Bobcats, Cougars and Mystery Cats
by James, Jim, Daniel, Jean, Marcy, Kent, Frank, MaryAnn, Bob
(Nipissing, Dufferin County, Kawartha Lakes, Collingwood area, Caledon, Coningsby, London, Pigeon Lake, Kingston, LaSalle)
Mystery Cat
James Clements from Nipissing, Ontario, wrote ... no big story, but I just saw a Bobcat cross our driveway and wanted to report it for your stats. No pictures unfortunately.
One of our readers said ... tonight I was waiting for my daughter to be driven home from sparks and saw a creature stalking across the driveway. It was too big to be a house cat and didn't seem like a dog. We often see big prints around the tree line and this is the same area where it was walking. It had a very long bushy tail, small pointy ears and what looked like a mane or bushy fur around the neck. I think it was a Bobcat! I got a picture but the quality is crap. When I opened the door to take a picture it just stopped looked at me and slowly continued on stalking through the tree line! This was in Dufferin County Hornings Mills area.
Jim Burchat from the Kawartha Lakes region said ... one Monday in December at approx. 3:30 pm an animal crossed the road in front of me that had features very much like a Bobcat. Large paws, pointed ears, and pretty much the same color as shown on this webpage. It wasn't wasting any time crossing the road. This occurred on Kawartha Lakes road 503 between Furnace Falls and Irondale. Not far from the Bark Lake Leadership Centre. Because it wasn't wasting any time on the road, unfortunately, I was unable to get a picture of it.
Daniel wrote to report ... driving along highway 7 on Friday July 7th I saw a Bobcat run across the highway. It was around 8 pm. It looked like an adult Bobcat as it it was rather large and the face / mouth area was a bit darker. It didn’t stop, it just ran straight across the road, heading north. There was a field full of cows nearby on the north side of the road, there were some young cows in the field.
Jean McGee wrote ... I saw a large cat which looked like a Cougar moving across the road at dusk between Stayner and Collingwood on Highway 26 about two weeks ago. It was moving quickly and I was a far distance away, but it wasn't a Coyote or Fox as it moved differently and looked different and it was big, greyish and short thick velvety fur. The head was roundish. It was awfully like a Cougar!
Marcy from Caledon wrote to tell us ... just letting you know that my husband saw a large Cougar on our large rural forested property. We are just one line south of Hwy 9 at the Gore Rd, it’s all conservation around here. He is sure it was a Cougar and not a deer (being similar blond colour) big thick powerful legs bounding. The haunch, tail. We are cat people. We know cats, and he said this animal was indeed a very large thick cat, and moved like a cat - then it ran off like lightning, as a cat would. We’ve had an incredible amount of wildlife this year - so many deer. I’m sure the cats are following the deer in along the green belt.
One of our readers said ... driving today I saw a large wild cat running and stopping every several meters in an open field about 50 meters away, I stopped driving to watch it. It was the size of a large dog but it had the body shape of a cougar and it’s body movement as it ran was that of a cat. This was 10 am, January 20th, Ilderton Road and Prospect Hill Road, which is the north east corner of the countryside just outside of London, Ontario.
Frank Denton wrote ... we have a place on Pigeon Lake near Bobcaygeon in Ontario, quite secluded, lots of trees. This afternoon I went out and saw on the porch a wild cat. It took off fast as soon as it saw me so I only got a quick look. It was the size of a large house cat. It was golden/yellow in colour (sort of like a lion) and had rings on its tail. Can anyone tell me what it was?
One of our readers said ... I saw a man walking up and down Cataraqui Woods Drive in a residential neighbourhood with a harnessed cat that was the size of a Labrador and had spots. He said it was an African something but we aren’t sure what. Yellow with spots, causing traffic issues with people stopping for pics. Kingston, Ontario.
MaryAnn Morris from Amherstburg wrote to us to say ... I just drove through LaSalle and almost hit one of these great animals. It looked at me (my car) then ran off just on Snowball bridge. A bit red in colour.
Bob Moore wrote to report ... I just saw a large an animal two feet long, with long legs, and tail! Dark grey in colour with black ear tufts and white chest! From a distance I thought it was a grey fox but as it got closer knew it was a cat! The legs were quite long and movement smooth! It came down our 1 km driveway past the house then into bush! I can’t figure out what it is but know it’s not a domestic cat from around here! Any ideas?
Thank you for submitting your big cat sightings, they were interesting to read and I'm sure our readers will also enjoy them.
I have also added your report and pictures to our facebook page, where you can read more wildlife sightings Discover Southern Ontario on Facebook
