February 21, 2013
Dr. Karl Shuker has a great new post up at Shuker Nature. And here’s the opening paragraphs to give you a taste of what it’s all about…
“Certain of South America’s alleged mystery cats may in reality be of canine rather than feline identity. One of these ambiguous animals is the mitla, which was first brought to western attention by the famous lost explorer Colonel Percy Fawcett. In Exploration Fawcett (1953), while referring to the Madidi region of Bolivia, he noted: ‘In the forests were various beasts still unfamiliar to zoologists, such as the mitla, which I have seen twice, a black doglike cat about the size of a foxhound.’
“American zoologist and cryptozoologist Ivan T. Sanderson claimed that during an animal collecting trip to South America, he had unsuccessfully attempted on several occasions to shoot one of these creatures, but had obtained a legless native skin of one, which he likened to that of a huge black serval with pricked ears and tiny lynx-like tail. Regrettably, however, he did not mention what happened to this cryptozoologically priceless skin afterwards.”
Dog-like cats, cat-like dogs and more: it’s a fascinating story…
About Nick Redfern
Punk music fan, Tennents Super and Carlsberg Special Brew beer fan, horror film fan, chocolate fan, like to wear black clothes, like to stay up late. Work as a writer.
Filed under Alien Big Cats, Cryptid Canids, Cryptozoologists, Cryptozoology, Eyewitness Accounts, Lair of the Beasts, Mystery Cats, Phantom Panthers