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Tuesday, May 4, 2004
Local News
Panther sighting reported in Portage
Dog sounds alarm
By RICK NEALE
Staff writer
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PORTAGE TOWNSHIP -- An East Harbor Road man told authorities he saw a large black panther dart into a marshy, wooded area this weekend just west of the Ohio 53 intersection.
The puma-like creature was spotted by Donald Nason shortly after 11:30 a.m. Sunday. He was watching television in his trailer behind Fisherman's Inn when he heard his golden Labrador, Gunner, barking wildly from its chained-up area in the back yard. Nason peered out the window -- and was startled to see a dark unidentified beast, lying in a nearby alley about 60 feet away.
"The dog was raising Cain out there and I looked out there, and sure in the world, (it was) laying right out there in the open," Nason said Monday during a phone interview. "It was close to 50 pounds and it looked like a cat -- pure black."
The mysterious animal stood on all fours, ran behind a tree and vanished into the swampy brush, Nason said. He said the possible panther headed off in an easterly direction.
He reported that the alleged lion had catlike facial features and pointed ears that stuck straight up off its furry head, though he recalled few other details. "It was far enough away that I couldn't get a real good look at it," he said.
The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office dispatched a deputy to Nason's trailer to investigate the panther sighting. The deputy found no evidence of a large predator in the area, Chief Deputy Bob Bratton said.
No similar loose animals have been reported to the sheriff's office, particularly from African Safari Wildlife Park, Bratton said. The park is about one mile southeast of Nason's home.
African Safari Wildlife Park director Bill Coburn said no exotic animals have escaped his property. In fact, the Lightner Road drive-thru park no longer stocks lions or similar large cats, he said.
Nason has lived at his East Harbor Road home for more than 20 years. He called his wife, Geraldine, to the window when he spotted the wildcat but she did not react in time to see the beast, he said.
The Portage Township thickets and swamps north of East Harbor Road harbor numerous animals, he said. About two weeks ago, he said he was startled by a large buck with sizable antlers near the trailer.
Contact staff writer Rick Neale at 419-734-7506 or
[email protected]
Email this story
Originally published Tuesday, May 4, 2004
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