LARGE BLACK CATS IN EASTLAKE?
Update: Not wild cats, County Animal Services Deputy Director concludes
By Miriam Raftery
June 2016 (Eastlake)—In 2014 and 2015, East County Magazine has documented dozens of local sightings by people who claim to have seen large black wild cats prowling the region, some as large as mountain lions or jaguars, others smaller but still much larger than a housecat. But thus far, no photos had been provided of the elusive animals.
Then on June 6, 2016,we received cell phone images taken at night by a resident in the Eastlake community of Otay Mesa in Chula Vista, due east of where some earlier sightings were reported in Jamul/Deerhorn Valley and South Spring Valley. It’s hard to judge the size or species, but looking at items such as a vehicle, hydrant , house and a three-feet-high wall in the photos raises a question: what was prowling yards in this suburban neighborhood?
Cathy, who sent these three images, wrote, “I live in east Chula Vista (Eastlake) and my neighbor came home one evening and found two very large black cats in our front yard. She captured photos, however they are of poor quality. I sent the photos to animal control and to our homeowner's association, but both regarded them to be very large domestic or feral cats. I don't quite agree with their assessment and was hoping maybe you had some insight from your research…Do you think these could be the same black wildcats from east county making their way into east Chula Vista?”
We don’t know, so we reached out to experts.
We received this response on June 28th from Daniel DeSousa, Deputy Director of County Animal Services: "I stopped by yesterday to take a look at the area where the animals were photographed. ..In looking at the two photographs that were in the article, the cats are very close to a concrete planter border in the neighbor’s yard (as evidenced in that you can see the planter border and the proximity to the short palm in the left of the photo. The only true comparison as to the size of the cats (and they are definitely cats) is the stucco wall in the background. I measured out the distance from the concrete planter border and the stucco wall and it is approximately 50 feet. Based upon that distance, and the relative size of the cats and the wall, the animals captured in the photograph are not wild (as in mountain lion, jaguar, etc.) but are domestic house cats. I do have a degree in wildlife biology so I am confident that these are not wild cats."
There are no large black wild cats native to our region, so theories on sightings through the years have ranged from exotic pets turned loose to jaguars migrated north from Mexico to the smaller jaguarundi. Others suggest that black mountain lions may exist here; sightings have been reported across the U.S. but none have ever been documented to exist. However the same was true of black bobcat sightings until one was hit by a vehicle and proof positive found that black bobcats were real. Though many of the reports came from normally credible sources, it’s also possible that some or all were mistakes, hoaxes, or large domestic black cats mistaken for larger species.
Reported sightings have been made in other areas through the years. Locally the locations include both East County and North County and now, the South Bay.
Here is a good video on the varous large black cat sightings in the U.S. and film of the various species black cat species known to exist around the world:http://bigcatrescue.org/black-panthers/
Below are our prior reports on black wild cat sightings in San Diego County:
January 2014: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/are-black-wildcats-prowling-east-county
February 2014: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/hello-kitty-more-black-wildcat-reports-surface
September 2015 : http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/large-black-cat-sighting-reporting-cedar-creek-falls
If you have expertise to evaluate these photos, or if you've seen large black cats or have photographs of them in our region, please send to editor@eastcountymagazine.org.