Reported sightings cause dispute

February 12, 2006

By JOANIE BAKER
Index-Journal staff writer

A sign that reads “Caution: Big cats in area.”
Trying to get a precautionary sign such as this is what motivates Bobby Revels to continue his restless crusade to prod government agencies to acknowledge the existence of the big cats reportedly sighted in the Lakelands.
Since Revels heard a cat bellow so loud he could “hear the bushes shaking” more than a year ago, he has dedicated much of his free time to documenting people’s sightings, their accounts of livestock deaths and researching the Eastern Cougar, which many officials have told him is confused with a coyote or someone’s pet.
“This has become a passion for me,” said Revels, who keeps all of his research in a large binder titled “The Black Cat Hunt.”
“I am so frustrated with the government,” he said. “I have talked to so many officials who say there is no such animal.”
And Revels isn’t the only one. Some of the people in the Lakelands interviewed said they think government agencies will not admit that the species is here because they do not want residents to become hysterical. Others said agencies don’t acknowledge the big cats’ presence for insurance reasons.

The scientific side

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Endangered Species Biologist David Rabon said that because there has never been any documented proof of the felis concolor cougar, or Eastern Cougar (also known as a panther, puma or mountain lion) in the form of a photo, video, feces or tracks, he thinks the animal is extirpated and possibly extinct.
“I don’t doubt that there are large cats out there, but I don’t know that I would call them an Eastern Cougar,” he said, adding they could be a subspecies of the animal that is protected. “Probably, those animals out there are most likely released or escaped animals that were raised in captivity but are still wild animals.”
Judy Barnes, a wildlife biologist of small game at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, said there is not enough evidence to prove they are here. The ones that have been caught in the past have had “cat food” in their stomachs, proving they were domestic pets, she said. Still, she said all kinds of people, including doctors, lawyers, mail carriers and pastors, call in sightings to the department at least once a week.
“They are all very credible people. They are educated and know what they’ve seen,” she said. “But we have to go by research that has been done and by professionals who have spent their entire career researching this.”
Just because there have not been any “proven” sightings or photographic evidence that the cats are here does not mean they won’t be here in the future, an Associated Press report indicated.
The AP reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a report that the Florida panther might be moved to other areas of the Southeast to help the endangered species breed.
The report said the plan is intended to “downlist the Florida panther to ‘threatened’ under the Endangered Species Act” as its current habitat has become “more limited because of urban sprawl, agricultural development and road building.”
Though the plan includes possibly introducing the panther to locations across the Southeast, there is not a timetable, and extensive public hearings and coordination with state agencies will take place first.

