Escaped cougar on the loose

Escaped cougar still at large

CENTER POINT — A cougar scaled a 14-foot fence to escape a western Indiana preserve and remained at large Sunday, apparently leaving behind the remains of two raccoons it had killed, a conservation officer said Sunday.

The 8- or 9-year-old wildcat, which is tan in color and weighs about 80 pounds, escaped the Exotic Feline Rescue Center on Friday and eluded a tracker over the weekend, Max Winchell of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources said Sunday.

The cat may pose a threat to any persons that approach it because, although having been born in the wild, it has been in captivity and may not fear humans, Winchell said.

Law enforcement officials asked the public not to go to the area and attempt to view or locate the animal, Winchell said.

“It’s very elusive,” Winchell said.

The wildcat was believed to still be on the grounds of the preserve, which sprawls across more than 100 acres and holds nearly 200 exotic cats under a permit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It’s located about 50 miles west of Indianapolis.

A retired USDA employee, Bryce Finny of Indianapolis, was trying to track and tranquilize the cougar, Winchell said.

The USDA, while not responsible for the recapture of the cougar, may send additional personnel this week, Winchell said.

While it’s illegal to kill protected exotic animals, people have the right to protect themselves and their property if they feel threatened, Winchell said.

State conservation officers have received numerous reports of sightings of exotic cats over the past two months in Clay, Vigo and Putnam counties, although there have been no other reports of escapes, Winchell said.

“This is the first one,” he said.

The refuge center is only a couple miles from where I have property.

The cat is afraid of people and not a threat to anyone unless it was confronted.

Unless you are a raccoon, there is nothing to worry about. When coyotes are available, an experienced cat will sometimes leave just a bit of the carcass to draw in another predator for an easy kill. I doubt this cat has ever been in the wild, the coons are just the easiest prey.

The cat will stay close, as her brother who she is well bonded to is still in the fenced area.

I do recommend to anyone, that it is worth a visit to the refuge to see the big cats. The African Lions, and Bengal Tigers are huge and you can get a lot closer to them than you can in a zoo. He does charge an admission fee, to help cover the costs of keeping so many cats.

Here is a link to their website;
[url]http://www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org/[/url]


topwater

These exotic cat sanctuaries should be moved to INDIA and AFRICA and not here in IN. Sorry but the tigers are native to INDIA not INDIANA and the lions are not native to IN either. They belong back in Africa.

The one thing I don't miss about the 1800 is having to worry about being attacked by a mountain lion, grizzly Bear, Black Bear or Indians. LOL

I for one am glad that we don't have wolves here in IN. Coyotes are bad enough and I would not want to run into a pack of coyotes when walking around in the woods at night.

These are large predators that have been known to take a man down and they are just too darn dangerous to be caged here in INDIANA by humans. Humans make mistakes. There are no perfect humans as far as I am concerned. We all make mistakes from time to time and these cats are just too dangerous for humans to keep. They eventually will get loose and that's not right.

USFW does a good job but they should not allow these animal farms here in IN.

I remember when one family in Warrick County was trying to get permission to keep big cats on their property. Not sure if they have those cats there now or not but I wish that if they do have them they are careful and that the USFW will eventually stop them from having these big wild cats there. I think that they were prevented from starting this wild cat refuges but you never know what's inside that pole barn on that property.


Wolves make themselves known when they are around as they are more social and will howl to locate the other pack members. We have some wolf preserves up in Northern IN around the Purdue University Campus and those wolves are cool. They are ok with the guys that they grew up with but anyone else can't get near them. They will bare their teeth and attack if you try to get too close to them. I doubt if even Cesar Millan could approach these wolves. :)

As for cougars well they are part of nature but we need to keep them in more remote western areas. Not here in Indiana.

I hope they catch this cat and return it back to it's cage ASAP. If not someone will shoot it.

Regards,

Moose1am

Moose,

I can't believe you said all that. Being the conservationist that you are.

For one thing, the man has private property. He is in some of the most rural areas of the state. Let freedom ring, let the man do what he wants with his property. In fact, I will go further and just say its none of your business what he is doing out there. If you ever visit there, you will see that he has a professional refuge and takes great care of the animals and the confining fences.

