Education is Key

Last night I got an email from a nice lady (and neighbor) who thought I might be able to help. She got an email from an acquaintance who was convinced that her gardener saw a black Jaguar or black Leopard in her back yard. She wanted this nice lady to send out an email to the neighborhood warning folks of this dangerous animal loose in our scenic community. 

The nice lady responded by saying she didn't think Jaguars are in Oregon and that she should probably contact Fish and Wildlife and also try to take a photo of this beast. She also suggested that the acquaintance contact us to get our view of the situation :) I think that the acquaintance probably wouldn't want to hear what my view is. That's when it hit me, education is key :)

Our beautiful DJ

For folks to think that Jaguars or Panthers could actually be roaming the hills of Sherwood, Oregon is a sad reminder that the everyday person doesn't have a clue about wildcats and that's one of the reasons, so many black labs or big fluffy tabbies are being mistaken for vicious wildcats ready to kill the livestock and eat the children. And that's the reason there is so much hysteria surrounding these sighting. Some folks swear they have seen black cougars as well. Seems I remember a photo that was taken back somewhere at the turn of the century of a so called black cougar, dead, hanging from a pole with a guy next to it. And if I re-call, not once, since that photo was taken, has there EVER been another sighting of a black cougar. So, maybe I'm wrong, but I'm thinkin'  the beast roaming the hills of Sherwood isn't a black cougar either :)

So here is the education part :) Jaguars are native to the southern most part of the US and South America. However they are extremely endangered and in fact the last known Jaguar (in the US) was captured in 2009 in Arizona and  euthanized. Read story HERE.   Black Panthers or Leopards are African wildcats. Not roaming wild in the US. As far as Black cougars, see above.

Finally and just for the record, all WildCat Haven residents are here and accounted for :)