Capturing proof

In an effort to provide agencies such as the Fish and Wildlife Service proof that the cats are already here, Revels has set up three motion-detecting cameras in areas where the cats have reportedly been sighted. Revels said he checks them every morning, and though he has yet to capture one of the black beasts on film, he thinks his long list of nearly 100 encounters reported to him over the past two years is enough to prove they’re here.
Abbeville resident Riley McLane is one of the many people who has told Revels his story of an animal mauled by what he thinks was a big cat.
One early April morning, McLane said he heard a dog barking behind his house and turned a light on to see what the commotion was about. Upon closer investigation with a bright, hand-held light, McLane said he saw his neighbor’s miniature horse moving toward a pond and a large cat not far away.
“(The cat’s) ears were outlined in the light. The insides were almost luminesce,” McLane said. “I couldn’t see the face, just the ears and the outline of the body. Then it turned and went off toward the light. (I turned to the) right and saw another set of eyeballs looking at me and decided I better get in the house.”
McLane said he went back in the house and kept looking out his window to see the miniature horse but couldn’t find it. About 7 a.m., he came out with binoculars and found the horse lying in the mouth of a ditch. After informing his neighbors of his findings, the group went down to find “Sunshine,” a 23-year-old birthday gift of the woman, had been mauled to death.
McLane said that judging by the wounds on throat and side of the horse, which lived another hour after being found, he thinks there were two cats involved.
According to The Cougar Almanac, big cats attack by leaping on large animals’ backs and twisting or biting into the animals’ necks. Death is usually “due to one of the cougar’s large canine teeth forcing vertebrae apart and severing the prey’s spinal cord.” The almanac says cougars then attack the side of the body and eat the internal organs first, making McLane’s depiction of the horse eerily similar.
Amos Cunningham, of Due West, had a “frightening” encounter with what he thinks was a big cat.
He said that for three nights his son’s pet goat would cry out, and, from somewhere in the distance, a cat would bellow out a cry in return. Cunningham said that each night the crying cat sounded as if it were getting closer, but he didn’t think anything about it.
On the third morning, he found the head of the goat with about four inches of spinal cord still attached to the chain, while the remainder of the carcass had been carried up a tree.
“It takes something very powerful and strong to pull the head off a goat,” said Cunningham, who said he searched for tracks with a game warden who was also mystified by the scene. “It would take a powerful cat to do that.”
Cunningham said the warden gave him traps to set out, but he never caught anything. He said he has seen three the cats in the area, one that was able to jump across the street in one leap.
Revels said he thinks that even if some residents had shot a cougar, which would prove their existence here, many are intimidated by the hefty fines that can be incurred for killing an endangered animal.
A popular aphorism is often recited by residents on the subject: Shoot it, shovel it and shut up about it.
Though some people are skeptical of the “ghost cat’s” existence at all, Ellen and Wayne Treece are believers. About eight years ago, before the sightings had become popular and their stories widespread, Ellen said she saw one 300 yards from her house. Revels said that many of the sightings reported to him have been of black cats on people’s property or even standing on the side of the road.
“I was washing the dishes and standing there watching the birds when I saw something in the pasture,” said Ellen, who thinks the cats have come into her neighborhood because of the large deer population. “I saw a big cat and it had a long tail and there was a little one following behind it.”
Barnes said she thinks the animals that come close on people’s property were once domestic animals that are used to human contact. Others think the animals are moving into cities as a result of having been pushed out of their habitats from commercialization.

A lifetime of study

John Lutz, of Maysville, W.Va., has been studying cat sightings and Eastern Puma history since he worked as a volunteer for the Maryland State Police, where he took about 5,000 reports from 1967-85. Lutz said he got interested in the phenomenon in 1965 when he worked as a news reporter for a radio station. Since then, Lutz has taken more than 7,500 reports and has started the nonprofit Eastern Puma Research Network, a grass-roots wildlife study group dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the native eastern mountain lion sub-species to its former range.
Lutz has traveled to places in Florida to study the panther and its movements and said they were perhaps brought to America on slave ships many years ago. Because slave traders did not have enough men to watch over the captives all the time, it is said that they used a large black cat to maintain domination.

Threat or not?

Lutz said it is important to know that pumas are not man-eaters; they like a challenge such as a deer, but that does not mean they are vegetarians, he added.
There have only been three human attacks on the East Coast, two of which occurred in the late 1800s, said Lutz, who recommends that people who come across the cats treat them as oversized domestic cats by talking to them and making sure not to run away or turn their backs to them. If at all possible, Lutz said to keep a tree between you and the cat.
But Revels said he is still concerned for residents and children who could be attacked. Though there have not been any local reports of humans attacked, Revels points out that in Caspers Wilderness Park in California, officials had not acknowledged the presence of cougars until a 5-year-old girl was attacked while playing in a creek. The girl was paralyzed and lost vision in one eye. Her family sued county authorities and was awarded $2 million in damages, The Cougar Almanac says.
Today, hikers wanting to visit Caspers must sign a waver and are familiarized with the sign that reads: “Caution: Mountain Lion On Trail.”
Lutz said that although the animal is popular on the West Coast, only the state of Delaware recognizes the animal’s existence in its wildlife on the East Coast.
But that won’t stop Revels from trying to get a sign.

