Is this photograph the “Mystery Animal” seen for decades in West Virginia’s Potomac Highlands?

This picture was taken by an automatic digital camera set on private property in a 3000 acre wilderness in which no human inhabitants live. It was caught on film on August 8, 2006 at 0700 Hours.

Since the original owners do not want to become embroiled in the heated Eastern Mountain Lion mystery debate, the Eastern Puma Research Network will be fielding all responses for this photograph. The EPRN can be reached via email at epuma [at] beaconnet [dot] net.

Photograph courtesy of the initial West Virginia photographer/owner of the digital camera, via John Lutz of EPRN.

To gain permission to show the “Mystery Animal” photograph (top), the above italicized statement was required to be published with it.

Obviously, your thoughts via comments may still be registered below, regarding what kind of cryptid, animal, feline, canid, or beast the object in the photograph might be. Various comparative photographs of felines, for analytical reasons only, are posted below. I am not suggesting any firm “answer” for this “Mystery Animal” photograph.

The Florida Panther (above), the southernmost verified subspecies of mountain lion or cougar, is found in the USA. The coat of the Florida Panther frequently appears to have dusty gray tones.

The mountain lion shown (above) demonstrates an extension of the body and legs, somewhat similiar to that found in the Mystery Animal photograph.

The above is a photograph of a caracal, also called a Persian lynx or an African lynx (Caracal caracal, sometimes Felis caracal), a felid obviously not naturally found in North America. The position of the caracal’s body mirrors what can be seen in that of the Mystery Animal, and this is the reason I have placed it here.

The Mystery Animal is pictured again.