OH: Black leopard sightings still being reported (via Chad Arment)

Kelli Wynn, Staff Writer
Dayton Daily News
Thursday, September 1, 2011

HARRISON TWP., Montgomery County — A black leopard that has been roaming the area was sighted two more times this week, according to law enforcement officials and a resident.

Chris Walden of the 4500 block of Lofty Oaks Lane said he was looking out a window in his home and noticed a large black cat-like animal walking across his yard Wednesday night.

"It was like stalking, the way it was walking," Walden said. "He was stalking real cautious. Real aware of everything around him. "

Walden estimates that the dark animal weighed between 160 to 200 pounds. The sight of the animal prompted Walden to call the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office and Outreach for Animals, Inc., a local nonprofit that deals with exotic animals found in residential areas.

"It's definitely someone's pet that got out," outreach director Tim Harrison said of the leopard, which is commonly known as a black panther..

He believes the leopard could have been among the leopard cubs sold at an uncredited zoo and rescue facility in Mount Hope, Ohio, about five or six years ago. Harrison's organization discovered that this zoo, which was located in Amish country, was selling black leopard and cougar cubs.

Ohio does not regulate private ownership of dangerous wild animals, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

Harrison pointed out that when the buyers bought these cubs they were cute and adorable. By now, that might not be the case with these animals.

"They are either going to escape or get turned loose," Harrison said of the animals . "I predict now that there is going to be an explosion of black leopards and cougars (throughout Ohio).

This week's earlier sighting occurred Tuesday when a person reported seeing an animal near the wooded area along the Stillwater River near Shoup Mill Road and Riverside Drive, according to Montgomery County Sheriff's Major Dave Hale.

The leopard has been spotted at least five or six times in the last 14 or 15 months, Hale said.

"The likelihood of trapping an animal like that is pretty small," Hale said. "If we have a sighting, we will take the appropriate steps.."

So far, the sheriff's office has not had a report of the leopard approaching a human.

Harrison recommends that people not move when they spot a leopard because moving or running may trigger a chase instinct in the animal.

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