LARGE BLACK CATS IN EASTLAKE?

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Update: Not wild cats, County Animal Services Deputy Director concludes

 

By Miriam Raftery

 

 

June 2016 (Eastlake)—In 2014 and 2015, East County Magazine has documented dozens of local sightings by people who claim to have seen large black wild cats prowling the region, some as large as mountain lions or jaguars, others smaller but still much larger than a housecat.  But thus far, no photos had been provided of the elusive animals.

Then on June 6, 2016,we received cell phone images taken at night by a resident in the Eastlake community of Otay Mesa in Chula Vista, due east of where some earlier sightings were reported in Jamul/Deerhorn Valley and South Spring Valley.  It’s hard to judge the size or species, but looking at items such as a vehicle, hydrant , house and a three-feet-high wall in the photos raises  a question: what was prowling yards in this suburban neighborhood?

Cathy,  who sent these three images, wrote,  “I live in east Chula Vista (Eastlake) and my neighbor came home one evening and found two very large black cats in our front yard.  She captured photos, however they are of poor quality.  I sent the photos to animal control and to our homeowner's association, but both regarded them to be very large domestic or feral cats.  I don't quite agree with their assessment and was hoping maybe you had some insight from your research…Do you think these could be the same black wildcats from east county making their way into east Chula Vista?”

We don’t know, so we reached out to experts. 

We received this response on June 28th from Daniel DeSousa, Deputy Director of County Animal Services: "I stopped by yesterday to take a look at the area where the animals were photographed. ..In looking at the two photographs that were in the article, the cats are very close to a concrete planter border in the neighbor’s yard (as evidenced in that you can see the planter border and the proximity to the short palm in the left of the photo.  The only true comparison as to the size of the cats (and they are definitely cats) is the stucco wall in the background.  I measured out the distance from the concrete planter border and the stucco wall and it is approximately 50 feet.  Based upon that distance, and the relative size of the cats and the wall, the animals captured in the photograph are not wild (as in mountain lion, jaguar, etc.) but are domestic house cats. I do have a degree in wildlife biology so I am confident that these are not wild cats."

There are no  large black wild cats native to our region, so theories on sightings through the years have ranged from exotic pets turned loose to jaguars migrated north from Mexico to the smaller jaguarundi.  Others suggest that black mountain lions may exist here; sightings have been reported across the U.S. but none have ever been documented to exist. However the same was true of black bobcat sightings until one was hit by a vehicle and proof positive found that black bobcats were real.  Though many of the reports came from normally credible sources, it’s also possible that some or all were mistakes, hoaxes, or large domestic black cats mistaken for larger species.

Reported sightings have been made in other areas through the years.  Locally the locations include  both East County and North County and now, the South Bay.

Here is a good video on the varous large black cat sightings in the U.S. and film of the various species black cat species known to exist around the world:http://bigcatrescue.org/black-panthers/

Below are our prior reports on black wild cat sightings in San Diego County:

January 2014: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/are-black-wildcats-prowling-east-county

February 2014: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/hello-kitty-more-black-wildcat-reports-surface

September 2015 : http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/large-black-cat-sighting-reporting-cedar-creek-falls

If you have expertise to evaluate these photos, or if you've seen large black cats or have photographs of them in our region, please send to editor@eastcountymagazine.org.


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Comments

2 black cats? plaster paw prints taken, reader says

 

We received this interesting email today from Jose Barron who says he and a neighbor have seen large black cats, one of which he says attacked his dog last year in Bonita. He took plaster casts of paw prints, if anyone wants a look.

Hello:

I live in the north end of Bonita; my home is bordered by the Bonita Golf Course, The Summit Regional Park, Sweetwater Resevoir and the Sweetwater River.

This forms part of a corridor that runs from the San Diego bay in the west to the Imperial Valley in the east. This corridor has many wildlife preserves and very much uninhabited territory so it serves wildlife very well as a secure area to both live and travel.

Last year my neighbor and I a series of encounters with two large black cats. Apparently they were a mother and cub. My neighbor saw the mother cat on several nights and I saw the cub close-up and personal on one night.

My dog, a 15 pound Poochon (1/2 poodle-1/2 Bichon) usually asked to go outside to do his business every night about 1:30 a.m. and on that night it  was not the exception. I let him out through our bedroom porch and watched him because of the many predators that have actually been inside our backyard. He went around the corner and I lost sight of him for about 3 or 4 seconds and he started barking loudly; I figured it was a neighbor's house cat or a skunk or something. Suddenly my dog came running at full speed around the corner and about 4 feet behind him a large black panther/jaguar/jaguarundi came chasing after my dog. 

The animal was about 3 feet long (half of that was a tail at least an inch thick). I knew it was a wild cat instantly (I've been a hunter since before I was 10 years old). At this point the big cat was oblivious to my presence, his focus was completely on the tasty morsel my dog presented.

I let out a big HEY! and my dog instantly turned and came my way and that was when the big cat grabbed my dog by the shoulders. My dog let out a yelp and I rushed both animals screaming and making my presence as big as possible and I bluffed the big cat into letting my dog go. The big cat started trotting away and turned back to look at me and I got the feeling it was thinking "you got me this time but I'll be back".

The following morning we noticed my dog had blood on its shoulders under his very thick and curly coat of hair. My dog did not want to go out at night for a couple of weeks after that and later he would always peer outside before steeping out into our back yard.

Additionally, there was rain for a couple of nights after the sighting and since I was doing some work in the back there was a section of mud alongside one of our garden terraces. My son noticed some tracks in the mud and it appears the big cat had been waiting on top of the terrace while stalking one of my neighbor's house cats. There were tiny kitten prints in the mud and large (3") paw prints in the mud where the big cat pounced on the kitten and apparently ate it.

I told my son to make plaster of Paris molds of the prints and they came out quite well. I still have them safely stored in a cardboard box.

I contacted several agencies but only got one response from an agency in Arizona.

As a side note, there have been big, black cat sightings throughout the country, especially in Maine and other northeastern states.

Although I am a hunter at heart, I love and appreciate all wildlife and feel blessed at having had the opportunity to experience this animal close-up (and come out of the experience unscathed, especially for my dog's sake).

Jose A Barron [jbarron5@hotmail.com]