Big Cats in South Walton

Gracias, ASH.

Years ago I was wandering on a trail in Topsail, this was before the state bought it, the trail is east of Campbell Lake and west of where the Campers now go to the Beach. North of the Trail is a very dense wet area. Suddenly I heard a loud cat cry and a crashing through the brush. I took off and ran like I'd never run before. I think we scared each other into running in the other direction. The state officials said it was probably a feral cat. No way was the noise I heard a feral cat.
I have a friend who swears she saw a panther in the forest north of Blue Mountain. She had me out trying to track them. All we ever saw was alligators.

Have you checked with the peeps at Nokuse?

I had not thought to, but I definitely will. Thanks for the suggestion.

The state officials said it was probably a feral cat. No way was the noise I heard a feral cat.

OH yea... you can DEFINITELY tell the difference. And that is close to the Four Mile area where I have been told one was spotted.

I have seen "big cats" in Point Washington 2 times - both times I was driving up Bay Drive.

One time a large cat ran right across the street in front of me and the other time, it ran right up to the side of the road, stopped, turned, and darted back after I passed...nearly gave me a heart attack as I thought I was going to hit it and could've gotten into an accident as I swerved and put on the brakes.

Don't know what kind of cats they were but if I had to guess, I would say a bobcat.

Saw a cute little Fox the other night on the way home around Redfish on the 30A ..... have seen several deer on the 30A lately too .... but no cats yet ...

I have seen bobcats in Seagrove in beach brush. You can see their tracks on the dunes from the boardwalks. Recently saw two wild pigs on 395. Have seen a couple of foxes on 30A and, of course, deer and coyotes.

If you want to see Cougars, I suggest one of many drinking establishments.

OH yea... you can DEFINITELY tell the difference. And that is close to the Four Mile area where I have been told one was spotted.

While I've never seen one...I can tell you many of my co-workers and even a few customers have claimed to see a VERY large black cat (not a housecat) in the Donut Hole parking lot...But its been a few years.

While I've never seen one...I can tell you many of my co-workers and even a few customers have claimed to see a VERY large black cat (not a housecat) in the Donut Hole parking lot...But its been a few years.

That sounds like it could be a jaquarundi. The tail on them is almost as long as the body and are dark brown /almost black.
It is also great to hear that people are seeing foxes again. They were pretty much wiped out in the area due to rabies not long ago.

I have seen bobcats in Seagrove in beach brush. You can see their tracks on the dunes from the boardwalks. Recently saw two wild pigs on 395. Have seen a couple of foxes on 30A and, of course, deer and coyotes.

If you want to see Cougars, I suggest one of many drinking establishments.

That's interesting. I have talked to several FWS representatives and have not been able to get much more out of them than the Service's official stance. Although, I was told that they receive several reports a week of cougars in the area. Also, I was told that someone in the Jackson Guard office had witnessed what they identified as a panther. The Eglin natural resources division receives less reports, several a year. One of the FWS biologists for this district told me that it was more likely that what people are seeing is jaguarundi.

However, I am interested in what you said about having friends in the environmental/survey business who have seen tracks. This is the kind of hard evidence that the FWS has consistently been unable to secure. The sandy nature of our soil complicates matters. It is hard to get a good impression and, hence, a solid cast.

You may want to talk to my brother...he lives off of Sugar Dr. and has seen tracks and saw a baby Bobcat last week on his property. PM me and I will give you his name and number or I can give him your number.

In 1997 I saw a Florida panther sitting by the side of the road on Hwy 85 while I was driving from Niceville to FWB. It was the middle of the night and I saw the reflection of its eyes from at least a half mile away... I slowed down to investigate and since there was no other traffic around, I stopped my car so I could get a good look at it. It calmly sat in the grass, looking right back at me. It was definitely a panther, not a jaguarundi or bobcat, and it was gorgeous.

They might not "officially" live here, but there are at least a few out in our woods.

UPDATE: I heard from a very reputable source that the jaquarundi has been spotted several times in the last few days. At dusk crossing Bay Drive in between the horse crossing sign and the place where they have the horse area. If you want to see it, I suggest sitting on the side of the road about that time.

I have seen cat tracks on the dunes from the walk over at Deer Lake State Park on several occassions. One of the many reasons I love that park is the tell-tale signs that wildlife still exists there, even with the encroachment of humans.

Wow! This is so exciting! Has anyone seen anything similar on the trails in Pt. Washington Forest?

I have met someone who had an encounter with what they described as a panther on one of the bike trails in Pt. Washington State Forest, and it is exciting . Its interesting to me that many of the sightings I have heard of of jaguarundi all seem to have occurred in the same general areas, mainly off of Bay Dr. There must be something out there. If anyone is able to capture this creature on film, I would be very interested in seeing the photos. Keep us posted, everyone.

Ooh! Scary---but exciting that there are still big cats running around. Wow!

I also live off of Bay Drive. Several months ago I was walking with one of my neighbors and her husband. She was asking me if I had seen or heard of a jaquarundi in the area. I had never heard of one before, but now we keep on the look-out all the time. We've also seen a large black cat-like creature crossing Bay Drive and Little Canal Drive (the last sighting was a few months ago). I think my neighbor said that a wildlife officer had identified a jaquarundi in a tree in our area. I'm not positive about this, but I do think I remember her saying that. I'll ask her for more info next time I see her.

Maybe we should post some game cameras?

Maybe we should post some game cameras?

maybe your 'tar could scare them away....

maybe your 'tar could scare them away....

...they could wrastle them cats to the ground!

We definitely have some kind of wildcat in the woods south of our neighborhood. My house (vacation home) is just north of Gulf Place off 393. My neighbor is a full time resident and warned us about a panther (or some similar sort??) that he has seen near our yard and his (because we have two young children). I left to return home late last night and my wife called. She was on our deck and heard and eventually saw the cat near our yard which borders some fairly thick woods. She got a very detailed look (but no picture). It was a wildcat which she estimated to be slightly taller than our 4.5 year old daughter. It had a lightish blond coat and based on her comparison to our dogs, I am estimating the cat weighed approximately 45-65 lbs. Her scientific description was that it looked just like a wildcat you would see at the zoo. I am not too worried but can anyone shed anymore light on this mystery cat? It is definitely real as I now have two reliable sourced sightings. Plus my wife has a valid excuse to drink wine on the wine on the deck tonight once the kids go down. She will have her camera in hand.

I really hope you have luck in getting a photo. Maybe a small stuffed poodle or something out in the middle of the yard to draw the cat in.
Sorry....couldn't help it. :funn:

Big cats on Mac Bayou

I used to hear cats that definitely were not domestic when I lived on Mac Bayou back in the 80s. I am sorry to hear that they are all gone.... if that is true! I see all kinds of "prints" around Windswept golf course where I live now. Maybe the animals have just learned to go deeper into the woods and avoid humans. I do not walk in these parts alone. Bears aplenty!