MICHIGAN "COUGAR" VIDEOS SHOW HOUSECATS
ECN News, 8/23/04
On July 26, 2004, the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy released a video-production, which purported to document two separate incidents of wild cougars caught on videotape in Michigan. The first video was taken in Monroe County in April 2004. It featured two animals and was filmed by Carol Stokes. The second video involved a single animal from Wexford County in 1997. The Monroe County video has received considerable media attention in recent weeks. The story ran on a number of local television news broadcasts, as well as in several major newspapers.
In keeping with its mission of collecting and evaluating evidence of cougars in the Midwest, ECN coordinated an independent expert review of these videos. In consulting with some of the most prominent zoologists and cougar biologists in North America, and following a review of available literature on cougar behavior and physiology, it has been concluded that the animals depicted in both video segments are clearly house cats.
Monroe County Video
There are several very telling physical characteristics and behaviors that indicate that these animals are housecats. The body conformation is consistent with domestic cats, not cougars (i.e., head profile, arched backs, rounded bodies, very short necks and relatively short tails). Their movements are clearly those of house cats, as they walk with relatively short, choppy strides and with their backs in a slightly arched position. Most importantly, in the 70 seconds in which they are featured on the tape, BOTH cats raise their tails vertically and appear to spray urine backwards (while their tails twitch). This behavior has not been documented in captive or wild cougars of either sex. It is characteristic of domestic cats (See expert quotes and publications cited below).
There are also several telling physical characteristics and behaviors that indicate the Wexford County animal is a house cat (i.e., arched back, round/stocky body, relatively large head, large pointed ears, short muzzle, small feet, very short neck, relatively short tail, coat pattern and color). The animal's movements are also consistent with house cat (short choppy stride and an arched back position).
ECN consulted with numerous zoologists and cougar experts in conjunction with this analysis. The following were typical responses.
Mark L Zornes
Arizona Game & Fish Dept.
Small Game/Predator-Furbearer Biologist
"I have reviewed the tape and all cats shown are obviously house cats. The photo of the "family" group and the single animal prior to and after exhibit traits and behaviors consistent with house cats, not cougars. I have never observed cougars lifting their tails in an erect manner as seen on the video, and have yet to find a single cougar biologist that has witnessed this behavior. Cougars are specifically documented as the only large wild felid that does not "spray" to mark territory (note this behavior in the Stokes film). The "humped-backed" posture exhibited by all cats in the video is not consistent with cougar behavior, but is with house cats. The size comparison footage from the "Stoke's film" and the single cat are very suspect."
Chuck Anderson. Ph.D.
Trophy Game Section
Wyoming Game and Fish Department
“Regarding the Michigan cougar video, all of the cats video taped look like the "kitty" variety to me. The erect tail and humped back is not consistent with cougar behavior/physiology. Estimated size of the object video taped can be significantly off if the distance to the subject is not exact. I suspect others have pointed this out, but in addition to the video taped cats, the tape also includes a still photograph of a cougar I suspect is a captive animal. This cat exhibited significant belly fat, which I have never seen on a wild cougar. Feel free to cite my opinion and let me know if you have any additional questions.”
Darrell Land
Florida Panther Section Leader
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
“In my humble opinion, based on 20 years of experience with Florida panthers and investigating Florida panther sightings, I believe the video referenced below is of 2 housecats. Cougars/panthers/mountain lions are not capable of holding their tails in the manner of the cats in the video. Also, I do not believe that video accurately portrays the size of the cats. In fact, it appears that the cats are of the same height, if not shorter than, the stubble in the field and I suspect that stubble to be less than 18 inches tall.”
Norah B. Fletchall
Co-Chair AZA Felid Taxon Advisory Group
Assistant Zoo Director-John Ball Zoo
"I have reviewed the alleged cougar video on the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy website at www.miwildlife.org. The video of the two felids across a field taken in eastern Michigan do not appear to be cougars. First of all the distance and poor resolution of the video makes it impossible for me to accurately judge the size of the two animals. In addition, the video comparisons of the cats with nearby trees, etc. is unconvincing and confusing. The movements of the cats, particularly the spraying behavior does not look like any cougars I have ever seen. The movements of the cats are much more akin to house cats than mountain lions. The animal’s bodies do not appear to be long enough to be cougars and body size is not heavy enough. Neither cat seems to notice the camera. An elusive species such as a mountain lion would be much more wary when moving along the edge of an open field than either one of these cats. Coat pattern/color is not distinguishable to me at all. Based upon the above I do not think these cats are mountain lions-they appear to me to be house cats.
As for the other video of the cat moving through the snow it is not a mountain lion. Size, movements and coat pattern and color all appear to me to be that of a domestic long haired cat enjoying a winter romp in the snow!
I did show the video to three of our staff members (all three have experience working with captive cougars including a former zookeeper who cared for our cougars daily for twenty years). None of them thought the cats in the video were cougars."
Dave Moody
Trophy Game Coordinator
Wyoming Game and Fish Department
“After reviewing the video you provided, it is clear to me that the individuals are house cats, not cougars. I've been working with large predators for over ten years and have never heard of, or observed, a cougar lift it's tail the way these cats do. It's my understanding that cougars do not spray in this fashion to mark territories. Additionally, the various body movements, postures, and shape that these cats exhibit (arching back, head profile, and extended gut) are not consistent with cougars.”
David S. Maehr, Ph.D.
University of Kentucky
Department of Forestry
(Former Florida Panther Researcher)
"I looked at the video and it really looks like house cats to me. One of the cats appears very light in color, and the way they wave their tails around is not that of a cougar. The argument regarding size relative to a tree is bogus because there does not appear to be a way of showing exactly where these animals are relative to it. Besides, they just don't look like big cats to me."
Mark Jenkins
Proprietor
Cooper's Rock Mountain Lion Sanctuary
"I checked out the video and I also think they are housecats. The movements are all wrong for a large cats, and in twelve years of daily observation of cougars I have never seen one raise its tail vertically and spray like the other cat species I have worked with."
Relevant Literature:
Sunquist, M., & Sunquist, F. (2002). Wild Cats of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Wemmer, C., & Scow, K. (1977). Communication in the Felidae with emphasis on scent marking and contact patterns. In How Animals Communicate, ed. T.A. Sebeok, 749-766. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Acknowledgements:
We would like to thank all of the professionals who assisted us in our review of the video taped evidence. We are also indebted to Yale University’s Kline Science Library, which provided ECN access to its extensive collection of literature on felid behavior and physiology.