# Big cat ID **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 10, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615 "2021-03-10T14:43:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/21 "2021-03-10T18:01:17Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > The ears and shape of the face scream “ocelot” to me, not bobcat - Also, bobcats are fluffy, not smooth. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/22 "2021-03-10T18:04:10Z")
The poster posted some more photos. One looks like the cat is in a high place, and there’s another of the cat walking. Both of those images are too blurry to share. There is another image though, and it’s clearly a cougar. [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/Pm0aS7P.png?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/CXTDNet) The poster said ‘There were 2 of them in my yard.’ ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/23 "2021-03-10T18:15:48Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > The facial markings certainly do look like an Ocelot. It is possible that it could be a Bobcat, they have similar but less distinct facial markings. There’s zero possibility it’s a [bobcat.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobcat#/media/File:Bobcat2.jpg) The facial markings are indistinct, they don’t have stripes on the back of the neck, they have cheek tufts, and long almost pointed ears (not small rounded ones like the animal in the photo). ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/24 "2021-03-10T18:26:56Z")
That does look clearly like a cougar, and also clearly not like the same animal ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/25 "2021-03-10T18:31:15Z")
She did say there were two, in a later post. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/26 "2021-03-10T18:40:00Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The poster said ‘There were 2 of them in my yard.’ At once 🤔? This seems increasingly dubious. 1.) Hypothesis #1 - Escaped pet ocelot AND cougar hanging out. Really unlikely. 2.) Hypothesis #2 -Escaped pet ocelot trailed or randomly followed later by a wild cougar. Pretty damn unlikely, but very remotely possible. 3.) Hypothesis #3 - Some fakery at work. Occam’s razor sez… ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/27 "2021-03-10T18:47:16Z")
Am I the only one whose brain refused to co-operate in finding a cat in that image? I had to enlarge and crop the image to figure out what I was looking at. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/28 "2021-03-10T18:56:09Z")
Looks like his camouflage worked! 😃 but I had no issue due to the very bright reflection from its eye. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/29 "2021-03-10T19:11:47Z")
#3. Two unrelated trail cam photos used. Two unrelated animals. An escaped, tame, pet Ocelot is not going to get along with a wild Cougar. Do trail cam photos contain date, time or GPS information that can be verified? ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/30 "2021-03-10T19:22:46Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > … Ocelot is not going to get along with a wild Cougar. … A Cougar might **eat** an Ocelot. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/31 "2021-03-10T19:25:45Z")
I was going to say that but thought better. Cougars are not pack animals. A young one might stay with mom for even a few years before it gets kicked out of the house, so to speak, but eventually the all become solitary until mating season again. Mom only loves you for a short time and then you need to move on. A Cougar is not going to adopt an Ocelot to share food with. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/32 "2021-03-10T19:28:57Z")
The first image is a JPG and the second is a PNG. That in itself suggests, but does not prove, that these photos were taken by different cameras. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/33 "2021-03-10T19:33:08Z")
Important to remember it _is_ only 3 weeks until April Fools Day. Someone on Next Door is getting early start. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/34 "2021-03-10T19:48:22Z")
Given that there are cougars in the general area, it wouldn’t be much of a hoax. If the poster did see two cats, I’m wondering if one of them was a juvenile. The markings don’t hatch up with pictures I’ve seen, but the first image looks smaller than the second one and it might explain why two animals were seen in the same place at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/35 "2021-03-10T20:46:31Z")
Cougar cubs do look to often have patterns, spots, and stripes. I feel like a cougar cub is vastly more likely than an ocelot, given the location. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/36 "2021-03-10T21:12:39Z")
Yeah, I Am Not A Zoologist, but just looking at pictures online, cougar kittens can be _very_ ocelot-lookin’. Combine that with kittens staying with their mothers up to two years, and on average apparently one kitten surviving to adulthood, a cougar kitten and mother seems pretty likely. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/37 "2021-03-10T21:13:10Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > The first image is a JPG and the second is a PNG. That in itself suggests, but does not prove, that these photos were taken by different cameras. The location doesn’t look the same either. I think someone’s having some fun on NextDoor. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/38 "2021-03-10T21:14:30Z")
After some more googling I found this image which could be a pretty close match: [![](https://thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com/DpKbDD01oeYZ3Mfr0jXcUA-Hoh4=/420x240/filters:focal(982x617:983x618)/https://public-media.si-cdn.com/filer/db/e8/dbe806eb-81ca-489f-8106-93f0f9f05e51/gettyimages-1143011878_web.jpg) ](https://thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com/DpKbDD01oeYZ3Mfr0jXcUA-Hoh4=/420x240/filters:focal(982x617:983x618)/https://public-media.si-cdn.com/filer/db/e8/dbe806eb-81ca-489f-8106-93f0f9f05e51/gettyimages-1143011878_web.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/39 "2021-03-10T21:17:29Z")
Savannah cat. Some have stripes like that. [https://www.google.com/search?q=Savannah+cat&sxsrf=ALeKk00LMCZ7rzUpMgfagAHFX\_tIklKNvw:1615410967661&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi4vZLn0qbvAhUPFVkFHa9IB1IQ\_AUoAXoECBQQAw&biw=1546&bih=794](https://www.google.com/search?q=Savannah+cat&sxsrf=ALeKk00LMCZ7rzUpMgfagAHFX_tIklKNvw:1615410967661&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi4vZLn0qbvAhUPFVkFHa9IB1IQ_AUoAXoECBQQAw&biw=1546&bih=794) ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615/40 "2021-03-10T21:25:20Z")
Now all we really need is a duck, a golden Labrador, and a flying squirrel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cat-id/937615.md?page=3)