Sand Springs Hunter Captures Image Of Big Cat On Camera

A Sand Springs hunter saw more than deer when he checked his trail camera on Monday, November 14, 2011.

Tom Wood says he pulled the memory card out of the motion-activated camera before climbing into his stand, but didn't check the photos until he got home.

He was hoping to find images of big bucks.  Instead, he was surprised to find a photo of a very large cat.  It appears to be a mountain lion.

Wood says the location is near Zink Ranch on 97 Highway north of Sand Springs.  

"I'm thinking if something is not done about this size of cats they will become a problem for livestock and people in the future as the numbers grow. There is a reason that the zoo has these kind of cats in a cage where they cannot get to anybody."

The photo has a date of August 4, 2011 on it, but Tom says it's incorrect.  He says he didn't realize he needed to reset the time when changing out the batteries recently.  

He says that means the camera captured the photo of the cat within the last two weeks.