FishbowlDC caught up with CNN contributor and RedState.com editor Erick Erickson this afternoon after he spotted a black panther roaming his Macon, GA neighborhood early this morning:

Erickson said he awoke at 4 a.m. to what he thought was a woman screaming — he thought he was dreaming. He later learned that this is the sound the animal makes. “I went outside and I didn’t know what it was,” he continued. “The dog was agitated. It was this aerodynamically designed animal. I was absolutely scared to death. So was the dog!”