Strange animal in the Village of Lynnhaven last night.
 

Anyone else startled by a strange critter in the Villages last night? Saw it come from between our house and the neighbor's. Stop in the next door neighbor's drive-way and then cross the street only to stop again at a neighbor who is kitty corner to us.

My guess is that it was only about 30 lbs but it looked like from the pictures online like a Florida panther. But I do not remember a long tail.

Florida panthers are a lot more than 30 lbs full grown. It did have the panther's solid color though.

I did Google the Villages and Florida panther. That brought up a picture but that looks a lot bigger than what I saw.

?Are Forida panthers in the Villages?
 

On March 12th we played the Hibiscus course at Cane garden.
On the 5th hole we saw two animals in the fairway. Both black
and cat like. The appeared to be 12 inches high and 24 to 30 inches
long. One was in the middle of the fairway watching us tee off and the
other was in the brush/foliage on the left side of the fairway. They
both moved off as we began to approach.

What I saw was brown in color which did seem to have a cat like head. Its body was solid brown. I did not see any spots.

I was holding onto my dog's leash as he really wanted to give chase. He is a chihuahua mix but thinks he is a Great Dane.

Bobcat.
Steve

That is the most likely. Or a very young Florida panther but that is highly improbable.

A Bobcat walking along the top of a villa wall in the Village of Hillsborough. The Bobcat has pointed ears.

https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...2d&oe=5EAB3371

A Florida Panther, only one of maybe a 100 in the state, caught via a motion sensor camera in the middle of the night chasing a wild boar east of Gainesville.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...04e651cfac8b5a

A Bobcat photographed running down the 9th fairway of Eget at Evans Prairie Golf Course.

https://mrymq4fe22535zembykam4tw-wpe...Egret-nine.jpg

Wow, cool photos

Probably a Bobcat

You described a bobcat. They are or can be a lighter tan down here and don’t display the spots as much as they age. They are bigger then people think, and will take a small to medium size dog or cat for food. They can also have rabies, so stay away from them leave them a lone.

Probably a bobcat. Often seen in TV.

keep in mind....where we live was pretty open land not too many years ago

we are going to see wild critters from time to time

animals adapt to the changing environments...not all flee

there is a 'park & fly' lot near the Ft Lauderdale airport....there's a large population of monkeys that lived there prior to it being developed....they still live there and periodically will roam the parking area

"there is a 'park & fly' lot near the Ft Lauderdale airport....there's a large population of monkeys that lived there prior to it being developed....they still live there and periodically will roam the parking area "

I hear they do valet parking! ;o)

Chupacabra

How to Identify Bobcat Scat or Droppings

I did see quite a lot of scat on my dog's walk yesterday afternoon. This was close to the restroom just of the Belmont Golf course. It does look similar to the photo linked above.

Beau pied about four times on it from all angles.

Several other people with familiar dogs around too.

I would expect that the bobcat is in some other Village by now.

When we’re these pictures taken? Especially the one in Hillsborough.

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

I live on Cane Garden #6 and see a bobcat on the course and in my yard quite often.

I would love to see a bobcat! I live in the village of Hillsborough and it appears we have had them around but they seem to travel at night. Beautiful animal!

Could be trunk monkeys!

Except for the Florida Panther, those photos came from the online newspaper Village News. I'm unable to put a link to the article because that site is blocked. I just just searched and that was July 22, 2019 and here's the story.

Villager surprised to spot bobcat on wall outside his home

A Villager was surprised to spot a bobcat walking on the wall behind his home.

The bobcat was spotted Saturday morning at the home of Doug Byers at 3728 Infinity Run in the Village of Hillsborough.

“This cat was whining like it was hungry and it looked malnourished,” Byers said.

The Florida bobcat is identifiable by its short tail and the fringes of fur that outline the sides of its head. It weighs between 13 and 30 pounds and has a tail with white on its underside and black markings on its top side.

Bobcats are mainly nocturnal hunters who may also prey during the daylight hours. During the summer the Florida bobcats will eat mostly local fauna including squirrels, opossums, rabbits and raccoons. During the winter months, they hunt birds that pass through Florida to escape the cold up north.


Here's another Village News story,

Villager captures impressive image of bobcat at Sharon Rose Wiechens Preserve

Tom Lamb recently captured an impressive image of a bobcat at the Sharon Rose Wiechens Preserve.

This sighting follows others in the past few months in the Village of Pennecamp, the Village of Dunedin and at that same preserve.

