain lion killed in Conn. had walked from S. Dakota

No, anythings not possible, Cougars are never black and the black panther thing is a fairy tale, just like Lochness Monster or Big Foot.

[TAZORAC]

Originally Posted by MikeBear

Ok, so it was a Black Panther, which is what I said if you'll look again at my post.

My point still being it was a cougar-size cat, and in mid-Michigan where the DNR claims they don't exist.

Guess what Mike....Leopards don't live in Michigan. Couldn't survive.

[ManoftheNorth]

Originally Posted by TAZORAC

Guess what Mike....Leopards don't live in Michigan. Couldn't survive.

Leopards don't live naturally in Michigan, but it's incorrect to say they couldn't survive here. Some Leopards are native to Siberia, so it wouldn't be too cold in Michigan for them, and there is plenty of deer for them to prey on. It would be possible (of course, not legally or morally possible) for somebody to release an exotic pet leopard and for it to survive here for a long time, providing it didn't have any run ins with people.

[TAZORAC]

Originally Posted by ManoftheNorth

Leopards don't live naturally in Michigan, but it's incorrect to say they couldn't survive here. Some Leopards are native to Siberia, so it wouldn't be too cold in Michigan for them, and there is plenty of deer for them to prey on. It would be possible (of course, not legally or morally possible) for somebody to release an exotic pet leopard and for it to survive here for a long time, providing it didn't have any run ins with people.

It's a possibility that somebody could release an exotic pet, but this panther myth has been around for about a decade now. As if its several loose Loepards, which is simply not true. It's like big foot, people act as if 1 animal of a specie just lives on forever, without ever dying, mating or eating.

[Giesela]

There is a pretty big trade in exotic animals out there with all sorts of people owning and keeping things like lions in tool sheds. (Cruel really). Your rural neighbors probably have all sorts of things you are unaware off. I once talked to a a Dept of Ag guy (there is like one for the whole state) who said he knew of a woman with a bunch of orangutans in her garage. Every so often you hear about someone getting their arm bitten off. Or the guy in Ohio
Zanesville Animal Massacre Included 18 Rare Bengal Tigers - ABC News
His wife was still trying to get animals back to her ownership last I heard. Personally I think its a mental illness and should be illegal.
Birders often report non native quail etc. that have escaped from those shoot in a barrel "hunting" ranches. Same with wild boar, oh thanks a lot for loosing that disaster on agriculture.
My point being that you can see anything out there. Its not wild though, its escaped.

As for telling the DNR. They were pretty open with the trail cam video they got of the mountain lion in the UP. Of course then some mouth breathers promptly rushed up to shoot it.
So I wouldn't tell the DNR, not because they would keep it secret in some conspiracy but because they would do the exact opposite and publish it, there by ensuring its death.
Cougar killing: DNR investigator says Bay City man ate feline's heart after killing it | MLive.com

[MikeBear]

Originally Posted by TAZORAC

Guess what Mike....Leopards don't live in Michigan. Couldn't survive.

I have no idea how long it lived after I saw it. However, I DID see a black panther, clearly, and very up-close.