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REPORTED June 12th 2006 to www.savethecougar.org
Oakland County Michigan - Bald Mountain Recreation Area
(2nd report from the Lake Orion area to savethecougar.org in less than two months)
"To whom it may concern:
On Saturday June 10th at roughly 10am I went mountain bike riding at (Greenshield road)Bald Mountain. While on the trail I came to a sudden stop to view what I thought was a large dog. The Animal was walking on the bike trail towards me aprrox 40-50 yards away. I only stopped because I thought it was a dog looking for it's master. Since the “Dog” was rather large I did not want to go near it until it passed or got off the trail. As the animal approached I noticed that the ears were pointed and that it had a longer tail than a dog. With the animal walking towards me I slowly turned my bike around so I could go the other way in case the animal charges. With animal appox 20-30 yards away it stopped right in it's track to look at me. We stared at eachother for about 1-2 minutes before I made some noise and off it went into the forest.
At first I thought it may be a Lynk or a large bobcat but upon viewing the animal at close range it looked between a mix from the cat family and a Dingo(Australian Dog). The color was dark brown with black throughout it's fur and walked very slowly.
Once the Animal walked off the Bike trail I turned my bike around to see what the heck I witnessed. I went over to the spot where he/she ran off and did not see the animal again.
I'm 6 ft 3 inches and weigh 260pds (played college football at EMU )and the first thought in my mind when I saw the animal was that I better be careful and try not to spook it. The animal had my heart pounding with curiosity. Usually, I just run hard on the bike trail and do not stop… but this animal “made me stop and think before crossing his/her path”.
C.P."
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