Sunday morning I was driving from Trinity to Onalaska. I was on 356 just before the Polk county line when I saw it. It casually jogged across the road (right to left) and then it kind of hopped down to the bottom of the ditch and up to the top without touching the sides and just trotted into the woods. It was so cool, all I could do was say OOOOOOOoOOOOOOOOoOoO. I stopped to see if I could see it walking in the woods but I couldn't. That was the first big cat I have ever seen in the wild roaming free. I've seen Bobcats before but those are just babies compared to this one. I plan on going back out and walking the stretch of road where I saw it in hopes to find some of its paw prints tomorrow. If I find them I'll post some of the pictures.
Because of your "Blatz accident" thread, I expected crudely drawn stick figures when I clicked on your thread. I was slightly disappointed
Pushing my luck? Edit: Okay, after doing some googling maybe I should have said cougar or Jaguar. Now continue with calling me a liar.
What you probably saw was a cougar (also known as a Mountain Lion) and, maybe I missed the sarcasm, but when tigermission said "pushing your luck" he may have meant that cougars are dangerous and you shouldn't try to get close. I don't know any statistics but there are stories (and even documentaries) on people, especially on the west coast, getting attacked and killed by cougars while they are out jogging or mountain biking. From Wikipedia Or maybe Tigermission was screwing with you...
I expect that it was a cougar. They can be dangerous. However in most cases if you do not do something stupid wild animals leave you alone. But you should be carefull. It is very cool that you saw one.
lol, yea, you go do that. and make sure you have someone filming you while you're at it. i need a good laugh at someone else's expense when that cougar tears your jugular.
Panthers/Cougars are rare in east Texas. I think you saw a bobcat. My dad saw a bobcat in a League City driving range a few years ago. I saw a bobcat cub by a Mcdonald's dumpster off of 59 eating leftovers. It was cool.
Exactly what I was thinking. So you are going to go back to the exact spot that you saw a large wild animal in hopes of finding paw prints. Risking a confrontation with it (and your life)......for paw prints. You don't see the danger and lack of foresight in doing that at all?
My 10,000th post http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/ordcarni.htm Jaguar Description. Largest of the spotted American cats; form robust; tail relatively short and tapering; ears small, short, and rounded, without tufts; pelage short and rather bristly; upperparts spotted at all ages; ground color buffy to tan, spots blackish, often with light-colored centers; underparts and inner surfaces of legs white, heavily spotted with black; tail with irregular black markings. Dental formula as in the mountain lion, but canines relatively smaller. External measurements of an adult male: total length, 1,933 mm; tail, 533 mm; female, 1,574-432 mm; height at shoulder of a large male, 712 mm. Weight, up to 90 kg; one male from Texas weighed 63.6 kg; another, 42 kg. Distribution in Texas. The jaguar inhabits the dense chaparral and timbered sections of the New World tropics and seldom ventures into the high, cooler inland areas. Apparently, it was once fairly common over southern Texas and nearly the whole of the eastern part of the state to Louisiana and north to the Red River. The last verified records of the jaguar in Texas are from near the turn of the century and this beautiful cat is now extirpated from the state. The jaguar is listed as "endangered" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Mountain Lion Description. A large, long-tailed, unspotted cat; body long and lithe; tail more than half the length of head and body, rounded in cross section, and black-tipped; claws long, sharp, and curved; soles haired, but pads naked; ears small, rounded, without tufts; upperparts and sides dull tawny, darkest on middle of back and tail; face from nose to eyes grayish brown; a pale patch above each eye; back of ear blackish; chin, lips, throat, and underparts whitish; underside of tail grayish white. Dental formula: I 3/3, C 1/1, Pm 3/2, M 1/1 X 2 = 30; upper molar very small, sometimes absent. External measurements of a large adult male: total length, 2.6 m; tail, 927 mm; hind foot, 259 mm. Total length of three males averaged 2.3 m; of females, 2.0 m. Weight of