I was enjoying a slow mid afternoon walk in the forest when I was startled by a noise of an animal bolting just metres on my right where it had been lying in the leaf litter.
A short brown coat and a bit of white was what I could see before it became a blur. Then another freeze frame of coiled haunches then it disappeared.
A hare I thought, Big one.
I then realized it had stopped moving.
I slowly walked around a tree, I was on a path not leaf litter and could be quiet.
As I rounded the tree, Whoosh it was away again.
This time I could see this was not a hare at all.
Why on earth should I have thought it was a hare? Well, I have had this happen to me while walking across a field in the UK well over a hundred moons ago so I guess my mind went back to a default setting and confused me.
Silly me. I confused a much larger animal with a smaller one. One that is the size of a large dog and preys on muntjac deer.
What did I see?
Catopuma temmincki
It is easy in poor conditions to confuse animals and scale them up or down especially at dawn or dusk. It happened to me about 2-3pm.
If I hadnt got the third glimpse, Id be telling all my mates down the pub that I saw a hare in the equatorial rainforest!
Theyd be dubious and ask me for a skull and skeleton for proof but Id tell them, I know what I saw. Someone must be releasing pets into the wild.
A short brown coat and a bit of white was what I could see before it became a blur. Then another freeze frame of coiled haunches then it disappeared.
A hare I thought, Big one.
I then realized it had stopped moving.
I slowly walked around a tree, I was on a path not leaf litter and could be quiet.
As I rounded the tree, Whoosh it was away again.
This time I could see this was not a hare at all.
Why on earth should I have thought it was a hare? Well, I have had this happen to me while walking across a field in the UK well over a hundred moons ago so I guess my mind went back to a default setting and confused me.
Silly me. I confused a much larger animal with a smaller one. One that is the size of a large dog and preys on muntjac deer.
What did I see?
Catopuma temmincki
It is easy in poor conditions to confuse animals and scale them up or down especially at dawn or dusk. It happened to me about 2-3pm.
If I hadnt got the third glimpse, Id be telling all my mates down the pub that I saw a hare in the equatorial rainforest!
Theyd be dubious and ask me for a skull and skeleton for proof but Id tell them, I know what I saw. Someone must be releasing pets into the wild.