Comments on: Breaking: New Mystery Cat Photo

By: krisabyss

krisabyss — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 16:23:24 +0000

Newbie here, so I apologize if my info is old news, but this French language website has some fantastic pics of unusual big cat hybrids.

http://fauvesdumonde.free.fr/hybride/hybride2.php

Don’t miss the link to the pic of an ocelot/cougar
http://view.photos-animaux.com/photos,image,5:831::270484;9.html

If that’s possible, then a bobcat or lynx/ cougar hybrid is plausible.
KA

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 02:05:13 +0000

Apparently this cat’s true nature is so nebulous, we might as well say it’s a clouded leopard and call it a day!

(Sorry, couldn’t resist that one)

By: coelacanth1938

coelacanth1938 — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 01:52:20 +0000

It looks about as real as a Cottingham fairy.

By: Richard888

Richard888 — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 01:51:34 +0000

Not a cougar IMHO.

By: MattBille

MattBille — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 01:48:50 +0000

If the photo is genuine, I would say mountain lion. I think the blowup creates the fuzziness and any appearance of markings. The leg does look strikingly muscled, but it still looks more like a mountain lion than anything else.

By: Loren Coleman

Loren Coleman — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 01:48:01 +0000

The Maine Wildlife Park is a zoo. Many zoos contain pumas. This zoo contains animals that were once native to Maine, and may be said to be extinct today.

By: violinflu

violinflu — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:57:16 +0000

I saw a catamount (quasi-extinct Vermont mountain lion) twice in 1991, both times at my house, which is in the woods of central Vermont. The first time, I was working at my desk when a huge cat with a very distinctive long tail sauntered past my window, not 20 feet away. The second time, it was winter and I barely glimpsed something out back. We went to investigate and found the tracks, which were unmistakable: feline, 4 inches long, with a 20″+ stride. DNA testing of scat confirmed a catamount in Vermont in 1994, but in 1998 further testing cast doubt on the original finding. I certainly haven’t seen another one since.

All this is to say I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if there were mountain lions in Maine, but I must say, the cat in this photo seems a bit darker and more mottled than I would expect a mountain lion. It’s also difficult to get a sense of scale from the picture.

By: Digger44

Digger44 — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:29:32 +0000

Loren,
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t some scat in NH test positive DNA to a mountain lion a few years ago? Off the top of my head, it was the Ossipee region??? If this is a mountain lion/cougar, it shouldn’t be a massive shock for those of us who live in the area. I’m in NH.

By: YourPTR!

YourPTR! — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:18:52 +0000

Interesting you should mention the Face on Mars dharkheart (which despite Nasa’s best attempts at debunking remains clearly a face, although a seriously eroded one) as the right hand side of the face resembles a lion.

By: harhey

harhey — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 23:35:10 +0000

Bobcat, A big one too!