Jan 11, 2010 10:23 pm US/Central
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Police are investigating another possible cougar sighting in Minneapolis.
When Norm Mosher was driving home from work Monday morning, he saw what he thought was a golden retriever crossing the road in Northeast Minneapolis near along St. Anthony Parkway near Marshall Avenue.
It was only when the long-time outdoorsman got up close that he realized it was a cat by the way it walked. Its long tail was swinging.
"Cats move in a more sultry manner I guess, people call it slinking," said Mosher. "I call it sauntering."
He drove a little ways but decided to turn back around and check the tracks. He found typical cat's tracks -- no claw marks and a line where the tail hit the ground.
"I'm terribly surprised, terribly surprised," he said. "We're out here in the middle of Minneapolis."
Mosher told police, who wanted to issue a warning. Although cougar attacks on humans are very rare, Minneapolis Police Sergeant Jesse Garcia asked the people who live in the area keep an eye out.
"If you're jogging down this trail early morning or if you've got small children in you're neighborhood, this thing might make it into the neighborhood," he said. He asked if anyone sees a cougar to call police.
The police called the DNR, who have not yet confirmed the tracks. Last month, there were sightings of a cougar in Champlin, Stillwater and Vadnais Heights.
The DRN warns that if you get close to a cougar, don't turn and run. Rather, back away slowly, puff up your body to appear intimidating and offer it an escape route. Cougars are very solitary animals and will likely run away.
http://wcco.com/local/cougar.sighting.minneapolis.2.1418895.html
(Submitted by Matt Cardier)
Showing posts with label big cats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label big cats. Show all posts
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Monday, 11 January 2010
Cool for cats
Click to enlarge
Brother and sister Sumatran tiger cubs Emas and Wanita, born in May, play in the snow in their enclosure at Dublin Zoo yesterday. The tigers, whose species are native to the hot and humid Sumatran jungle, don't seem too bothered by the cold.
Metro Ireland, 11 January 2009, p5.
Saturday, 9 January 2010
Footprints fuel rumours of the beast of Workington's Borough Park
By John Walsh
Friday, 08 January 2010
Could these paw prints in the snow be the proof there is a beast of Borough Park who prowls near the pitch at Workington Reds’ football ground?
The mysterious tracks, almost the size of an adult human hand, have been discovered at the sports stadium, supporting previous sightings of a huge black cat-like creature.
Groundsman Jeff Curwen and Reds fan Peter Bratley discovered the mysterious prints in the snow when they were first to arrive at the ground this week.
Jeff said: “I can tell tracks by now. There was a fox there as well because his prints are neat and all in line and there were also marks and tracks from rabbits and birds.
“But these prints were different. They certainly made Peter and I look around for more.
“They didn’t seem to be on the pitch, funnily enough, but round the tunnel side and behind the Derwent end goals.”
Jeff has an inkling of what might have been responsible as two years ago he had a nerve-jangling moment while working on the ground.
“I was working on my own over by the popular side when I noticed something move behind the seats on the terracing,” he added.
“It walked behind the seats and I could see its tail and the top of a head.
“It was a big, black cat-like creature and when it seemed to see me it turned to its right and got away out through the entrance at the back and apparently over into Lonsdale Park.
“I told a few people what I had seen but nobody seemed to believe me.
“There has got to be some connection with that creature and the prints. You could see the claw marks at the end of the prints.”
There have been several sightings in Cumbria over the years of large, black cat-like creatures.
The British Big Cats Society say that the non-native creatures are stalking Britain and their numbers could be on the rise.
First published at 11:26, Friday, 08 January 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/footprints_fuel_rumours_of_the_beast_of_workington_s_borough_park_1_658342?referrerPath=home
(Submited by Lindsay Selby)
Friday, 08 January 2010
Could these paw prints in the snow be the proof there is a beast of Borough Park who prowls near the pitch at Workington Reds’ football ground?
The mysterious tracks, almost the size of an adult human hand, have been discovered at the sports stadium, supporting previous sightings of a huge black cat-like creature.Groundsman Jeff Curwen and Reds fan Peter Bratley discovered the mysterious prints in the snow when they were first to arrive at the ground this week.
Jeff said: “I can tell tracks by now. There was a fox there as well because his prints are neat and all in line and there were also marks and tracks from rabbits and birds.
“But these prints were different. They certainly made Peter and I look around for more.
“They didn’t seem to be on the pitch, funnily enough, but round the tunnel side and behind the Derwent end goals.”
Jeff has an inkling of what might have been responsible as two years ago he had a nerve-jangling moment while working on the ground.
“I was working on my own over by the popular side when I noticed something move behind the seats on the terracing,” he added.
“It walked behind the seats and I could see its tail and the top of a head.
“It was a big, black cat-like creature and when it seemed to see me it turned to its right and got away out through the entrance at the back and apparently over into Lonsdale Park.
“I told a few people what I had seen but nobody seemed to believe me.
“There has got to be some connection with that creature and the prints. You could see the claw marks at the end of the prints.”
There have been several sightings in Cumbria over the years of large, black cat-like creatures.
The British Big Cats Society say that the non-native creatures are stalking Britain and their numbers could be on the rise.
