Wild cats roam most of the continents of the world, and North America is no exception. Most wild cat populations everywhere are decreasing in number and aiming towards extinction. Here in Florida, two wild cat species still survive - the Florida panther (aka cougar) in the southernmost parts of the state and the bobcat, found statewide. Although bobcats need lots of room to roam - a few thousand acres each, by some estimates - miraculously they still are sometimes encountered right here on Amelia Island.

If you want to find signs of bobcats on Amelia Island - or maybe you'll be even luckier and see one - the best places to search are Fort Clinch State Park at the north end, the Egan's Creek Greenway mid-island, and along the edges of the golf courses on the south end. Amelia Island's remaining bobcat individuals most likely traverse the entire island in search of enough rodents, birds, and reptiles to sustain them, and to increase their likelihood of finding unrelated individuals to mate with.

The most conspicuous bobcat sign is their tracks - large cat paws with no evident claws - often along well-traveled game paths that are conspicuous if you look for them. You might also find places where they scratch on trees, in housecat style, to sharpen their claws and to mark their territories.

To travel up and down the island, bobcats, deer, raccoons and other wildlife must cross roads, and they do most often at particular spots where the game trails are visible on both sides of the road. You can easily find one of these crossings on both sides of Atlantic Avenue, between the marshes of Fort Clinch State Park to the north, and the Egan's Creek Greenway near the Recreation Center. A number of people have reported seeing bobcats and deer crossing Atlantic Avenue in this location, most usually at twilight or darker. Bobcats also have been seen crossing Sadler Road, Simmons Road, and Amelia Island Parkway, on their way north and south.

A few observers have also seen bobcats crossing Eighth Street near the Wachovia bank. One observer saw a bobcat that was knocked by a car while crossing the road, but was still able to run off into the remaining tiny woods behind the bank, hopefully to nurse its wounds and continue on.

The fact that bobcats still manage to weave around the roads and houses on Amelia Island is remarkable. But what about Florida panthers? Surely this highly endangered cat species, maybe three times the size of an average bobcat, can no longer survive, if it ever did, here in our midst?

The fact is that for scores of years, people have reported seeing "Florida panthers" on and around Amelia Island. A cougar - Florida panther, mountain lion, puma - whatever you decide to call it - is distinguished from a bobcat not only by size but by its exceedingly long tail and large pawprints, that are about 3 inches long and 3-1/2 inches wide. Bobcats have tracks about half this size, and their tails are, well, "bobbed". Some bobcats have tails up to a foot long, but that's a rare exception. Most bobcat tails are only a few inches in length.

By and large, the people who report seeing cougars on and around Amelia Island seem to know what they are talking about. As a local newspaper nature columnist, I've heard lots of first-hand stories of sightings here by people who have hunted cougars in the West, people who work in zoos with big cats, and people who just frankly know a large cat with a long tail when they see one.

It is nearly impossible, though, to get documented evidence. Photos are elusive, since most cougar sightings are very brief and at night. Tracks are hard to come by and measure before the elements obscure them. Without such proof, officials will not take these sightings as fact. It is known, though, that a single juvenile male Florida panther with a radio collar was tracked over long distances, from south Florida to Orlando, to Merritt Island on the east coast and Tampa on the west coast. Even the most skeptical wildlife biologists contend that cougars may travel widely in our state and just might sometimes show up in our northern areas.

Until recently, these sightings of large black cats have been attributed to the possibility that a non-native jaguarondi released from captivity has been sighted, and that's rarer than a real Florida panther. Or, maybe these large black cats are just bobcats strolling in from an excursion in the marsh, and blackened from the mud. In August, 2007, another wrinkle on the large black cat story came to light. A trapper captured a melanistic, all black, large wild cat in Martin County - a certified bobcat, but black. Maybe we have one or two of these up here, who knows?

Certainly countless numbers of deer, wild hogs, large dogs, large domestic cats and other more usual creatures have been seen and misidentified as Florida panthers by startled, excited brief witnesses. But, with all the more certifiable accounts, no doubt some mysteries still remain in our last habitat patches. Keep your eyes open, and by all means report any unusual cat sightings to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and let me know, too. Just maybe one of these days, we'll find some proof that this mystery cat of Florida sometimes still visits our island paradise.