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Black Leopard in Neosho, Missouri

June 24th, 2008 by ivy

Neosho, Missouri is located on the western edge of the Missouri Ozarks. The Ozarks conjure images of mountain lions, banjos and sprawling, unpopulated mountainous landscapes. However, as far the mountain lions go, the Missouri population of mountain lions was killed off in the early 20th century (although, there are the occasional sightings of mountain lions through out the state).

On May 19, 2008 a resident of Neosho was startled by “scratching” at her back door. The woman saw a “large, black cat” that she believed was a mountain lion. She called the Newton County police and they responded to the scene. The Newton County Sheriff was “charged” by the large black cat and so the sheriff shot the cat, killing it. After discovering that the cat was not a mountain lion, it was then believed the cat was most likely a captive animal.

The above are the “facts” being portrayed as news in several newspapers across the country and among others, msnbc.com. After doing additional research on the incident, there are several facts that are left out of the incident.

Mountain Lions, or Puma Concolor, are one of the few species of wild cats that are solid in color. They are usually tan or light brown depending on their geographical location. Mountain lions are not black. They are solitary, elusive animals. Mountain lions normally weigh between 80-230 lbs.

The large black cat believed to be a mountain lion, on the verge of attack, was a six month old declawed, (most likely) captive bred and captive raised male leopard. It weighed 40 lbs. In the state of Missouri, owners of exotic cats must have a permit and register the animal in the county where they reside. In Newton County there is one permit on file and the permit is for a Bengal Tiger. No one has reported the leopard missing because it is believed that it was
illegally obtained.

The bureaucratic system in place that is supposed to regulate and monitor the transportation and ownership of exotic animals is flawed and ineffective. Situations like the one involving the Leopard in Neosho show the tragedy of illegally owning a wild cat and specifically the
danger to neighbors and the unnecessary death of a young animal, whose species faces ultimately faces extinction.

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