Emmett County Cougar Report.
Reported Mon 6/9/2008 2:02 PM to www.savethecougar.org
Date of Observation: June 1-2, 2008
Time: late afternoon/midnight
County: Emmett
Location Description: Bay View, northeastern edge of community bordering dense woods & golf course
Sighting Description:
"My wife and I and our two dogs arrived at our cottage in Bay View before the season began, when the grounds were still largely empty. In the past when I've arrived this early I've been struck by how much wildlife is still present (raccoons, porcupines, deer), milling around the grounds before the other residents arrive. We unpacked our car at mid-afternoon on June 1. No other people were around. A couple of hours later we were indoors when our dogs (a Lab/Chow mix and a Manchester terrier) became vocal and agitated. They ran to a ground level window, I followed and caught a glimpse of a large animal hurrying by. It appeared to be black in the late afternoon sun, with slick fur. It moved like a very large cat. During the next day a few more people arrived in Bay View. That night, around midnight, we took the dogs for a walk around the block and as we approached the northeastern edge of the community (which is beside dense woods and a golf course)the dogs again became very agitated. I stopped, looked ahead on the narrow road, and saw a dark shape crossing about 10-15 yards in front of me. When the dogs started to bark the animal leaped across the road and into the woods. I saw it for a moment clearly silhouetted before a street lamp. It was a very large, dark cat - larger than my 70-lb Lab. It made no sound as it moved. We didn't see it again during the rest of our week-long stay and I assumed it left the area because of the arrival of people. For two days after I saw it my dogs became highly agitated when I walked them by the area of my sighting. My wife and I examined the ground where the animal had jumped and took photographs of some heavy tracks leading into the woods. I called the Petoskey DNR to report what I had seen and was transfered to the Gaylord office. I spoke to a biologist named Laurie Bella who showed little interest in my sighting but did ask me to send her jpegs of the photos. I sent the clearest two images I had. She emailed me back that they were deer tracks. She said nothing about the visual sighting and implied that I had mistaken a deer for a wildcat. The tracks I saw very well may have been deer prints (I'm told that cougars are fond of deer meat), but the animal I saw leap into the woods was definitely a large cat. If you need additional information please let me know. I am a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a teetotaler, with good vision. My wife works at the Brookfield Zoo but didn't see the animal. There was, however, a cougar shot and killed here in Chicago only a month or so ago."
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