http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1026443 Wildlife encounter strikes fear in neighborhood Big trap for a big cat By ERIC HANSON RICHMOND -- Westpark Lakes is a subdivision recently carved from the prairie of northern Fort Bend County. Occasional encounters with a raccoon, a coyote or some other varmint are not unusual. But what one resident saw last week has people locking up their children and pets. A black panther jumped into Tim Parker's back yard and grabbed and killed the family's pet schnauzer, Misty. Parker and his wife, Lisa, had just returned to their house in the 22000 block of Canal the night of Aug. 22. While dressing for bed, he heard Misty bark twice and then let out a loud yelp. Thinking his dog had encountered a skunk or some other creature, Parker ran downstairs and into his back yard. "There standing in the corner was a big black cat. Bigger than a Rottweiler, just standing there with my white schnauzer in its jaws. She was just limp," Parker said. When the cat spotted Parker, it jumped the fence with the dog in its mouth. Neither has been seen since. Parker, 39, said he found deep claw marks on his wooden fence and blood was on some nearby rocks. There was no other trace of either animal. After word of the attack spread through the neighborhood, Parker said people began telling him of pets that had strangely disappeared. Was the big cat the cause? Parker said many of the ducks from the subdivision's lake also are missing. "We have found feathers and feet, and that's it. So it's apparent something is out here eating these pets," he said. But so far, Parker is the only person to lay eyes on the big cat. Parker said he contacted the Fort Bend County Animal Control office, asking for help, but was told it did not have the capability to take care of such a matter. A call to Texas Parks and Wildlife ended with the same result, he said. Sheriff Milton Wright said he would help and that his deputies would shoot the animal if it were captured. "And, we have seen a lot of four-wheel drive sheriff's trucks driving around the field. We really appreciate that," Parker said. Deciding that significant help was not on the way, Parker decided to take matters into his own hands. He contacted his brother-in-law who traps and relocates animals for a living. They set up a large cagelike trap behind his back yard. Recordings of an injured rabbit are turned on with hopes of luring the animal into the trap. The county's animal control officer, Vernon Abschneider, said there is no hard evidence a panther is in the area. "To be quite honest, a panther in this day and time is very unlikely," he said. The likely candidate? A bobcat, Abschneider said. But Parker said people in the neighborhood think the panther may have belonged to a former neighbor who had several exotic pets. He said some of the animals escaped into the surrounding countryside when police raided the home several years ago. Amanda Ashley of the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Department said she could find no record of any recent raids in the neighborhood. Richard Bayer, assistant general manager of the Houston Zoo, said mountain lions are the only large cats native to Texas, and they are light brown. "It is likely that this is somebody's pet that got loose," Bayer said. Parker's neighbors are bringing their pets in at night and keeping a watchful eye on the children. Patricia Daniels, who can see Parker's back yard from her home, said she is not too worried about letting her two young sons play in their back yard because she has a Rottweiler. "But we used to ride bikes in the evening and now we don't do that anymore," she said. Daniels said she is worried about neighborhood children who play and catch crawfish at the local pond. "Animals get thirsty and go to water, and that is where the kids are," she said. Another neighbor, Delicia Smith, said she and other residents are very scared. "We want it removed from the neighborhood because we have children here, and we are concerned for their safety and ours," Smith said. Parker agrees, noting that the panther did not appear to be afraid of him. He said children are at risk. "If this animal is brazen enough to jump into a lit back yard, who is to say it won't kill a little child." Parker said.
How freaky would that be??? A stinking black panter in your yard!!! You'd need to call over that Crocodile Hunter to round it up... use your best australian accent for this next quote: "awwwww...look at that one....she's a beauty.....but she's verrryyyyy dangerous...i might lose a limb with this one...but here goes"
"Cougar stalks and kills cross-country skier" Cougars are becoming a big concern up here. It seems to be a growing problem all over North America, including Texas. Here's a pretty good article on the topic. http://www.bcwf.bc.ca/alerts/AlertsStories/01CEAB1478.nclk
