natchezdemocrat - Authorities fear a big cat, perhaps a cougar, may be roaming the Cedar Point area in Bay St. Louis in Hancock County.‘‘I was raised in Hancock County, and the old people used to talk about the panthers — the big cats,’’ city animal control Officer Dorty Necaise said Tuesday.
Now, talk of the big cats has returned, brought about by sighting reports and the death of a small dog that was mauled in the vicinity recently.
Deputy Police Chief Mike De Nardo said a family on July 8 reported that their miniature schnauzer had been attacked and killed by a larger animal.
‘‘The owners heard the dog yapping. They went outside and saw a large creature dragging the dog off,’’ he said.
Necaise said he tracked the animal over the weekend and found paw prints that were the size of a Great Dane’s, but obviously from a feline-like creature with big claws.
He said he gathered sets of prints in the mud of the Cedar Point area and from sand traps on the Hollywood Casino golf course.
State wildlife officials were going to join local trapper Clark Breland in searching for the reclusive animal.
Since Hurricane Katrina decimated the area in 2005, Necaise said nature has reclaimed parts of Cedar Point that have not been rebuilt and wild animals abound.
‘‘It’s much wilder than any other part of the city,’’ Necaise said.
There have been reports of hogs, alligators, foxes, bobcats, coyotes and other wild animals, he said.
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Mysterious Creature Found in Bay St. Louis, MS
wlox - The Bay St. Louis Police Department is investigating a mysterious and dangerous creature in the Bay's Cedar Point neighborhood.
They said a resident of the area reported seeing a strange looking animal drag off their dog and kill it. The trouble is no one knows what kind of animal it is.
Police have made a mold of its paw print and will have an animal expert analyze it soon. The imprint is about three and a half inches long and has long sharp claws.
They said it could possibly be a mountain lion, but won't know for sure until they get an expert opinion.
Mike DeNardo is the Deputy Chief of the Bay St. Louis Police Department.
"We had a call on Falicity Street of an animal that was dragged off by a large predator," DeNardo said. "We don't want people trying to approach it. Use caution with it. Be real cautious when they let their animals out, and most of all be real cautious when they let their children out. We have no idea what it is yet."
Police said once it is determined what the creature is, they will employ the help of a trapper.
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Police Caution Residents to Watch For Big Cat
sunherald - Police are warning residents to watch their pets and small children until a mystery creature roaming the Cedar Point area is caught.
Animal Control officer Dorty Necaise tracked the animal this weekend and found pawprints that were the size of a Great Dane’s, but obviously from a feline with big claws.
“Now that this thing is hunting, people need to watch their children,” Deputy Police Chief Mike DeNardo said.
Necaise and DeNardo believe it’s a big cat they’re looking for, possibly a Florida panther.
They’d heard of sightings, but had no proof.
Then last week something ate Chris and Julie Cowart’s schnauzer.
The Sun Herald first broke the story of Norman the schnauzer Saturday. Julie Cowart watched the creature snatch her 7-year-old dog from her Felicity Street backyard and drag him away. Her husband, Chris Cowart, later found Norman’s remains in the woods behind their home and buried him.
They called police.
“It’s big. It’s a predator,” Necaise said.
Although Florida panthers are an endangered species mostly found in the Sunshine State, it’s possible one could be prowling Bay St. Louis, Necaise said.
Historically, the species roamed the entire southeastern United States, including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana, according to a Web site for the Friends of the Florida Panther.
The panther — also called puma, mountain lion and cougar — is tan, with a long, black-tipped tail. Males average 7 feet from nose to tail and weigh about 120 pounds; females can be a foot shorter and weigh about 70 pounds.
Law enforcement officers are employing private tracker Clark Breland to help. The goal is to catch it in a humane, rubber-coated wire trap and hold it for pick-up by the state Department of Wildife, Fisheries and Parks.
Since Hurricane Katrina left so many home sites vacant, more wildlife is moving back into the woody, swampy areas of the city, Necaise said.
In recent years he’s spotted hogs, alligators, a python and even a kangaroo.
But whatever this one is, it’s dangerous, he said.
DeNardo is asking any one who sees it to call 911. He warns against residents trying to trap it or shoot it themselves.
Big Cat Mystery in Southern Mississippi....Possible Katrina Escapee
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