Cougars ( mountain lions)

[WingedMonkey]

A year ago, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission invited the public to submit reports of any sightings or signs of the elusive Florida panther to a new website the agency had created.

The very first one that popped in turned out to be … a monkey. Specifically, a rhesus macaque roaming the woods near Silver Springs.
Panther biologists looked at the photo, looked at each other and said, "Oh, yeah, this is off to a great start," recalled biologist Dave Onorato.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/environ...12-and/2136613

[rocketsocks]

http://www.tampabay.com/news/environ...12-and/2136613

Macaques as big as a Mountain Lion, Seriously.

[WingedMonkey]

Macaques as big as a Mountain Lion, Seriously.

Still, the public sometimes has trouble distinguishing a panther from the pack of wildlife found across the state. Bobcats, foxes, coyotes, dogs, house cats and even a monkey were among the species mistakenly reported.

"I had a biology professor from a community college who said he saw one at Sebastian Inlet," Land told the Tampa Bay Times. After state biologists studied his photo, Land told him, "Dude, that is a black house cat."

http://www.ibtimes.com/hundreds-flor...ouse-cat-photo

[jeffmeh]

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/b...ster-sighting/

[FishyOne]

People see what they want to see or think they saw some think but.... , I think Game Warden nailed it, physical evidence, the case in CT they have a dead mountain loin, that's easy.

[bamboo bob]

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/b...ster-sighting/

I grew up a mile from Dunster Lane. Hard to imagine.

[jeffmeh]

I grew up a mile from Dunster Lane. Hard to imagine.

The print in the snow looks pretty authentic to me, but I am no expert. Personally, I'm convinced that we have them around here (I'm in North Andover). I am not so convinced that we have a breeding population, rather some lone animals passing through, but there is still enough forest up here that a small breeding population could be possible.

The notion that someone could mistake a fisher for a cougar is preposterous. I have spotted fishers multiple times, even one in my back yard that we watched climb a tree and take a squirrel from its nest. The action in the nest reminded me of one of those old cartoon scenes, with fur flying. Quite an interesting experience viewed from one's kitchen window.

[bamboo bob]

I never understood how anyone can get a cougar mixed up with a bobcat. I've seen a cougar on the PCT. There was no mistaken that. But bobcats get much bigger than people think. You would think people would get good pictures no though.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I never understood how anyone can get a cougar mixed up with a bobcat. I've seen a cougar on the PCT. There was no mistaken that. But bobcats get much bigger than people think. You would think people would get good pictures no though.

You might have already seen this, but if you want to have some fun, check out this old thread where someone posted clear photos of a bobcat that were taken in Connecticut and then read the amount of debate there was as to whether it was a bobcat or a mountain lion.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...OBCAT-(w-pics)

[WingedMonkey]

The print in the snow looks pretty authentic to me, but I am no expert.

The photo in the story is not from the reported sighting, it is borrowed from another site to show what a print looks like. Poor reporting

[bamboo bob]

That was a bobcat Elf. lol

[Another Kevin]

I think some of the huge bobcat that have been spotted in the Taconics might be Lynx canadensis × rufus, a lynx-bobcat hybrid. Lynx seem to be spotted farther south every year. They're another species that seems to be recolonizing partly by interbreeding, much like Canis lupus × latrans. (The red wolf appears to be an emergent species from coyote-wolf hybridization, and a lot of Eastern coyotes have at least some wolf DNA.)

[Pedaling Fool]

I think some of the huge bobcat that have been spotted in the Taconics might be Lynx canadensis × rufus, a lynx-bobcat hybrid. Lynx seem to be spotted farther south every year. They're another species that seems to be recolonizing partly by interbreeding, much like Canis lupus × latrans. (The red wolf appears to be an emergent species from coyote-wolf hybridization, and a lot of Eastern coyotes have at least some wolf DNA.)

That's interesting, is there something you can link that talks about this or is it just based on anecdotes/perception?

[sfdoc]

PBS just ran a program titled "Meet the Coywolf." $20. on the PBS website, or perhaps you can get it "on demand." The Red Wolf is not a wolf/coyote hybrid but a species all it's own. They have been reintroduced into NC. Unfortunately, since it is smaller than the Grey Wolf, it's being mistaken for a coyote and being killed.

[Another Kevin]

That's interesting, is there something you can link that talks about this or is it just based on anecdotes/perception?

No time to go chasing the citations right now. Ping me if I don't get back to you. Was it Canis or Lynx that interested you the most?

[Pedaling Fool]

No time to go chasing the citations right now.

I hear ya, getting ready to leave myself.

Was it Canis or Lynx that interested you the most?

I was specifically interested in the Canadian lynx expanding it's range south. I don't know much about this cat, but I've read that they use to commonly be seen in Pennsylvania, but then again other things I've read contradict this.

I was also curious if these sightings were common in that mild winter of 2012? From what I've seen they really love the snow and have the paws to deal with it.

[Gus9890]

@Wise Old Owl, yes I have seen them in the last 10 yrs. I go up home every summer and for deer season every year.

@Pedaling Fool, I've seen Canadian Lynx in Northwest, PA, but not too often. They seem to stay deep in the woods but the Bobcats are seen both in the woods and once in a while around town.

[Another Kevin]

@Pedaling Fool:

Found that paper on introgression of lynx into the bobcat population by hybridization (and consequent dilution of the lynx population):http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_other/r...myack_j001.pdf
IUCN discussion of the range of Lynx canadensis: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/12518/0
Intriguing attempt to do Lotka-Volterra-style modeling of the failed reintroduction attempts (in hopes of guiding future ones): http://dennismurray.ca/pdf/LynxModel04.pdf

[Pedaling Fool]

@Pedaling Fool:

Found that paper on introgression of lynx into the bobcat population by hybridization (and consequent dilution of the lynx population):http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_other/r...myack_j001.pdf
IUCN discussion of the range of Lynx canadensis: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/12518/0
Intriguing attempt to do Lotka-Volterra-style modeling of the failed reintroduction attempts (in hopes of guiding future ones): http://dennismurray.ca/pdf/LynxModel04.pdf

Outstanding, thanks! And the article on lynx-bobcat hybridization is bonus!

[Odd Man Out]

PBS just ran a program titled "Meet the Coywolf." $20. on the PBS website, or perhaps you can get it "on demand." The Red Wolf is not a wolf/coyote hybrid but a species all it's own. They have been reintroduced into NC. Unfortunately, since it is smaller than the Grey Wolf, it's being mistaken for a coyote and being killed.

I saw that show. They said that the Coywolf is a hybrid of the Coyote and the Eastern Wolf and seems to have arisen when the Coyote population spread east and encountered the last remnants of the Eastern Wolf population in Algonquin Provincial Park Ontario. They said in the west, coyotes and wolves don't hybridize. It was only when they encountered the Eastern Wolves that the Coywolf hybrids appeared. I had not heard of the Eastern Wolves before. It seems that some consider them a separate species with the "Eastern Wolf" being the northeast/Canadian version and the "Red Wolf" being the SE version. Not sure if the NE and SE version are considered separate species. It seems they could genetically distinguish 100% wolf, 100% coyote, and the hybrids.