ShukerNature: RUFFED CAT REVELATIONS – LESSER-KNOWN MEXICAN MYSTERY CATS, PART 1 (OF 3)

Reconstruction
of the potential look in lifetime of Mexico’s mysterious ruffed cat (created
by me utilizing Grok)

When cryptozoologists consider Mexican
thriller cats, the instance that all the time comes immediately to thoughts is the onza –
that elusive gracile enigma that will merely be 
a bona fide puma, taxonomically talking, or is probably not in any respect, as a result of
the controversy relating to its taxonomic standing continues to be removed from resolved
(click on right here to learn my detailed ShukerNature
article on this topic, and take a look at my definitive e-book on feline cryptids, Thriller Cats of the World Revisited,
for extra data).

Nonetheless, it’s not at all the one
Mexican feline cryptid – I used to be conscious of three others, however earlier this yr
Mexican palaeo-artist and cryptozoological fanatic Hodari Nundu, who can be
a longstanding good friend of mine on Fb, introduced on his FB web page some
data relating to a number of further ones. Not solely that, he additionally ready
a sequence of beautiful full-colour illustrations of a few of these creatures, and
has now very kindly permitted me to incorporate them in my unique protection right here
on ShukerNature of his house nation’s fascinating variety of lesser-known feline
cryptids – thanks very a lot Hodari!

Having spent a really productive Christmas
Day morning yesterday writing this text (residing alone with no household any
extra, I get pleasure from Christmas in my very own manner, by doing what offers me pleasure and
retains my thoughts occupied, which is writing), its last sizeable phrase rely
persuaded me that it could be higher served break up into three separate,
reader-friendly elements relatively than introduced as a single decidedly prolonged learn.
So that is what I’ve achieved. Herewith, due to this fact, is Half 1 (with Components 2 and three following
later this week), which I’ve devoted solely to what could sound considerably
paradoxical – the best-known of those lesser-known Mexican thriller cats.
Particularly, the ruffed cat.

 

THE
RUFFED CAT

I first documented this hitherto obscure Mexican
thriller cat in my very first e-book, Thriller
Cats of the World (1989), however expanded my protection of
it three many years later in that e-book’s up to date, greatly-enlarged second version,
the afore-mentioned Thriller Cats of the World Revisited.
Here’s what I wrote about it there:

The onza should still share Mexico with one different thriller felid. To
my information, nevertheless, this second crypto-cat’s existence relies solely upon
a single account, written by the American zoologist, veteran cryptozoologist,
and well-liked author Ivan T. Sanderson within the type of an article revealed in
April 1973 by Pursuit – the official
periodical of the Society for the Investigation of The Unexplained (SITU),
which Sanderson based. In his article, no title was allotted to the creature,
however for causes that can quickly develop into evident, I shall consult with it right here because the
ruffed cat.

Throughout 1940, travelling alone by way of Mexico on a mammalogical
accumulating journey, Sanderson arrived at an unnamed mountain settlement within the
state of Nayarit’s Sierra mountains. These are completely separated from the
neighbouring Sierra Madre Occidentale ranges, and possess their very own distinctive
wildlife. At this settlement, a number of locals spoke Spanish, and Sanderson
let or not it’s identified that he was in search of specimens of a specific type of squirrel.
The locals promised to acquire some for him, and within the meantime they introduced
alongside various skins of different mammals, within the hope of promoting these to him
too.

Amongst them was a big and really powerful pores and skin of a most uncommon
cat. The pores and skin measured simply over 6 ft from nose-tip to tail-base, with a
additional l.5 ft constituting its comparatively quick tail. In fact, it’s
troublesome to say how intently these measurements mirrored this cat’s precise
size when alive, as a result of it could be just about unimaginable to establish how
a lot the pores and skin had stretched or shrunk throughout drying. Intriguingly (in view of
the onza), Sanderson famous: “The legs appeared to have been relatively lengthy
in comparison with, say, a house-cat or a puma”. The paws have been nonetheless hooked up to
the pores and skin and have been very giant, well-furred, and splayed, with most of them nonetheless
possessing their claws, which have been vivid yellow in color and really clearly
retractile. The cat’s face was quick (once more just like the onza).

The cat’s pelage was agency dorsally, mushy ventrally, and
predominantly brown in color. The top and shoulders lacked markings, however the
flanks and higher limbs bore a sequence of wavy stripes in alternate gentle and
darkish shades of brown, whereas the decrease limbs have been very darkish brown in color,
nearly approaching black. The ridge of the backbone working alongside its again was
additionally darkish brown, and (so far as Sanderson might recall) so too was the tail.

By far essentially the most excellent function of the pores and skin, nevertheless, was
that the hairs sited simply behind its shoulders appeared to develop ahead to
yield a big ruff encircling the neck and overlaying the ears from above and
behind.

Sanderson said that he purchased this pores and skin, and one other smaller
pelt of this similar unusual cat kind that was in poorer situation however with
sharper stripes. Along with different mammal skins that he purchased, these felid
pelts (which apparently price much more than any of the others) have been sewn up in
a number of layers of sacking, and have been lastly saved within the authorities jail of
Belize, which Sanderson was utilizing as a base.

Tragically, nevertheless, throughout a subsequent journey the jail was
lashed by a extreme hurricane and, being at sea-level, was utterly flooded
out. Consequently, every thing not in bottles was completely ruined, together with the
skins.

