Thursday 28 February 2013

FEATURELINK: Big cat sightings 'everywhere' in '57

Big cat sightings 'everywhere' in '57
The Harrison Press (subscription)
Believe it or not, Harrison was once alarmed by a black panther; this was not the comic book character or the political party, but a rumor of a large wild black cat roaming the hills near Harrison. Around 1957, hearsay surfaced a sighting of the big ...
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Monday 25 February 2013

Sunday 24 February 2013

SIGHTINGS UK: Big cat on the prowl in Edzell Woods?

Big cat on the prowl in Edzell Woods?
Mearns Leader
This is the latest in a long history of large cat sightings in the area. There was a reported sighting in Rickarton in 2009 and there were a number of reported sightings of a cat dubbed “The Beast of the Mearns” around Stonehaven in the late 1990s in ...
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Fresh big cat sighting near Edzell
The Courier
The animal was sighted between the A90 and the Edzell to Fettercairn Road and was reported to Grampian Police and the British Big Cats Society. Dorothy Pert of Edzell Woods was in the car with her husband when the cat crossed their path. There were ...

Mearns  

NEWSLINK: Tiger Tourism: Can Travel Help Save These Big Cats?

Tiger Tourism: Can Travel Help Save These Big Cats?
National Geographic
Ajay Dubey, a conservationist who works with Prayatna, believes tiger tourism as currently practiced in India is a threat to the big cats. Panthera's Gubbi notes that many tourism operations adhere to “unethical safari practices.” In some preserves ...

NEWSLINK: The legendary Cotswold big cats to be tracked down by a study run by ...

The legendary Cotswold big cats to be tracked down by a study run by ...
Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard
THE ELUSIVE Cotswolds big cats could be running out of places to hide thanks to help from the other side of the world. Cirencester's Royal Agricultural College has been supplied with 20 motion-detecting cameras by Australian communications company ...
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Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard

Tuesday 19 February 2013

FEATURELINK: US Air Force possibly responsible for Macarthur big cat after World War II

US Air Force possibly responsible for Macarthur big cat after World War II
The Daily Telegraph
Last week the Macarthur Chronicle reported a sighting of a panther-like creature near Bargo, sparking a flood of residents coming forward with their stories of a big cat encounter. "There have been big cats that have been imported in Australia over the ...

FEATURELINK: US Air Force possibly responsible for Macarthur big cat after World War II

US Air Force possibly responsible for Macarthur big cat after World War II
The Daily Telegraph
Last week the Macarthur Chronicle reported a sighting of a panther-like creature near Bargo, sparking a flood of residents coming forward with their stories of a big cat encounter. "There have been big cats that have been imported in Australia over the ...

CFZ SIGHTINGS: Big cat photographed in East Peoria | WEEK News 25 - News ...

Big cat photographed in East Peoria | WEEK News 25 - News ...
EAST PEORIA, Ill. -- Some East Peoria residents say they have seen a big cat roaming their neighborhood and it's no house pet.

SIGHTINGS USA: More big cats spotted in 2012 (Indiana)

More big cats spotted in 2012
The Herald-Times (subscription)
Over the years, I have given updates on big cat sightings in several columns. It never fails to amaze me of the response I receive. The last article was no exception: I received 62 letters or calls to report big cat sightings from nine Indiana counties ...

Saturday 16 February 2013

NEWSLINK: Melanistic leopard cat sighted in Sunderbans?

Melanistic leopard cat sighted in Sunderbans?
Hindustan Times
After two mysterious cats were spotted by a camera in the Sundarbans, forest department officials are now tracking the movement of the animal to find out if it is the never-before-seen melanistic leopard cat. During a camera trapping exercise by WWF ...

NEWSLINK: IFAW helps rescue nine tigers and one cougar from a failing sanctuary in Arkansas

IFAW helps rescue nine tigers and one cougar from a failing sanctuary in Arkansas
PR Newswire (press release)
14, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW- www.ifaw.org) announced today an emergency grant to rescue the last remaining 10 big cats from Riverglen Tiger Sanctuary near Mountainburg, Arkansas. The funds ...

