Editing Phantom cat (section)

===Hawaii===
In December 2002, sightings of a big cat increased in numbers in the [[Kula, Hawaii|Kula]] (upcountry) area, and the Division of Forestry and Wildlife requested the help of big cat wildlife biologists William van Pelt and Stan Cunningham of the [[Arizona Game and Fish Department]]. Van Pelt and Cunningham believed that the cat was probably a large feline, such as a [[leopard]], [[jaguar]], or [[cougar]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/dofaw/wild/cat.htm |title=Status Report on the Olinda, Maui Mystery Cat |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=state.hi.us |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729214236/http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/dofaw/wild/cat.htm|archive-date=29 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/2003/10/25/news/story4.html |title=Expert thinks big cat is dangerous |last1=Kubota |first1=Gary |date=25 October 2003 |website=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |access-date=10 December 2008 }}</ref> It may have been illegally brought into [[Hawaii]] as a pet and released or allowed to wander in the wild. No big cat was detected by traps, infrared cameras, or professional trackers. A fur sample was obtained in 2003, but [[DNA]] analysis was inconclusive. The state's hunt for the cat was suspended in late November 2003, after three weeks without sightings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Nov/22/ln/ln21a.html |title=State suspends hunt for Maui cat |last1=Hurley |first1=Timothy |date= 22 November 2003|website=The Honolulu Advertiser |access-date=10 December 2008 }}</ref> [[Utah State University]] professor and wildlife biologist Robert Schmidt expressed strong doubts about the cat's existence,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Aug/04/op/op03a.html |title=Forget catching ghost cat |last1=Schmidt |first1=Robert |date=4 August 2003 |website=The Honolulu Advertiser |access-date=27 February 2022 |archive-date=25 April 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060425195754/http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Aug/04/op/op03a.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> likening it to the [[Loch Ness monster]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Nov/30/ln/ln14a.html |title=For Maui, it was year of the cat |last1=Hurley |first1=Timothy |date=30 November 2003 |website=The Honolulu Advertiser |access-date=10 December 2008 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200310/http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Nov/30/ln/ln14a.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>