Thomas B. Brooks

Services for Thomas B. Brooks are 1 p.m. Monday at Beulah Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. Warren J. Gist. Burial is in The Evening Star. The body will be placed in the church at noon.
Pallbearers and flower bearers are cousins and friends of the family.
Honorary escort is the Greenwood High School Class of 1971.
Visitation is 5-7 tonight at the home, 410 Windmill Circle.
Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home is in charge.

Fred Samuel Callaham

PLUM BRANCH — Fred Samuel Callaham, 81, husband of Inez Cunningham Callaham, died Friday, Feb. 10, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in McCormick County, he was a son of the late Willie Fred and Reather Edmond Callaham. He was a member of Cedar Spring Baptist Church, where he served on the Trustee Board, a member of Cedar Spring Burial Aid Society and a retired employee of Greenwood Mills.
Survivors include his wife of the home; five daughters, Loretta Callaham of Edgefield, Fannie Lou Mims, Delores Freeman and Doralene Simmons, all of Plum Branch, and Shirley Middleton of McCormick; fours sons, Carnell Callaham, Willie Callaham and Ernest Callaham, all of McCormick and Eddie Callaham of Greenwood; three sisters, Rosada Holmes, Lillie Mae Hollingsworth and Fannie Lou Hollingsworth, all of Philadelphia; a brother, Emmanuel Callaham of Philadelphia; 22 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
The family is at the home on Route One, 135 Outz-Moton Road.
Services will be announced by Walker Funeral Home, McCormick.

Tom Willie Davis

Services for Tom Willie Davis, of 518 Parkland Place, are 2 p.m. Monday at Mount Pisgah Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. Otis Cunningham, assisted by the Revs. Curtis Bowman, Ricky Oliver Sr., Jonathan Greene and Joe Green. Burial is in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are nephews.
Flower bearers are nieces.
Honorary escorts are the Mount Pisgah Baptist Church Trustees.
The family is at the home of a niece, Mary B. Childs, 518 Parkland Place Road, Country Homes subdivision. Robinson & Son Mortuary, Inc. is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@nctv.com

Paul A. DeLong

GREENWOOD, SC — Paul A. DeLong, 77, of 135 Barkwood Lane passed away February 6, 2006 at National Healthcare of Clinton. A son to the late Homer and Esther Loudenslager DeLong. He is predeceased by his loving wife of 34 years, Charlotte A. DeLong.
A member of Coronaca Baptist Church in Greenwood. An Army veteran of the Korean War, he was a Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Ohio, worked twelve years at the Metropolitan Mission of Tampa, FL, helping homeless people and for three years worked for the Piedmont Agency for the Aging.
Surviving are two sons, Steven DeLong of Florida, Rev. William “Bill” DeLong of Clinton and six grandchildren.
A memorial service was held Thursday, February 9, 2006 at the Friendship Baptist Church of Clinton at 7:00 pm. Rev. Bill DeLong officiated the service. Burial will be at sea by the U.S. Navy, Jacksonville, FL.
Condolences may be sent to Rev. Bill DeLong, 1275 Hwy 308, Clinton, SC 29325.
Palmetto Cremation Services, 864-878-6661.
PAID OBITUARY

Sandra Dixon

BELTON — Sandra Jean Pruitt Dixon, of 128 Camelot Drive, died Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006 at AnMed Health. The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Robinson-Walker Funeral Service, Ware Shoals.

Jonny ‘Judy’ M. Taylor

McCORMICK — Jonny “Judy” M. Taylor, 61, of 269 Fairway Drive, Savannah Lakes, wife of Glenn O. Taylor, died Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006 at her home.
Born in Detroit, she was a daughter of the late Frederick and Mary Davis Stanton. She was a homemaker. Survivors include her husband; two daughters, Barbara McDonald of Greensboro, N.C. and Nancy Nease of Jacksonville, Fla.; and three grandchildren.
Services are private. Burial is in Overbrook Cemetery.
Visitation is 1-4 p.m. Monday at Strom Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, S.C. 29646. The family is at the home.
Strom Funeral Home is in charge.