NEWSLINK: Circus Animals Helped in UK

Circus Animals Helped in UK
Petside
But is it fair to these gorgeous big cats to keep them confined in small cages in their “down “time, and to be transported from town to town across the country so they can perform what are essentially meaningless and dangerous tasks? The answer is “no ...
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Petside

Wednesday 13 February 2013

NEWSLINK: Illegal wildlife trade in big cats is thriving on UAE websites

Illegal wildlife trade in big cats is thriving on UAE websites
The National
DUBAI //A research project is showing the enormous scale of the illegal trade in big cats and other endangered wildlife advertised on websites in the UAE. A survey over four weeks by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw) showed a total of ...
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NEWSLINK: Most endangered big cat – amur leopard - arrives at Twycross Zoo

Most endangered big cat – amur leopard - arrives at Twycross Zoo
This is Tamworth
With a total population of 30-35 individuals in the wild, the Amur leopard is the most endangered big cat on earth, and listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to poaching of both the cat and its prey, and damage to its habitat from ...
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NEWSLINK: Big Data and Analytics Helping to Protect Big Cats

Big Data and Analytics Helping to Protect Big Cats
National Geographic
From tracking the illegal trading of hazardous substances and uncovering evidence of the trade in endangered big cats including tigers in Asia, data analytics is increasingly being used to fight environmental crime. Much like organized crime ...

NEWSLINK: Big cat eyes up lad for lunch

Big cat eyes up lad for lunch
Orange UK News
A photographer captured the moment a huge lioness at Miami Zoo tried to bite off his seven-year-old son's head. Young Matthew was never in any danger as the big cat, called Kachifa, was behind plate glass. But she was clearly fascinated in the boy and ...
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Orange UK News

NEWSLINK: The big cat fights for space

The big cat fights for space
Deccan Herald
The recent incident of a male tiger succumbing to poison in its kill near the Kabini area of Nagarhole is a dreadful reminder of the ferocity with which the villagers respond to a tiger attacking livestock. When both human beings and wildlife are ...

NEWSLINK: Big cat import law must be enforced

Big cat import law must be enforced
The National
Big cat import law must be enforced. New ban on import of big cats as pets (February 7) is good news. But, unless this law is actually enforced - and people who break it are dealt with through the imposition of fines and removal of their licences to ...

Sunday 10 February 2013

JONATHAN McGOWAN INTERVIEW

On the prowl for Dorset's Big Cats
Bournemouth Echo
Big cats in Dorset are a reality, says naturalist Jonathan McGowan who has been studying sightings for nearly 30 years. He tells Maria Court about the evidence. It's a debate which has been raging for years. Are big cats really on the prowl in Britain ...
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Bournemouth Echo

Friday 8 February 2013

FLORIDA PANTHER: Rescue and release

Pictures: Florida panther rescued as kitten released into wild - FOX ...
Florida panther rescued as a kitten has been released in forest near Naples.
www.myfoxorlando.com/.../florida-panther-rescued-as-kitten-...

FLORIDA PANTHER: State releases rescued Florida panther back to wild

State releases rescued Florida panther back to wild as two other ...
A rescued Florida panther was released back to the wild Thursday in rural Collier County, but the good news was tempered by back-to-back panther deaths in ...

Despite Release Of Rescued Panther, 2013 Off To A Rough Start For ...
WLRN
The upbeat news of a Florida panther's release at the end of January was dampened by confirmation of the recent deaths of two panthers in the wild. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reported that last week, it released a ...


State releases rescued Florida panther back to wild as two other ...
A rescued Florida panther was released back to the wild Thursday in rural Collier County, but the good news was tempered by back-to-back panther deaths in ...
www.naplesnews.com/.../state-releases-rescued-florida-back-wi...

SIGHTINGS USA: Montana mountain lion shot in North Dakota

Montana mountain lion shot in North Dakota
Mail Tribune
A male mountain lion collared for a study in northeastern Montana's C.M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in February 2011 was shot by a hunter in December about 230 air miles away in North Dakota. Unfortunately, the collar and all of the data it ...

SIGHTINGS CANADA: Cougar spotted in East Courtenay

Cougar spotted in East Courtenay
Comox Vallety Record
cougar was sighted in the East Courtenay area today, (Friday, Feb.8), according to Comox Valley RCMP. RCMP responded to the cougar sighting at 6:50 a.m. in the 400 block of Cowichan Avenue in Courtenay. RCMP and conservation officers were not ...

