There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
(12-04-2020, 03:14 AM)Shadow Wrote: Here one more article and this has a confirmed sighting too.
Quote: "KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officials say a tiger sighting in Knoxville was likely a case of mistaken identity.
A spokesperson from the East Tennessee region said they received a call a couple days ago in the Kingsport area saying folks saw a tiger. An officer responded and the cat, which was still on site, was a bobcat."
"Taking everything into consideration, the lack of new sightings and the conditions the first sighting was reported in, It seems highly unlikely that there is a big non-native cat on the loose," Barry Cross, with TWRA, said."
It's weird, they did not report this on the local news, and even deleted some of the posts about the incident from the Sheriff's Office FaceBook page, back when it happened.
Odd. Of course there is a little chance that some privately owned tiger cub had escaped and then found very soon, in case like this it´s impossible to be 100% sure unless there is a photo from original sighting. I think, that photos which I found are from case(s) after that original news. I don´t think that any real zoo would try to cover up this kind of thing, because they would be in huge trouble if someone would be attacked. But who knows if there are a lot of these privately owned tigers, some people have no sense of responsibility.
Given how it was handled, that is exactly what I figured had happened. I figured it was found, and they brushed it under the rug, in order to minimize liability, and that was based entirely on what was said, and the way they closed it all out of the blue. I now I read what you posted, and am more confused than I was when it was happening.
Yeah. It´s also possible, that animal experts have said all the time to Sheriff Office (as they say in articles I posted), that it was a bobcat and staff there (Sheriff Office) are too embarrassed to discuss about it more since it was a deputy(?) making that first claim following then others. It can be that simple really, they are people too and sometimes embarrassment can make people act in odd ways. And I guess, that Sheriff Office creating unnecessary panic isn´t exactly what they would like to advertise
Another, very real, possibility. So long as no cats, or any people were hurt, then it had a positive outcome. As you mentioned, depending on a person's origins, a bobcat may well look like a tiger. I know for certain that I have been in the woods in Florida, with some folks from the city (Miami), when we spotted some coyotes, and they immediately believed they were looking at a pack of wolves lol. We had to explain to them, that a) we don't have wolves in Florida, and b) wolves are much larger than the little coyotes we just saw.
Yeah, these things happen. One person which I know was on site of car hitting an animal and he was sure that it was a wolverine lying dead there, while it was a raccoon dog. And while wolverines can be spotted nowadays occasionally in large parts of Finland it happened in area, that pretty much 0% possibility :) And this guy had time to look at that animal lying dead there all he wanted. It wasn´t just some short glimpse in dark.
Misidentifications are so easy to make even by experienced people especially in surprising and quick situations.
The following 1 user Likes Shadow's post:1 user Likes Shadow's post • BA0701
A tiger is loose in Tennessee