three males, 160-227 kg; of six females, 105-133 kg. Species distribution mapDistribution in Texas. Once statewide; now known with certainty, except for occasional occurrences northward, only in desert mountain ranges of the Trans-Pecos region, especially in Big Bend National Park, and in the dense brushlands of the Rio Grande Plain. Ocelot Description. A medium-sized, spotted and blotched cat with a moderately long tail; about the size of a bobcat but spots much larger, tail much longer, and pelage shorter; differs from the jaguar in much smaller size and in presence of parallel black stripes on nape and oblique stripes near shoulder; upperparts grayish or buffy, heavily marked with blackish spots, small rings, blotches, and short bars; underparts white, spotted with black; tail spotted, and ringed with black; both sexes colored alike. Dental formula as in the mountain lion. External measurements average: (males), total length, 1,135 mm; tail, 355 mm; hind foot, 157 mm; (females), 930-285-135 mm. Weight, 10-15 kg. Species distribution mapDistribution in Texas. Once ranged over southern part of Texas with occasional records from north and central Texas; now restricted to several isolated patches of suitable habitat in three or four counties of Rio Grande Plains. Margay Description. A small, spotted cat similar to the ocelot in color and color pattern but smaller, more slender, and usually with longer tail; skull seldom exceeding 110 mm in greatest length. Dental formula as in the mountain lion. External measurements: total length, 862 mm; tail, 331 mm; hind foot, 112 mm. Weight, 2-3 kg. Distribution in Texas. The margay is a neotropical felid that ranges from northern Mexico to northern Argentina. It is recorded from Texas on the basis of a specimen taken near Eagle Pass in the 1850s. Eddleman and Akersten found remains of this cat in Pleistocene deposits along the Sabine River in Orange County, so a few thousand years ago it ranged over a considerable part of southern Texas. Jaguarundi Description. Small, slender-bodied, long-tailed, unspotted, weasel-like cat; size somewhat larger than the ordinary alley cat; legs short for a cat; two color phases. Grayish phase: upperparts grizzled, salt-and-pepper gray; underparts slightly paler; more black in winter pelage. Red phase: upperparts reddish, intermixed with blackish; head and legs more brownish; lips and throat usually whitish. Dental formula as in the mountain lion. External measurements of an adult male: total length, 1,070 mm; tail, 572 mm; hind foot, 137 mm; females usually smaller. Distribution in Texas. Brush country of extreme southern Texas in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy counties — where it is rare. Bobcat Description. A medium-sized, short-tailed, reddish brown or grayish cat about the size of a chow dog; upperparts reddish brown, streaked with black; underparts whitish, spotted with black; back of ears black-rimmed, with white in center; ears usually slightly tufted; hair on sides of head long, producing a ruff; pelage elsewhere rather short; tail usually shorter than hind foot; the tip black above and white below, with three or four blackish bars above just in front of tip; legs relatively long; feet large, with five toes in front, four behind. Dental formula: I 3/3, C 1/1, Pm 2/2, M 1/1 X 2 = 28. External measurements average: (males); total length, 870 mm; tail, 146 mm; hind foot, 171 mm; females, 772-144-158 mm. Weight of adults, 5-9 kg, occasionally as much as 16 kg in old animals. Species distribution mapDistribution in Texas. Statewide. Habits. Bobcats occupy a variety of habitats, but they have a decided preference for rocky canyons or outcrops when such are available. In rockless areas they resort to thickets for protection and den sites. They are associated more commonly with pinyon pines, junipers, oak, or chaparral in Texas but they also occur in small numbers in open pine forests. These cats are highly adaptable and in most places have been able to cope with the inroads of human settlement.
Large cats usually have large territories so the chances are small that you'll run into the cat. Go look for them prints.
Panthers are really black leopards. We have no black leopards in Texas, only Jaguars and Pumas (go Coogs). Ah, damn you. You stole my thunder. I was about to post : [unlikely image] __________________
Yeah, that's what I meant. But hey, what do I know? Cougar + nosy human could actually prove quite entertaining.
