Thats crazy! I've become a little nervous about encountering black bears here in souther Missouri. I'm a member of the wildlife society at the college I attend and we've done some bear trapping and tagging with MDC. Luckly,though, we don't have a population of mountain lions!

With what Bella said, maybe the cat was brave enough to approach the man to try and get his dog

Response to Pig Hunter: In the article above it clearly states that Frank Harmas turned and saw a BLACK panther. Your article states the cat was tan. Perhaps the journalist was misinformed. I still stand firmly that Harmas's story is erroneous. He is either confused or stretching it. His account of a cat attack does not fit the pattern. In the past, we have had Sam Fisher in Lancaster County claiming he as attacked by a cougar in October 2008. His story was proven to be erroneous. We also have had Marquel Dawson in CA claiming he defended his dog from a cougar with a sumari sword. The cougar was really a raccoon.

When a cougar attacks, it goes for the head. People have the misconception that cats kill with their front claws. They do not. The front claws are only used for grasping. Big cats kill with their teeth. They do not rake with the front claws. They rake with the back claws and only against another predator in battle. They do not rake prey. Cats have different teeth from bears and wolves. Big cat canines are designed for penetration whereas dogs and bears use their canines for slashing. The canines are specifically structured for those tasks. If cats should slash with their canines, they would end up breaking them.

A cougar is designed to kill deer and they do so with a nape bite. The kill is quick and bloodless. They are not adapted to kill people and struggle in the process. The neck vertebrae of a deer are like beads on a string. The cougar's canine gap is the same as the length of an upper neck vertebra. When a cougar bites the nape of a deer, its canines slip neatly between the vertebrae and sever the spinal cord. The procedure is swift. Human neck vertebrae are imbricated (they overlap) and a cougar cannot slip its canines between them. Therefore, cougars cannot kill a man with a neck bite. This was seen in the case of Anne Hjelle 1/8/04 in Orange County, CA. The cat tried to kill her with a skull crunch. It anchored its lower canines on her cheek bone and could not penetrate her skull. Human skulls are too thick for cougars. Anne said she then felt the cat bitting into her neck to the bone. That should have killed her, but the cat could not penetrate her overlapping vertebrae. Fortunately, people came to her rescue. Earlier that same day, Jeff Reynolds was killed by that very same cougar. There was no one to rescue him so the cat was eventually able to accomplish his task. On 8/15/08, Paul D. Krismar, a 4 year old boy was attacked by a cougar in Vancouver. The boy was rescued by his father. The cougar had attempted to kill with a skull crunch, but was unable. Even a 4 year old's skull is too thick for them. Also in Vancouver, Dave Parker was attacked 8/1/02 by a cougar. Dave defended himself with a knife. He plunged the knife into the cat's throat, and the cat bled out and died. Meanwhile, the cat had attacked Dave by the head. It attempted a skull crunch by anchoring its lower canines in Dave's eyesocket. Dave spent weeks in a hospital. His face is disfigured and he lost an eye. Anne Hjelle has a huge scar on her face where the cat anchored on her cheek bone. James Hamm was attacked in northern CA and was rescued by his wife. The cat attempted a skull crunch severely lacerating Jim's scalp. Harmas's account does not fit these patterns. A big cat will never attack by biting someone's foot. That is the technique of a dog. Cats always go for the head and neck.

A dog bite and a cat bite are not the same in appearance. A dog slashes with its canines whereas a cat penetrates. The wounds caused by a dog will be long slashes -- likewise with a bear. A cat bite will appear as 4 punctures as seen in the case with Dennis Wood in Cornwall, Ontario on 8/04/01. The cat attacked for his head. Dennis blocked with his forearm receiving a bite with the signature 4 puncture wounds.

The only part of Harmas's story that seems plausible is the part where the cat retreated. Cats are solitary predators and cannot risk injury. Any impairment means death by starvation to a cat, but not to a wolf who has pack members to help him thru his ordeal. Thus, the concept scardy cat exists with cats. Their extra caution compels them to avoid injury so they are easily intimidated. African lions being pack hunters show the same courage as wolves.

Once again, Frank Harmas and his story need to be more thoroughly investigated.

well if the guy had a coneled carry there whuold have been proof

MYXOMOP, no offense but you are assuming too much. In the original story (link attached), Mr. Harmes clearly states the cat in question was tan and about 7 feet long, tail and all. Your are correct in mentioning escapes as a possible source of large black cat sightings.

I live in Alabama and am hearing several third and fourth hand reports of cougar sightings. The official word is that we don't have black ones here unless they are escapees from somone's private animal collection.

http://www.outdooralabama.com/watchable-wildlife/Watchablearticles/black...
"In the western hemisphere, which consists of North and South America, there are two cats that have a black or melanistic phase. The jaguar and the jaguar’s smaller cousin, the jaguarundi."

"After reviewing trapping and hunting records back to the 1600s and reports of vehicle collisions with animals from around the state, we can say with relative assurance that there are no native black cats in Alabama."

http://decaturdaily.com/stories/Man-fends-off-cougar-attack-using-knife,...
UNION GROVE — Frank Harmes said he doesn’t own a gun and hasn’t hunted since he shot squirrels and rabbits growing up in Florida.

But he’s thankful for the Buck knife his wife, Sherry, gave him for their third wedding anniversary Nov. 8. He believes it saved his life when a cougar attacked him Dec. 1.

Harmes, who lives on the ridge above Greenbriar Cove in Marshall County near Morgan City, hiked into the valley that afternoon, a routine walk except this time he planned to deliver a stray mixed-breed hound dog to a neighbor.

“I had the dog on a 10-foot leash attached to my left wrist,” he said. “She was walking in front of me when I heard a stick break behind me.” (See link for full story)

DAYUMMMMM
Big kitty, regardless of color. I don't care what you say, if anybody can get proof of a 7 foot long feline attacking them ...(I'm not saying this guy did or didn't, I'm just saying in general)...it's just crazy. But I don't think a 7 foot long panther would attack the shin, unless you're in a tree. Even then, it's reasonably doubted.

Personally, It doesn't matter if the cat was blue. I don't know if I would say that attacks are becoming 'more' common but if you're a sportsman like myself, you will always hear horror stories about when animals attack. I cannot stress enough that you must be prepared for anything. Granted the likelihood of being attacked by a bear in Oklahoma is slim, I still carry my hunting knife if not a small caliber rifle anytime I trek through the woods for a chance encounter with wildlife(for personal protection). As someone mentioned before, what if he hadn't heard the animal behind him?