Comments on: Michigan’s Mauling Mystery Cats

By: Scari

Scari — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:24:02 +0000

must have been a normal house cat then, obviously they don’t want to admit cougars because of the panic it might set off.

By: prestonshark

prestonshark — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:55:34 +0000

I believe that this so called cougar is actually a CRYPTID panther.

By: kittenz

kittenz — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:49:54 +0000

Spinach Village,

I’ve received lots of single scratches from cats too. But when a cat is hanging onto another, bigger animal, trying to kill it, it hangs on with everything it’s got and there are usually multiple deep raking scratches.

By: freezintooshey

freezintooshey — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:30:29 +0000

Long time lurker here, but had to comment.
I live in the upper peninsula of Michigan and there have been many cougar sightings in the area.
Even after all of this, the DNR still denies cougars, I think they always will. Unfortunately they are not too bright. Hence the moose mother shot in Ishpeming a few days ago. Anyway, this is my two cents.

By: Spinach Village

Spinach Village — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:55:32 +0000

For some reason i find this to be a fun discussion…

ok, im not sure that a knife wielding crazy maniac would get away with slashing a horse like that …

if that were the case then he or she might drunk or something …

doesn’t that hypothetical villain run a high risk of getting kicked to scrambled eggs or even trampled?

i have a couple cats and im sure many here do also… i have sustained many single scratch marks over the years…

sometimes i wake up with single scratch marks … i’m sure others will concur

By: opin

opin — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:58:36 +0000

We are having the same problem in Ohio. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources continues to state there are no Cougars in Ohio despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

The latest Ohio sighting occurred less than 30 miles from my home:

By: pitbulllady

pitbulllady — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:08:20 +0000

While I don’t doubt the existence of cougars in Michigan, or many other places of their “former” range where they’re supposedly now extinct, I DO seriously doubt that the injuries to this horse were caused by a cougar. I’ve seen how big cats attack, having kept exotic cats myself, and a cat with claws, even a small cat, will leave multiple parallel slash marks, and most often, bite marks as well. A single long ragged tear is just not consistent with a cat attack. I’ve also been around enough horses to know that a horse is a walking accident; they seem to go out of their way to get hurt, and can manage to injure themselves on things that most folks would never suspect to cause harm. A sharp object protruding from a stable wall, like a nail, a piece of loose tin, and of course, barbed wire, often do cause injuries like this to horses. I wouldn’t rule out a HUMAN cause, either; as someone else pointed out, a knife wielded by a messed-up person can most definitely do this sort of damage. The only animal that I’ve actually known to create that type of injury to a horse is a wild boar, but they will target a horse’s underbelly and I’ve never seen a hog that can reach that far up on a horse, so I’m really not confident at all that another animal did this, other than possibly a TWO-LEGGED animal.

By: Spinach Village

Spinach Village — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:50:19 +0000

The 2 camps are firmly entrenched

By: wtb1

wtb1 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:09:23 +0000

1. Is there a population of wild cougars in Michigan? Cougars, also called mountain lions, were originally native to Michigan, but were extirpated from Michigan around the turn of the century. The last known wild cougar taken in the state occurred in 1906 near Newberry. There have been periodic reports of cougar sightings since that time from various locations in Michigan. This situation is not unique to Michigan, and has been occurring in many other mid-western and eastern states as well. In 2004, a hair sample was collected from a vehicle bumper and tested using DNA analysis. That sample was positively identified as cougar. A recent study based on DNA analysis of scat samples was conducted by Central Michigan University and the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy. That study showed that samples from eight locations tested as positive as cougars. The additional types of physical evidence that would normally suggest cougars, such as carcasses and verified photos and tracks have not been documented in Michigan. 2. Are cougar sightings by themselves evidence that cougars are here? No. Most state wildlife agencies, including the Michigan DNR, rely on physical evidence such as carcasses, DNA evidence, tracks, photos, and other sign verified by experts to document the presence of cougars. MI DNR Source.

By: cliffhanger042002

cliffhanger042002 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:51:51 +0000

I agree, the wounds look more like accidental barbed-wire wounds or something to that effect, just doesn’t look like wounds that I would expect to see from a cougar attack. It could be the result of a knife wound, but the horse slipping while against a barbed wire fence seems likely too. I’m no expert, that just my opinion. They didn’t say anything really about the other horse’s wounds, nor did anyone witness the attack or claim to have heard the call of a big cat or see any tracks, so I’m of the impression that calling it a cougar attack is just jumping to conclusions.