To be so close to an animal of that description for so long a period is extremely unusual and, in my mind, removes a good deal of the doubt about misidentification. It had rained two days before, so I asked the caller if he could show me the exact location of the sighting so that we could look for tracks. My disappointment at this news was evident. However, I thanked the caller and added this sighting to my ever expanding file on cougar sightings for Guysborough County. This one particular sighting happened to be a very credible one, and although it didn't bring us any closer to undeniable proof of cougar existence in Nova Scotia, I couldn't help wondering just what people are seeing.
Most cougar sightings are remarkably consistent.
Nearly all report seeing a large cat-like animal, tawny to black in color with a long, curved tail. Of special interest is the unusually high number of black or melanistic cougars reported in the province. Black cougars have been reported 42 times in Nova Scotia and 49 times in New Brunswick. In South America where the black form is endemic, it is considered very rare. The eastern cougar is known by many names-panther, painter, puma, mountain lion, or carcajou.