Besides the Mystery Cats known as “Black Panthers,” the other major North American felid cryptids seen are “African Lions,” as per Chapter 13 of Mysterious America.

Not seen as frequently as their melanistic companions, nevertheless, some reports do come in. And the more dots we have, the more often a pattern develops. Such is the case for a new account just sent to me.

Observed on November 10, 2008, a medical clinic employee on her way to work reported that she saw “an African lion, mane and all, chasing cows in a field near her house in Bluefield, Virginia.”

She reported it was “enormous, with gigantic paws.”

She phoned the police and was so upset by what she’d seen she even phoned several local schools to warn them.

Reportedly, many Mystery Cats reports have surfaced in the Bluefield area in the last year, according to correspondent E. F.

The location of Bluefield, Virginia, is intriguing. It is on the northern border of Virginia, right next to West Virginia. Bluefield proclaims itself as “Virginia’s Tallest Town,” being “nestled in the heights of the Appalachian mountains.”

As the crow flies, it is less than 75 miles south of Trout, West Virginia, the center for some “maned cat” sightings from 2007.

The accounts were published a year ago of an “African lion” being reported from nearby West Virginia. Here at Cryptomundo, I discussed the sightings in which, for example, bow hunter Jim Shortridge saw a full-grown, male African lion weighing between 250 and 300 pounds at the foot of Cold Knob Mountain in October 2007. Other info on the West Virginia maned cat reports are here and here.

What new Virginia sightings will occur before December? Or will this Mystery Cat disappear into the hills?