It is a most compelling, however, sadly, relatively intangible affair,
as a result of there’s so little in the best way of arduous details that may be adopted up.
The realm itself is unnamed; the skins are misplaced; and Ivan Sanderson, who
travelled there alone and therefore was the one named eyewitness to them, can no
longer be questioned, as he handed away in 1973. The one hope is the potential
existence nonetheless of the jail – maybe, if it does survive, data relating to
the skins could too, which might add some particulars to the account left behind by
Sanderson.

A 3rd ruffed cat illustration (created by me
utilizing Grok)

What might these thriller cats have been? Lynxes have comparatively
lengthy legs and quick tail, giant paws, and thick fur across the neck, which may
look a little bit like a ruff, however no lynx possesses something remotely as in depth
because the ruff described by Sanderson for the Mexican ruffed cat. Furthermore, as a
skilled zoologist and a mammal collector, Sanderson would certainly have in contrast
its skins particularly with lynxes if they’d appeared comparable with such.
As a substitute, the detailed description that he gave doesn’t match that of any identified
felid.

The one sequel that I do know of to this sorry saga is that
Sanderson claimed that he later noticed one other pores and skin of this very distinctive cat
kind on sale at a vacationer retailer within the huge market at Colima, located on the
south finish of Nayarit’s mountain block. Regrettably, nevertheless, the value that its
proprietor was asking was far past what Sanderson might afford.

It might appear that the one solution to observe up any facet relating
to the Mexican ruffed cat is to do what Sanderson advised on the finish of his
article:

“…pay a go to to the market in Colima. They
should still have unknown cat skins on the market.”

They might certainly.

For the reason that publication of the current e-book’s unique version in
1989, two further snippets of knowledge that will have potential relevance
to the ruffed cat saga have come to my consideration. The primary of those was a
temporary however tantalising paragraph in Harold T. Wilkins’s e-book Secret Cities of
Previous South America (1952):

“At Atitlan, in Guatemala, is one other
monstrosity carved on an enormous boulder. It takes the type of a cat with a kind of
ruff at his throat, which factors to the east. On high of the boulder is a basin,
however what goal this cavity served, except to carry a human sufferer’s
sacrificial blood, is unknown.”

Guatemala is after all located instantly to the south of
Mexico, and, certainly, solely separated from it as an impartial nation in its personal
proper through the early 1800s. Consequently, it could not be implausible if the
ruffed cat had as soon as existed in Guatemala in addition to in modern-day Mexico.

The second, associated merchandise is the next e mail posted on the
cz@onelist.com cryptozoology dialogue group by CFZ founder Jonathan Downes on
1 June 1998:

“I feel that there’s nonetheless proof for
there being a brand new and undiscovered species of huge felid in Mexico. Throughout
Mexico Metropolis, for instance, there are a selection of items of stylised statuary
which seem to indicate a puma like animal with a brushlike mane like a
punk-rocker’s Mohican! This animal appears to be a well-known archetype inside
the Mexican tradition.”

A thriller Mohican cat from Mexico – I just like the sound of that!

In
addition, on 6 June 2017 Hodari posted on my FB web page the next
thought-provoking data, plus two images of the sculpture in query:

That is an Aztec
“cuauhxicalli”, a stone recipient meant to obtain the center of human
sacrifices. This piece is from the Anthropology and Historical past Museum at Mexico Metropolis.
The curious factor about it’s that, regardless that it’s labelled as depicting a
jaguar, it has two uncommon traits that will counsel in any other case. For starters,
it would not have any spots, which the Aztec have been cautious to etch in most jaguar
representations. Additionally, there’s that unusual ruff on its cheeks, extra
harking back to a tiger or lynx than a jaguar. Cougars lack spots as adults however
they do not have something resembling this ruff. It will possibly’t be a bobcat as a result of it
has lengthy tail and small spherical ears. So what’s it? A fantastical creature,
product of blending jaguar, puma and bobcat options? Or possibly one thing else? A
tiger? A surviving American lion? Unknown felid? I assumed you’d discover it
fascinating.

 

The 2 images of the above-described Aztec
cuauhxicalli formed like a mysterious ruffed cat (© Hodari Nundu/Anthropology
and Historical past Museum, Mexico Metropolis – reproduced right here on a strictly non-commercial
Truthful Use foundation for academic/assessment functions solely)

I
definitely do discover it fascinating. Though its ruff is seemingly much less
pronounced than that of the skins procured by Sanderson (and its tail probably
longer), this Aztec-sculpted creature definitely would not correspond to any
currently-known Mexican felid, as famous by Hodari, and is yet one more instance,
due to this fact, of a mystifying cat from this nation that sports activities a really noticeable
ruff.

However
the place is the mystifying ruffed cat right this moment? I do know of not a single modern-day
report of a residing cat becoming its instantly-recognisable description.

How
ironic it could be if the skins encountered by Sanderson have been from the very
final representatives of a felid so distinctive, and, seemingly, so vastly
feared too, that in ages previous people had been sacrificed to a graven picture of
it, however which had subsequently slipped into extinction earlier than the fashionable
scientific world had even had time to acknowledge its existence. From deity to
deceased, in just some centuries?

 

Be
certain to take a look at Components 2 and three of this text, through which I doc no fewer
than six further feline cryptids of the lesser-known Mexican selection, after I
submit them on ShukerNature later this week.

The 2 editions of my Thriller Cats of the World e-book (© Dr Karl Shuker/Robert Hale
Restricted/Coachwhip Publications)