Ghost Cat

Twenty years ago we holidayed with our children in the West Coast of America, driving from place to place and covering over 3000 miles. When we left San Francisco we drove via Yosemite National Park to Lake Tahoe where we found accommodation for the night.

As was my want in those days, after a long day behind the steering wheel, I got my running shoes on as Mrs B and the boys headed for the swimming pool and chill out time. I was keen to find a forest track well away from traffic and was directed to one at reception. The track was beautiful but all uphill through Ponderosa and other pine trees. I distinctly remember the heavy smell of the trees after a day of bright sunlight. I continued running up the hillside as the track got smaller and smaller until it was no more that a foot wide and quite hard to make out. By this time I was pretty exhausted and glad to come to a flat spot where there was no obvious path to continue on. I stopped and was getting my breath back when I heard a rustling sound from the pine bushes beside me. As I looked round I could see some of the small branches moving and a large light coloured object darting away over the ledge I was on and out of sight! Simultaneously, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I felt an uncontrollable shiver. I didn't even take time to think about what I had just come upon, I just turned around and ran as fast as I could the 3 or 4 miles back to the hotel.

By the time I recounted my experience to Mrs B I was convinced I had come across some kind of wild animal, but had no idea what it was. It was a few days later, when we were further south in California, that I read an article in a magazine about a young man who had been killed by a Mountain Lion while out jogging on the edge of a small town. I was amazed to learn that the North American Puma or Mountain Lion probably kills as many people in America as wild bears (Wikipedia lists 20 fatalities). As I read this the hairs on the back of my head were at it again and I shook with goose pimples as I realised this was the animal I had encountered on my earlier run. It was quite scarey to learn that it was also known as the Ghost Cat as it was rarely seen in the wild other than its ghostly white outline, just as I had seen! When I got home I researched more about this fascinating animal and the more I learned the more I appreciated the close encounter I had had. I can only guess I startled the animal when it was snoozing and wasn't in hunting mode!

Today we visited Jungle Park in Tenerife to see the falconry demonstrations and the various wild animals on display. And there it was looking at me through the glass front of its enclosure, a North American Puma or Mountain Lion. The first time I had seen one since that day 20 years ago. It wasn't just sitting about, it was darting around its enclosure and strode along a log to within a few feet of me. It just had to be my blip for today as it finally laid the ghost of a scary encounter to rest!