Once or twice a year, some local yokel calls a newspaper or TV channel claiming they saw a mountain lion on their property that was probably just a large bobcat. Then the media rushes out to file a report on the undocumented mountain lion sighting that was probably just a large bobcat without mentioning that it was a probably just large bobcat, because let's be honest, who wants to watch or read a report about a large bobcat. Then I write about the whole thing just so I can post that image of Tall Paul being stalked by one of the only documented Oklahoman mountain lions, and well, that's how it goes.
Anyway, it looks like the cycle has started again. Some couple from Shawnee claims they spotted a mountain lion that was probably just a bobcat on their property. From the hard-hitting investigative journalism team at KFOR:
Shawnee man says mountain lion visited his backyard
A Shawnee man says he spotted a mountain lion in his backyard several times and he says he has the pictures to prove it.
Ken Kerbo’s Shawnee home backs up to 160 acres of undeveloped property.
He is used to seeing wild deer and turkeys, but one animal took him by surprise.
So, he has a pic to prove it, you say? Let's see it:
That proves it! We do have a legitimate mountain lion that's probably just a bobcat on the loose in Shawnee! Anything else we need to know?
Ken snapped some pictures of the animal when he first saw it about a year ago.
He says they’ve spotted the same animal twice in the past three weeks.
Wait. Are you they saying that pic of a mountain lion that's probably just a bobcat is over year old?! I thought KFOR mentioned he "had the pictures" to prove it.
Kerbo said, “It wasn’t very big, maybe knee high to what I am. After that, this year, when we saw it, it was actually a lot bigger.”
“It followed all the way down this tree line right here. And we followed it for about 6 acres until it ducked over into the trees again and we decided to stop at that point,” said Kerbo. “Last night we sat on the porch hoping to be able to see it again. It’s like we had cameras ready. We’re ready if it ever comes back again so that we can get some good pictures.”
So, to review, a Shawnee man finds a bobcat on his property and take photos. One year later he spots the same bobcat that is now a mountain lion (because even though mountain lions can roam thousands of miles, why not?), follows it for six acres without a camera or cell phone, calls the media and tells them about it, shows them pics of the bobcat from a year earlier and, BAM, conclusive proof that we have a confirmed mountain lion sighting in Shawnee. God I love journalism. Mind blown.
Disclaimer: Oklahoma does have mountain lions. There is a chance Kerbo wasn't confused or blatantly lying and saw a real one. Unlike the local media, I'll believe it when I see it.