E. L. Williams

E. L. Williams, 72, of 336 Sullivan St., died Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center. The family is at the home.
Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home is in charge.
Harold Wimberley
SWANSBORO, NC – Harold Stanley Wimberley, 72, of 509 Ocean Spray Drive, died Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006 at Craven Regional Medical Center in New Bern, N.C.
Born in Angier, N.C., he was a son of the late Roger O. Wimberly and the late Mary Kelly Wimberley Ferrell. He was a retired general construction superintendent.
Survivors include two daughters, Connie Sheorn of Camden, S.C. and Brenda Wimberley of Angier, N.C.; two sons, Larry Wimberley of Abilene, Ks. and Randy Wimberley of Daphne, Ala.; a brother Roger “Bud” Wimberley of Buies Creek, N.C.; a sister, Betty Joyce Smith of Newport News, Va.; and 10 grandchildren. Private family services will be held at a later date.
Memorials may be made to Continuum Home Care and Hospice, 3391 Henderson Drive, Jacksonville, N.C. 28546. The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home, Abbeville, S.C., is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.chandlerjacksonfh.com

Harold Wimberley

SWANSBORO, NC – Harold Stanley Wimberley, 72, of 509 Ocean Spray Drive, died Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006 at Craven Regional Medical Center in New Bern, N.C.
Born in Angier, N.C., he was a son of the late Roger O. Wimberly and the late Mary Kelly Wimberley Ferrell. He was a retired general construction superintendent.
Survivors include two daughters, Connie Sheorn of Camden, S.C. and Brenda Wimberley of Angier, N.C.; two sons, Larry Wimberley of Abilene, Ks. and Randy Wimberley of Daphne, Ala.; a brother Roger “Bud” Wimberley of Buies Creek, N.C.; a sister, Betty Joyce Smith of Newport News, Va.; and 10 grandchildren. Private family services will be held at a later date.
Memorials may be made to Continuum Home Care and Hospice, 3391 Henderson Drive, Jacksonville, N.C. 28546. The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home, Abbeville, S.C., is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.chandlerjacksonfh.com

Are we getting intelligence we need to get job done?

February 12, 2006

The spying business is a hard life these days. As the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield might have said, spies, or spooks as they are sometimes called, just don’t get no respect.
Thanks to James Bond and other movies about spies, and some other mediums, we have been given an inside look at what covert “operatives” do. Those movies and some other “art” forms, to be sure, take liberties with the lives and times of Bond and others, their glamorous girl friends (and sometimes enemies), and the high-flying adventures that define their everyday lives. It’s easy to see that Hollywood often makes pictures that depict the American government and/or its various departments as the bad guys.

UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, is it any wonder that some impressionable minds are led to believe that the FBI, CIA and other western intelligence agencies are subversive or conspiratorial in nature ….. slanted against the Americans, of course.
Much of Hollywood, as has been obvious in recent times, does indeed have an anti-American bias. Too many films leave little doubt about that. The same goes for much of the television fare these days, too.
Why is that? Sometimes you have to wonder.
Now, of course, there is the controversy over telephone eavesdropping the National Security Agency (NSA) is doing on suspected terrorists. Some may have managed to come into the U. S. in relatively recent times, or some may have been here long enough to become what is known in the spy world as a terrorist cell. These are terrorists who have long been under cover and are activated when they are directed by their foreign masters to create problems for us.

THERE HAS BEEN, OF COURSE, a continuing practice of publicly divulging the intelligence-gathering methods, locations, people, and everything else about agents of the FBI, CIA, NSA and anyone else that’s in the intelligence arena. Even the intelligence units of the military come under public scrutiny, especially by the TV networks and some of the big newspapers. Needless to say, that compromises much of our intelligence efforts ….. intelligence we need in trying to keep terrorists from another 911 disaster.
Let the experts on both sides of the eavesdropping controversy debate the legalities involved. Meanwhile, the rest of us can hope and pray that we have some other super secret intelligence unit to get the job done. Somebody needs to.