Black Feline Sightings (via Chad Arment)

Ontario:

Another panther sighting

MARYANNE FIRTH , TRIBUNE STAFF

WELLAND -- "I know exactly what I saw."

David Beard has no doubts about the curious sighting he made Monday evening.

It was a big black cat. But this was no ordinary house cat.

"It was a black panther," he said confidently, while speaking with The Tribune over the phone.

The Michigan St. resident said he and a friend were looking at wild turkeys near the train tracks by his home in Dain City, when the big black mass came walking along.

Beard quickly whipped out his cell phone, but the cat was simply too far away to snap a clear shot, he said.

As the pair tried to get closer to the animal, it bolted into the forested area behind the former John Deere Welland Works plant.

Beard described the cat as at least four-feet long with "another four feet of tail."

The cat was spotted again on Tuesday morning by one of his neighbours, he said, adding it was "just walking through like it owned the place."

Beard said there is "an abundance of wildlife" in the area, that would certainly meet the dietary requirements of a large hungry animal.

"I'm just hoping it doesn't decide to make this its home."

He's not concerned about the animal moving around the area, though he admits with a laugh that he's now rattling his keys when walking out to the car.

"It's impressive to see something like this. I don't think it's natural," he said, adding he believes the cat has "gotten away from someone, somewhere."

Beard said all of the neighbours in the area are "on high alert," with many keeping a camera close in case there is another sighting.

Ted Bettle, manager of the Welland and District Humane Society, said he received a call from Beard about the sighting, but has heard nothing else of the wild cat.

Sightings for large animals, such as cougars, are called in "every once in a while," he said, though there's no concrete evidence of their existence in the area.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has been contacted about the sighting and will decide how to proceed from here, he said.

http://www.wellandtribune.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2830975

California:
La Quinta police blotter for Nov. 4
La Quinta Sun • November 4, 2010

7:48 a.m. — Officers were dispatched to the 78-400 block of Calle Remo regarding a large black panther sighting. Several officers, including Fish and Game and La Quinta animal control, responded but were unable to locate the animal.

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20101104/NEWS0801/11030353/1006/NEWS01/La+Quinta+police+blotter+for+Nov.+4