James River Park staff photographed these
tracks near the Reedy Creek entrance to the park system, in the area
where someone on Thursday reported seeing "a large cat type creature." A
park system biologist, however, concluded that the tracks are canine.
Posted: Thursday, May 21, 2015
The city of
Richmond’s department of animal control could not confirm the presence
of “a large cat-type creature” reportedly spotted near the Reedy Creek
entrance of James River Park on Thursday.
According to a city spokesman, an officer was sent out but nothing was found. Animal control did investigate some tracks in the sand, but determined those to be canine.
Kilgore said a hybrid cat — a domesticated cat that’s been bred with a wild cat — could be a possibility. Those cats can grow to be as large as a dog and do not need to be specially licensed in the city of Richmond.
According to a city spokesman, an officer was sent out but nothing was found. Animal control did investigate some tracks in the sand, but determined those to be canine.
There is a long history in
Virginia of people seeing large house cats and other animals and
believing them to be cougars, also known as mountain lions or panthers.
The last wild cougar confirmed in Virginia was killed in Washington County in 1882. “There is still not a single
shred of evidence or documentation to suggest there are any wild cougars
or mountain lions in the state of Virginia,” said Mike Fies, a state
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries biologist.
Capt. Kevin Kilgore, supervisor
of the city’s law enforcement division of animal control, could not
comment on the specifics of Thursday’s report, but a resident shared a
similar sighting on the Forest Hill Neighborhood Facebook page Thursday
morning. That sighting involved “a darkly colored panther or very large
cat” that “ran up a tree and gave ... a low growl” when confronted. “The likelihood of a wild cat
that size would be extremely remote in this area,” said Kilgore, unless
someone kept a large, wild cat as a pet that got loose.
Nearby Maymont has one large cat in its care, a bobcat, and that cat is accounted for, according to representatives at the park.
Kilgore said a hybrid cat — a domesticated cat that’s been bred with a wild cat — could be a possibility. Those cats can grow to be as large as a dog and do not need to be specially licensed in the city of Richmond.
It is not rare for black bears, otters, beavers and many other animals to roam the park, he said.
Fies said where cougars do live
“they don’t exist like ghosts in the wilderness.” They get hit by cars
and photographed by modern trail cameras, of which there are plenty
today, he said.
A picture taken of a print in James River Park near the possible big-cat sighting clearly shows claws.
“When you see claws, that almost
always has to be a dog,” said Fies, adding that a coyote track would be
smaller than the track of a cougar or big dog.
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