Mountain lions were natural in Indiana at one time. They are natural in other states still, do you think the people who live in states that have cougars, bears, and wolves want to see them wiped out?

No, they don't. They want more. The world needs more wolves, cougars, and bears. Wherever they live, these are great places to go to because it means man hasn't totally ruined it yet.

I went to my property yesterday, and was heavily armed. Not because I am afraid of the kitty cat, but because of trespassers, meth cookers, and theives that might appear on the premises. Those are the kind of animals I want to wipe out.

Any way, don't worry. Center Point is safer for you than Indy, or Evansville, or Gary, or what other nice place you want to go. Watch out for the pit bulls though, now that is a dangerous animal.

If you lived in Montana, would you worry about all the predators? One of the most depressing days of my life, was the day I had to leave Yellowstone after spending 2 weeks there. Couldn't get enough of it.

My main concern would be the children who live in the area.They will attack children much quicker than adults.

I just hope they catch this cat and put him back in a safer enclosure where he won't ever escape again.

In the mean time I am not going out in the woods at night without a high powered gun. Even with a gun I would not feel safe in the woods at night. I can't see or hear as good as those big cats. And I can't shoot a what I can't see.

Sorry but I am not a BIG CAT lover. If others want to help them I am fine with that as long as it's not close to where I live. A big cat could easily live in Warrick County.

Today I found 5 deer carcass that had been killed and just dumped along the side of the road. Some of them had the cheeks eaten out by a wild animal. One dead deer was torn apart and the bones were scattered all over this open field. Probably coyotes or it could be a big cat. The field is too muddy for me to walk out to check for any tracks. My truck don't need no muddy boots on the carpet. That carpet is not clean by any means but I don't intentionally track mud on it. LOL


I guess when it comes to big cats I am a NIMBY. :(

Regards,

Moose1am

Moose,

Did you know that coyotes are not natural to Indiana? They expanded from out west, when the wolves were wiped out. If we had wolves, we wouldn't have coyotes.

Pit bull terrier or Rottweiler dogs are the most dangerous animals around humans and children in particular.

Type in a google search "pit bull attack" and you will find multiple articles daily. Very common especially involving children.

The state of California is the most populated state in the country. They also have a large population of mountain lion. From 1986 to 1998, exactly 2 people died from mountain lion attacks. In one year alone, 4,000 people die in California from automobile accidents. 800 are pedestrians.

So it is roughly 2,000 times safer to walk in a national forest in California than to walk or drive in the city.

The current reported attack rate in the U.S. and Canada is ~6 attacks per year, with just under 1 death per year. This number has been constant since at least 1991, with no evidence at all that the rate has changed.

Dog attacks average between 15-20 fatalities per year. Dog bite medical expenses exceed $1 billion per year, with over $300 million paid by insurance.

All in all, I will take my chances with a kitty kat walking in the woods. Walking down your average city street is life threatening.

Now you got me scared to walk down the streets in the daylight! ;)

I'll be glad when hunting season is over and it warms up so that I can get the boat back out. Do cougars swim like Tigers? I'll feel safer in the boat now that I know I can fire up the big motor and out run any swimming lions or tigers on my lake. LOL Just hope I see them sneaking up on me and can get the motor started up fast.:-)

The kitty kat would get in a tree and jump into your boat from above.

They love to hunt from above and pounce on the kill.

I am lovin' it seeing how people around Center Point are reacting. It is hilarious to hear people talk about it. Someone reported seeing it about 15 miles to the south, when pressed the woman said, "well it had brown fur like what I saw on tv, and was moving real fast. I only seen a part of it, not the whole thing."

Could it have been a deer? or a coyote? It amazed me she admitted only seeing a part of it, but she thinks it was a cougar.

I am going to start a rumor next week when I am out there, that actually 5 cats got out, and the authorities didn't want a big scare so they were only admitting 1 got away. I will have the woods all to myself before I am done spreading rumors.

Yea I think that some of the rumor is the past were told to just keep people out of the woods. It worked on me.

I am going to fish way out away from the bank from now on until they catch that cougar. No more fishing under the trees for this guy! :(:-)