Thursday 7 February 2013

NEWSLINK: Stewie, the World's Longest Cat, Dies in Nevada

Stewie, the World's Longest Cat, Dies in Nevada
ABC News
Stewie's father came from some very large cats." Guinness World Records officials did not immediately respond to inquiries about a successor to Stewie's record. The previous record-holder, Leo, a 48-inch-long Maine Coon owned by Frieda Ireland of ...
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ABC News

SIGHTINGS UK: New big cat sighting reported in Glenrothes

New big cat sighting reported in Glenrothes
The Courier
First there was the “Beast of Balbirnie”, but now Glenrothes would appear to have a second big cat stalking its woodland. Reports of a mysterious creature on the prowl in the south of the town have been received, sparking rumours of a second phantom ...
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The Couri

LINK: Is there any evidence for big cats in the British countryside ...

Is there any evidence for big cats in the British countryside ...
Ok, i've look at the evidence but can't tell. My dad saw something about 10 years ago while driving at night. He's convinced it was something like a big cat.

NEWSLINK: Little lion tamer: Astonishing pictures show aggressive big cat mirroring the ...

Little lion tamer: Astonishing pictures show aggressive big cat mirroring the ...
Daily Mail
But while the big cat was initially aggressive, she soon became curious about her young visitor, and even began to mirror the little boy's actions; standing on her hind legs to press its giant paws against the glass walls of the enclosure. Hungry: The ...
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Daily Mail

NEWSLINK: Wellesley Police return lion from big cat caper

Wellesley Police return lion from big cat caper
Boston.com
Police have returned a concrete king of the jungle that turned a Wellesley Hills front porch into a lion's den Sunday. Wellesley Police said a concrete lion that mysteriously ended up on the front porch of a homeowner on Wareland Road Sunday morning ...

Tuesday 5 February 2013

NEWSLINK: Alberni cougar attack victim awarded for bravery



Braveaward2-Feb7-5644.jpg
A Port Alberni boy who survived a cougar attack last summer was acknowledged for his bravery and given special recognition by the BC Conservation Service.
Conservation officials presented Kaylum Doherty, 8, with a certificate of bravery and a service medal in a special ceremony at the BC Conservation office in Port Alberni. Doherty's father Rick and Bobbi Jo Shafer were presented with bravery awards as well.
“The family experienced a lot of physical and emotional trauma as a result of the event,” Conservation Service Chief Kelly Larkin said. “Even getting to safety was a challenge they had to fight through.”
The arc of events began on Aug. 15 when Doherty and his parents were camping at the Taylor Flats section of Sproat Lake. Kaylum was attacked and by an adult cougar and left with puncture wounds to his head, back and arm.
Kaylum's parents fought the animal off then loaded the profusely bleeding boy into the family car after finding there was no cellphone reception. The car broke down just as they called 9-1-1. “Kaylum stayed calm through the whole thing,” Shafer said. “We were the ones who were panicking.”

Saturday 2 February 2013

NEWSLINK: Gainesville wildlife sanctuary recognizes big cat gender mix-up


Posted: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 12:15 am | Updated: 12:00 am, Wed Jan 30, 2013.
For eight months, caregivers at the Carson Springs Wildlife Conservation Foundation have taken care of what they thought was a female Eurasian lynx.
But after now-9-month-old Zena went through a physical exam with a veterinarian last month, Christine Janks and Barry Janks, founders of the northwest Gainesville sanctuary, located at 8528 E. County Road 225, made a surprising discovery about the feline: she is actually a he.
Christine Janks said a week after Zee was born, caregivers had trouble determining his gender because his mother was protecting him.
As Zee lived on the sanctuary, Christine Janks said the lynx’s sex was never questioned by caregivers.
“We all assumed Zee was a female as he got older, and lots of fur covered his private parts,” she said.
Christine Janks renamed Zena to Zee after they determined the feline was actually born a male.

NEWSLINK: Calendar : Cahlleng Of Big Cat Conservation

Calendar : Cahlleng Of Big Cat Conservation
Dr. Clay Nielsen, Associate Professor of Forest Wildlife at Southern Illinois University, will present some of his research efforts concerning "big cats" of Illinois ...

NEWSLINK: 'Big cats have killed 140 livestock in ten months'

'Big cats have killed 140 livestock in ten months'
Times of India
As it is easy for big cats to prey on livestock tigers/leopards visit the villages often to prey on cow, goat, and sheep. As our forests are not completely isolated from villages, killing livestock by wild animals is common, Nagarahole director R Gokul ...