[Batpuff]

EXPERTS NOT CONVINCED CATS BACK IN STATE AFTER 150 YEARS

By Megan Potter

HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

The wildcats may have lost their title as the biggest cats in Kentucky. Mammoth Cave National Park has notified the public about reported cougar sightings on its land in Western Kentucky.

In the past nine months, the park received three unconfirmed reports -- the most the park has ever had in such a short period of time -- two of which came from Mammoth Cave rangers. Park officials have no photographic or natural evidence of the large cats, and wildlife experts say it's unlikely cougars, who haven't been native to Kentucky for over 150 years, will be confirmed.

Superintendent Patrick Reed said the park has posted safety tips. The advisory includes information about how best to avoid a dangerous encounter with a cougar and what hikers should do if they find themselves face to face with one of the cats.

"It's not any different from putting out information on grizzly bears at Yellowstone Park, or any large animal of that size," he said.

Reed said the animals, which outweigh their wildcat cousins by about 100 pounds, are actually "very afraid of humans" and that most sightings are of the animal running away from the witness.

Mike Marraccini of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is skeptical about the presence of cougars in the state, especially the theory that the cats might have migrated in of their own accord.

"There could be a cougar here, but most likely they'd be very young cats brought into the state by people and then released when the owner found out they weren't quite as cute as they were when they were kittens," he said.

Hundreds of trail cameras around the Mammoth Cave National Park have not spotted any cougars, and investigations in the areas surrounding the sightings revealed no tracks or carcasses of animals that might be attributed to cougar attacks.

Wildlife rangers, however, have reported that the population seems to be spreading out from the Plains states and moving eastward toward the Mississippi River.

Until reliable evidence can prove the existence of cougars in Kentucky, the animal will remain a part of the state's distant history.

Marraccini doubted that the sightings were valid.

"It's certainly possible, although not likely," he said. "If it is a cougar, it's probably the only one in the state."