Quote Originally Posted by Canuck of NI View Post
Noon hour news today states that a large BLACK cougar was spotted nearby my usual stomping grounds- seen by several witnesses and while in the process of "capturing a large rodent."

A black cougar? Is that a known colour variation or are we getting a little silly here? And the fact that the witnesses couldn't even identify the rodent victim makes me wonder if it wasn't a black labrador retreiver, if a mouse a black house cat, or perhaps it was even a free pet panther someone got tired of/eaten by.
They are very rare, though from what I've heard they are not truly black. However here is an interesting website that discusses them: http://www.michigancougar.com/black.htm.

Make's me wonder, however, if it is a big cat, if it isn't an escaped exotic pet (leopard?). I have an Animals X episode on video that talks about the Big Cats of Exmoor (England), and the sightings of big black cats on the moors. There was speculation that it could be an escaped leopard, though they mentioned that if it were escaped cougars, and the breeding population was rather small, that a regressive black gene could surface & produce "black" off-spring. So, I guess it is possible.