Predator Takes Dog

Cougar? Bobcat? The biggest bobcats go about a yard long and 35 pounds and are capable of taking young or injured deer, as well as sheep and pigs.  Cougar are bigger than that. Both have been known to take pets. A bobcat is more likely in this area (Denton, Texas), but the dog owner said it was a big animal.
The article makes an interesting connection between this summer's heat and drought and changing animal behavior.  That global warming thing so many people have been trying not to believe in has already produced some odd changes in the animal world, including, apparently, population explosions among jellyfish. This year has made the change palpable enough to satisfy any skeptic—I hope. It wil be interesting to see what other changes the new climate brings. 


No relief in sight | Denton Record Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas | Local News: 


"Ragsdale heard his dog screech, and looked up to see a big cat moving across a vacant lot.


"In two bounds, he was gone," Ragsdale said, who then ran back to the house to grab a flashlight and his pistol.


He tried to track the animal through a creek bed until he came upon a pile of bones. He could see the bones from another dog's foot in the pile and realized his pursuit wasn't such a good idea. He returned home only with his dog's collar.


Wildlife experts say either a bobcat or a mountain lion could have easily made off with the dog. Considering this summer's extraordinary drought, Ragsdale says he's concerned that the big cat may not have been the former, but the latter."