“It was definitely a cat, long and sleek,” Dee Moody, a retired high school teacher, told ECM. Most recently, on January 5, Southwestern College language and literature professor Dan Moody told ECM that his mother, Dee Moody saw a jet-black, large cat that weighted at least 60 pounds walk across an open field behind her Spring Valley house on January 4 - in broad daylight. If these rare cats are regaining a toehold in our region, is anything being done to protect them from being shot by ranchers, law enforcement, or wildlife officials who may be unaware of their protected status?

While thus far no one has captured photos of the animals, the growing number of sightings from seemingly credible sources-including an East County Magazine reporter, raises some intriguing questions. Janu(San Diego’s East County)-A rash of sightings of large black wildcats have been reported in East County, most recently in Spring Valley.

Photos (not local): Jaguarundi, black jaguar, and melanistic jaguar with spots visible