The Florida bobcat is identifiable by its short tail and the fringes of fur that outline the sides of its head. It weighs between 13 and 30 pounds and has a tail with white on its underside and black markings on its top side.

Bobcats are mainly nocturnal hunters who may also prey during the daylight hours. During the summer the Florida bobcats will eat mostly local fauna including squirrels, opossums, rabbits and raccoons. During the winter months, they hunt birds that pass through Florida to escape the cold up north.


https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...be&oe=5EAAF5A5

Sounds like you're concerned because of your pet. Besides bobcats, there has been many more reports of dogs being snatched by coyotes. One of the guys from my golf group had a neighbor's dog taken during the day in the Village of Tall Trees, a very congested area just off 466 and two people were in the yard with the dog, however he was not on a leash. Here's the channel 9 story that ran on TV.

Coyote snatches woman's dog in The Villages

-------------------------------

In mid February I saw a Bobcat chasing a rabbit. I was walking down Livingston Loop in Lynnhaven at 5am. They both came out from the Belmont golf course.

A friend from Doggie Doo Run Run's pooch, Jon Snow, got dragged off by a coyote about 3 AM a few years ago. He was a five year old chihuahua/ miniature pincher mix. One of Beau's top buddies at Doggie Doo Run Run. She had let it out to pee in her yard which had a doggie electric fence. She had not been aware coyotes were in her neighborhood.

The bobcat scat Beau had peed on from every angle was only about one hundred feet from Livingston Loop. This was near the restroom on Belmont golf course.

?
 

Saw something odd just outside of our patio screen late one afternoon a few months ago. About two weeks later at around 3 am I looked out our front window and saw something that looked similar to my first sighting. I don't believe it was dog, or bobcat because it looked more the shape of a large otter. Both times I did not get a good look due to not having my glasses on. Your guess is as good as mine.

Fauna Returns
 

With the reduced activity outdoors, animals will become a little bolder. The longer this goes on the more likely you are to see more "strange" animals. They are just taking their habitat back for a while. Enjoy them but keep your dogs on a leash.

This was in the Villages Sun today, an otter in Fenney Springs nature trail.

https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.town...size=623%2C563

More than likely from your description, it was a bobcat. We have seen them on rare occasions in our neighborhood of Tierra del sol North. I was walking at dusk some time ago and one crossed my path about 50 yards away moving from the 18th hole to the marsh.

Cat on the wall young Florida Panther. Cat described.. Bobcat, we have them in Sunset Pointe.

Next time you see him open the door and yell “hey Bob”. If he comes it’s probably a bobcat. . . Sorry I’ve been cooped up in the house too long!

yep, bobcat or lynx. Saw a lynx at griffin state park a year ago. Linda

Doesn't anybody have a cell phone? ������������

Yes
 

My neighbor was taking her dog for Higgs last break. She was surprised by what she thought was a coyote. We live in the village of Pinellas.

Dogs can have rabies too. Just because it is a large cat does not mean it is diseased.

Maybe it was the mysterious "2 ladies in a golf cart with a clip board". Like the loch ness monster they are spotted everywhere and sometimes photo'd in a dark shadow.

Yeah, my dog had an encounter with one of those last night. I thought like you that it looked kind of like an otter but it had a long bushy tail and did not hold it's head up. On second thought I thought it might have been a groundhog or woodchuck but after a quick investigation, I read that neither animal lives on Florida. Or do they?

I don't think there are beavers in Calumet Grove, right?

Only if you drive a Chevy

Probably a bunch of cougars wanting to line dance.:clap2:

Manbearpig!!!

Think I saw bobcat in Desoto area of Fenney..definitely heard it at night..watch your animals, too lax.

A year doesn't go by without someone posting on here about a dog being snatched by a coyote. A guy in my golf group neighbor had one taken right out of the front yard during daylight with two adults standing within 20' in the Village of Tall Trees right off 466 by the Bob Evans. The problem, the dog wasn't on a leash. Here's the story on Channel 9 Orlando.

Coyote snatches woman's dog in The Villages

Here's a new worry. Talked to a fellow the other day who knows a guy who works for the electric company, he's a powerline worker. They recently had to dismantle an American Bald Eagle nest from a tower next to Belle Glade CC, he said they found 9 dog collars in the nest. Please walk your dog on a leash and it's in a CYV, stay close and nearby if he's not on a leash.