First published at 11:26, Friday, 08 January 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/footprints_fuel_rumours_of_the_beast_of_workington_s_borough_park_1_658342?referrerPath=home
(Submited by Lindsay Selby)
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Canadian family's dog saves 11-year-old boy from cougar
A Canadian family's golden retriever saved its 11-year-old owner's life on Saturday when the boy was charged by a cougar in British Columbia.
Published: 11:52PM GMT 04 Jan 2010
Austin Forman was in his family's garden in Boston Bar with Angela, the family's 18-month-old pet dog, when he was charged by the wild cat.
Angel positioned herself between her young master and the cougar, sustaining puncture wounds.
"I was really scared. At first, I didn't know it was a cougar. I thought it was another dog," Austin told the Canadian news website CTV News on Sunday. "As soon as it went underneath the light, I saw that it was a cougar. I knew at that moment, I had to go inside."
The boy fled into his home, yelling: "A cougar is eating Angel!"
Sherri Forman, Austin's mother, called police, and a nearby constable from the RCMP sped to the scene, where the wild cat was attacking the dog.
The cougar had dragged Angel under the porch, where it continued to savage the dog's neck and face despite the officer firing two rounds into its hind quarters.
When the officer finally shot and killed the wild cat, its jaws remained closed on the dog's face.
When the cat was finally killed, the dog was silent for a few moments, then took a big gasp of air and got to her feet.
The dog, which has a swollen eye, was expected to recover with the help of a local vet.
Mrs Forman praised the family pet.
"She must've known something was up," she said. "Now, she's our guardian angel."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/canada/6933888/Canadian-familys-dog-saves-11-year-old-boy-from-cougar.html
See also: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100104/bc_cougar_100104/20100104?hub=Canada (inlcudes video)
(Submitted by Kelly McGillis)
Published: 11:52PM GMT 04 Jan 2010
Austin Forman was in his family's garden in Boston Bar with Angela, the family's 18-month-old pet dog, when he was charged by the wild cat.
Angel positioned herself between her young master and the cougar, sustaining puncture wounds.
"I was really scared. At first, I didn't know it was a cougar. I thought it was another dog," Austin told the Canadian news website CTV News on Sunday. "As soon as it went underneath the light, I saw that it was a cougar. I knew at that moment, I had to go inside."
The boy fled into his home, yelling: "A cougar is eating Angel!"
Sherri Forman, Austin's mother, called police, and a nearby constable from the RCMP sped to the scene, where the wild cat was attacking the dog.
The cougar had dragged Angel under the porch, where it continued to savage the dog's neck and face despite the officer firing two rounds into its hind quarters.
When the officer finally shot and killed the wild cat, its jaws remained closed on the dog's face.
When the cat was finally killed, the dog was silent for a few moments, then took a big gasp of air and got to her feet.
The dog, which has a swollen eye, was expected to recover with the help of a local vet.
Mrs Forman praised the family pet.
"She must've known something was up," she said. "Now, she's our guardian angel."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/canada/6933888/Canadian-familys-dog-saves-11-year-old-boy-from-cougar.html
See also: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100104/bc_cougar_100104/20100104?hub=Canada (inlcudes video)
(Submitted by Kelly McGillis)
Monday, 4 January 2010
Frito the llama escapes getting munched, back at home in Wyo. after 2nd llama killed by cougar
Associated Press
Last update: December 31, 2009 - 1:50 PM
ALTA, Wyo. - Frito the llama defied his name and didn't get eaten.
Lou Centrella seemed sure that was Frito's fate after a mountain lion killed another of his llamas on Sunday. Frito was nowhere to be found after the attack on the other llama, named Grayson.
On Monday, the cougar returned to the Centrellas' yard in western Wyoming to feed on the llama it had killed. Concerned the big cat may have acquired a taste for llama, Centrella shot it.
Wildlife officials say he was within his rights, but Centrella says he felt bad about killing the mountain lion.
Centrella and his daughters Lane and Mila went looking for Frito on Wednesday. They found him four miles away, across the state line in Driggs, Idaho.
They put a rope on the errant llama and led him home through the snow.
___
Information from: Jackson Hole News And Guide, http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/
http://www.startribune.com/nation/80430382.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiacyKU7DYaGEP7vDEh7P:DiUX
(Submitted by D.R. Shoop)
Last update: December 31, 2009 - 1:50 PM
ALTA, Wyo. - Frito the llama defied his name and didn't get eaten.
Lou Centrella seemed sure that was Frito's fate after a mountain lion killed another of his llamas on Sunday. Frito was nowhere to be found after the attack on the other llama, named Grayson.
On Monday, the cougar returned to the Centrellas' yard in western Wyoming to feed on the llama it had killed. Concerned the big cat may have acquired a taste for llama, Centrella shot it.
Wildlife officials say he was within his rights, but Centrella says he felt bad about killing the mountain lion.
Centrella and his daughters Lane and Mila went looking for Frito on Wednesday. They found him four miles away, across the state line in Driggs, Idaho.
They put a rope on the errant llama and led him home through the snow.
___
Information from: Jackson Hole News And Guide, http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/
http://www.startribune.com/nation/80430382.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiacyKU7DYaGEP7vDEh7P:DiUX
(Submitted by D.R. Shoop)
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