Predator Might not be Wolf - Billings / Montana
By Mike Stark
- Was it a wolf, or wasn't it?
The mysterious, sheep-killing predator shot and killed a month ago between Jordan and Circle was initially thought to be a wolf.
But now, wildlife officials aren't so sure.
"Frankly, it has mixed characteristics," said Carolyn Sime, head of the wolf program for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Some clues indicate that it's not a wolf from among the 1,200 or so that live in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. The animal shot in Garfield County in early November had shades of orange, red and yellow in its fur, unlike the Northern Rockies wolves, which tend more toward browns, blacks and grays.
The orangish coat may be more indicative of wolves that roam the upper Great Lakes region, Sime said.
The animal also had long claws and teeth in good condition, somewhat unusual for a 4-year-old wolf, raising the possibility it might be a hybrid that had spent some time in captivity, Sime said.
On the other hand, the wolf was fairly large at 106 pounds with a big head and hunting skills, which may suggest it was wild, Sime said.
"Right now," Sime said, "we're just as curious as everyone else."
Whatever it was, it had landowners in McCone, Garfield and Dawson counties on alert for months. About 120 sheep were killed and others were hurt in a series of attacks that started about a year ago.
The animal roamed wide swaths of the landscape, occasionally attacking sheep before moving on only to circle back later. Several landowners were given permits to shoot if it was seen attacking livestock but it was never caught in the act.
The animal eluded trackers for months until this fall, when footprints were spotted in deep snow. Agents with Wildlife Services shot it from the air Nov. 2.
The animal was initially reported as a wolf, but closer inspection raised concerns about the identification.
Muscle tissue has been sent to the University of California Los Angeles, where scientists have been analyzing DNA from the Northern Rockies wolf population and putting together a sort of family tree.
The animal's carcass was sent to the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Ore., for genetic analysis.
The work could take several months to complete.
Sime said that if the animal is a wolf that came in from the Rockies or Canada or the upper Midwest, the genetic testing should provide clear evidence. It wouldn't be the first time that a wolf has wandered hundreds of miles. In recent years, wolves from Yellowstone have been found in Utah and Colorado.
"If it's neither of those, the question becomes 'OK, what is this animal and where is it from?"' Sime said. "The uncertainty level goes up a lot."
Billings Gazette: 8th December 2006

Vido Footage of a Large Cat - Adams County-WANE
After NewsChannel 15 aired video of a big cat sighting in Adams County, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Adams County Sheriff's Department received phone calls from people who also claim to have seen the mysterious cat. The big cat sightings have been taking place for about a year.
Now with the existence of video of the animal, there appears to be proof the cat really exists. An Adams County resident and her daughter videotaped what appears to be a big cat on two separate occasions.
They're not sure if it's the same animal because one of the video sightings is very shaky. News Channel 15 showed the video to an expert at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. Mark Weldon says the animal could be a cougar or a leopard.
Kevin Pensinger, an officer with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources agrees the animal is a large cat, but he's not certain what kind. The animal could have been someone's escaped pet. Law requires people to register wild animals like cougars, but if someone had such an animal and it got loose they might not report it to authorities.
To view the footage click here
Global: 10th October 2006

Indiana Panther
by Kurt Van der Dussen
Newspaper carrier reports black panther
Monroe County's elusive "black panther" has made another appearance.
It was seen Friday before dawn along Birdie Galyan Road by Wayne Shepherd, a Herald-Times deliverer.
"I saw a panther. That's what I saw. There was no doubt about it," he said by phone Tuesday morning.
He said he hadn't reported it to the Department of Natural Resources because he didn't want to be made fun of.
Despite multiple sightings of what a variety of people have reported as tan to gray cougars and black panthers during the past year, plus periodic reports of black panthers long before that, area DNR officials say they won't confirm any reports without hard, physical evidence.
Shepherd said he was driving along Birdie Galyan Road north of Ind. 46 east of Bloomington about 5:30 a.m., and saw the animal at a range of about 15 feet. He said it was sitting in tall weeds near the edge of the road.
"It was jet black and had the brightest green eyes I've ever seen," he said of the cat he caught in his headlights.
It was the second reported sighting in Benton Township of northeastern Monroe County in two weeks. A resident of East Ind. 45 between New Unionville and Unionville saw one at the end of her backyard on June 16. It jumped down a bank and crossed the railroad tracks into the woods.
In early spring, a resident of far northern Monroe off North Old Ind. 37 reported seeing a black panther crossing the far end of her backyard. In January, a woman in far southeastern Owen County saw what she said was a black panther mauling seven small pigs to death in an enclosure outside her house. The dead pigs were left torn by deep claw marks.
According to Jean Herrberg of the Exotic Feline Rescue Center, the most plausible explanation for any large black panther-like cat in southern Indiana would be a black leopard that either escaped from or was released by someone who'd kept it as an exotic pet.
From the Herald-Times (Bloomington, IN): 28th June 2006