• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Seeing Cryptids: The Problems

This was in the afternoon right below where I was sitting, there could be no mistake. A cougar doesn't look anything like a house cat or a bob cat. A house cat can't tackle a deer, a bob cat might be able to do that to a small deer but they look more like tabby cats.
 
Jodie said:
This was in the afternoon right below where I was sitting, there could be no mistake. A cougar doesn't look anything like a house cat or a bob cat. A house cat can't tackle a deer, a bob cat might be able to do that to a small deer but they look more like tabby cats.
Click to expand...
Bobcats take full-size deer.
http://huntdrop.com/gamecam/bobcats-can-kill-mature-deer
Infinitely more likely than an extinct animal doing it.
 
I guess we could talk about ABP's leopard kill in South America for awhile.
 
However cougars are tan, a bob cat looks like a tabby. I saw a big cat that was tan, it was a cougar.
 
Now I'll say it one more time, maybe not a breeding population, but there was a transient one coming through that day.
 
Let's talk about this realistically.

I think we can safely rule out the eastern mountain lion as extinct.

I think we can rule out a Florida panther. They haven't been seen to range outside of southern Florida. If they ranged into even southern Georgia or the Florida panhandle there would be sightings.

The western mountain lion typically stays in the Rockies from New Mexico north to Canada. However, they have been seen as far east as Missouri. That would still be a long way from South Carolina. The other big problem is that ranging farther east would require either swimming the Mississippi or crossing at a highway or railroad bridge.

Young males do range for new territory. Typically this is 100-200 miles. There is a theory that young males could range farther. The problem with this theory is that there is only one reliable data point. In 2011, a young male mountain lion was struck and killed by a car in Connecticut. It is not known if this was a far ranging male or an escaped captive. I think most people can understand that mountain lion cubs are cute whereas young male mountain lions are much less so. They are excellent climbers and can leap over a 10' fence. The only suggestion that the mountain lion was wild was that it had not been de-clawed but this would not be a reliable indicator.

If this was a mountain lion in SC then I would say that it had to be an escaped animal rather than one that naturally ranged to that part of the country.
 
Last edited:
Jodie said:
, there could be no mistake.
Click to expand...


Great point. As long as the light and distance are ok, there can be no mistake with human perception and memory in identifying something that they witnessed. This is why everyone's memory is perfect and no one is ever confused or forgets things.
 
carlitos said:
Great point. As long as the light and distance are ok, there can be no mistake with human perception and memory in identifying something that they witnessed. This is why everyone's memory is perfect and no one is ever confused or forgets things.
Click to expand...

I might forget where I put my lighter or my car keys, or what some poster said 3 years ago, but I'm not going to mistake a housecat for a cougar. No, perception doesn't work the way that you would like for it too just so you can justify indirectly insinuating that someone is an idiot.
 
LTC8K6 said:
Well, we all know that people make that sort of mistake all the time.

We have seen many examples.

Why are you incapable of making this mistake?
Click to expand...

Mistakes; yes.

Mistakes 100% of the time when something doesn't fit the perceived norm; convenient and widely overused.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom