Monday 31 July 2017

VIDEO: Confused mountain lion jumps through apartment window and lands on sleeping woman's bed

Cats have a habit of waking their owners up when they feel like it, but a Californian woman received an extra-rude awakening when a mountain lion leapt through her window and landed on her bed.


Security footage shows the big cat running in front of a truck before heading into a bowling alley door.

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NEWSLINK: Boost for Dudley Zoo's snow leopards

Director Derek Grove has been given the go-ahead to start the improvement project, which was one of six unveiled at the start of the year.


The size of the enclosure will be doubled to give the animals more space and visitors better views of the big cats.


Money for the scheme was generated through fundraising during 2016 and it will include an extension to the outdoor facilities as well as new glass viewing areas and platforms for the snow leopards.


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Thursday 27 July 2017

NEWSLINK: Wynnewood zoo to take in big cats

Some really big cats who now appear to be homeless are expected to soon arrive at a zoo facility in nearby Wynnewood.


In fact, it's a whole bunch of tigers, more than 20 in all, who are on their way for a stop at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park.


Joe Maldonado and others at the park are now looking for a little help as efforts are focused on ensuring these new arrivals will be cared for at their facility.

Tops on that list is getting the materials needed to enlarge enough cages for all the tigers scheduled to come this weekend.


“We're getting 22 tigers in one load on Sunday,” Maldonado said.

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NEWSLINK: MP forest officers in blame game over tiger deaths

More than 15 months after a tigress and two cubs were found poisoned to death inside the Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, a war of words has broken out between the Indian Forest Service officers, one of them being partly responsible for poaching, and the other alleging that the meat of spotted deer killed in the park was served in nearby resorts.

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Thursday 20 July 2017

NEWSLINK: Saving 2 tigers gives more value than the cost of Mangalyaan!

Comparing tigers and Mangalyaan may seem bizarre but a new bio-economic analysis throws up interesting statistics -- saving two big cats gives more value than the cost of India’s much-hyped maiden mission to Mars.


In a one-of-its-kind analysis, an Indo-Australian team of scientists has published a paper titled ‘Making the hidden visible: Economic valuation of tiger reserves in India’ in the journal Ecosystem Services.

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ARTICLE: The lady and the panther: Life-changing communication with animals

What would it be like to be able to communicate with other animals on this planet? With two-thirds of all nonhuman animal life already destroyed by us, we are in need of redemption to save them and ourselves.

In order to speak to us, animals usually have to overcome a lot of trauma. Imagine being a Wisconsin woodland creature, having watched your young fawns or best friend shot in front of you. Imagine watching your mother bear run by packs of dogs and shot out of a tree, never to return to help you survive your first winter. Imagine walking along the creek in winter to find a young beaver in a trap, struggling to breathe and stay above the waterline, or a fox dying in a steel jaw trap.

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Wednesday 19 July 2017

NEWSLINK: More reported cougar sightings off back of recent article

Last week’s column about a confirmed cougar sighting in southern Michigan brought us mail from readers who believe they saw one in this area about year ago.

Scott Helms of South Bend wrote:

“Last year my wife and I spotted one at Potato Creek State Park. We were driving not too far from the main gate, heading toward the nature center to go walking when we smelled a dead carcass in the air. Immediately after, we spotted a large cat-like animal run across the road in front of our vehicle. Unfortunately, it didn’t want to stand around for a photo op, otherwise we would have taken a picture. When we reported it to a DNR officer at the Nature Center, he told us they have had other reports just like ours, but until someone gets a photo, they can’t confirm it. During the past year, someone reported on Facebook a sighting west of South Bend. That person didn’t get a photo either.”

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NEWSLINK: Leopard shocker for residents of Kolar

People of Arabhikottanur and forest department officials heaved a sigh of “little” relief after an eight-year-old male leopard was found trapped on Saturday night in a cage placed by the forest department at Arabhikottanur village in Kolar district. A large number of villagers thronged to see the trapped leopard in the village. The forest department staff, who arrived at the spot, shifted the feline to the Nagarahole forest.

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NEWSLINK: Lynx release plans for Kielder and Scottish Borders take giant stride forward

Plans to introduce big cats back to the Borders have taken a giant stride forward.


Just over a year ago the Lynx UK Trust announced their plans to explore the possibility of bringing the Eurasian lynx back into the British ecosystem.


An international team of experts has spent the last year detailing an approach to a reintroduction, consulting with national stakeholders, studying potential release sites, and consulting with local communities and businesses.

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PHOTO: Shadow of a Cub Brings More Hope for Tigers in Russia

A photograph just released by PROO Tiger Center provides further evidence that tigers are re-colonizing lost habitat in Russia.


The image shows Svetlaya, an adult Amur tigress that was orphaned in the wild, raised in captivity, and released back into the wild in 2014, walking along a trail in April 2017 with her back half caked in spring mud. But what really has scientists celebrating is that the photograph reveals the legs and shadow of at least one cub!

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Tuesday 18 July 2017

ARTICLE: Beyond the barbed wire: animal-human conflict

The animal-human conflict is on the rise as evident from frequent print and visual reports of tiger and leopard straying into human habitation and attacking people and livestock. Usually these predators’ end is fatal, with a lucky few being rescued by authorities to be relocated. In the mass hysteria generated by such cases, the critical why and how of the incident is crucially missed. This is what Krishnendu Bose’s 45-minute documentary The Tiger Who Crossed The Line, winner of the National Award for Best Environment Film including Best Agricultural Film 2016, brings into sharp focus.

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NEWSLINK: Beardsley Zoo Opens Viewing Area For Rare Amur Leopards

The zoo has opened its newest renovation this summer: A large viewing window and sheltered wooden platform has been added to make it easier for visitors to check out the rarest big cats in the world, the Amur leopard.

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Sunday 16 July 2017

NEWSLINK: Killing of escaped lions 'good decision'

The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency says the killing of the lions that escaped from the Kruger National Park was a good decision as it was becoming risky to keep them alive.
The three big cats which escaped from the park at the weekend were killed over the past two days.

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PHOTOS: Lioness nursing baby leopard captured on camera for the first time ever

A unique wildlife moment, in which a lioness nursed a baby leopard, has been captured on camera.


The image, which was taken by Joop Van Der Linde, a guest at the Ndutu Lodge in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Conservation Area shows the five-year-old adult allowing the three-week-old cub to feed. The baby's own mother was not to be seen anywhere in the area.

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VIDEO: Twin snow leopard cubs settle in at home at Twycross Zoo

Two adorable new arrivals are making themselves at home among the animals at Twycross Zoo.


Zoo bosses have announced the arrival of their latest additions in the snow leopard enclosure - two female cubs, the third pair for mum Irma and dad Suou.


Born at the start of April, the cubs and their mother Irma have spent their first months together in a den off-show to allow them to settle in to the world at their own pace. Now as they grow older, the two little girls will begin venturing further away from the den's safety.

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Wednesday 12 July 2017

PHOTO: Leopard electrocuted at top of 12-foot electric pole

A 4-year old leopard was electrocuted at the top of an electric pole which is 12-feet, in Nizamabad, Telangana state.


Forest officials say, the cat climbed to an electric pole for the reason unknown, got electrocuted after it tried to bite the live wires. The power had to be switched off to bring the big cats body down.

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VIDEO: Horse 'attacked by big cat' near Gympie

Incredible footage has emerged of a horse inflicted with wounds resemblant of a big cat attack on a Gympie region property where the exotic predators have reportedly been sighted.

The images, submitted to the Big Cat Research Group this week, show a number of straight, definite slices covering the rump and flank of a horse contained at Lower Wonga, The Sunshine Coast Daily reports.

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Tuesday 11 July 2017

VIDEO: Jaguar dives into river to battle alligator to the death

Footage shows the spotted cat creeping through grass towards a river bank as it hungrily follows the scent of the reptile's flesh.


As it reaches the precipice of the bank, the jaguar spies its prey and prepares to pounce.


The predator then jumps towards the unsuspecting gator with its claws out.

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ARTICLE: A leopard kingdom grows right in the middle of a concrete jungle

Those who don't know much about forests may not understand the real importance or uniqueness of leopards -present in almost every part of the country, including Pune. They are in abundance and every alternate day , there has been news about leopard sighting or attacks on cattle in the rural parts of Pune.

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Sunday 9 July 2017

PHOTOS/NEWSLINK: Rare white liger cubs born (via Christina Clark)

Mythical creatures have long been the subject of great fascination for many cultures. And while tales of magnificent dragons, sea serpents, and unicorns are still sometimes passed down from generation to generation, it’s usually for entertainment purposes or to spark the imagination of a child. Mythical creatures are just that: mythical.

Even though there are no unicorns in the world (that we know of anyway), thanks to Dr. Bhagvan Antle of the T.I.G.E.R.S. Sanctuary based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, we now have the next best thing.

Dr. Antle recently allowed two of his most incredible sanctuary members, a white tiger named Ivory and a white lion named Saraswati, to breed. The result was four of the rarest—and cutest—creatures on the planet that just might make you do a double-take!

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NEWSLINK: 80-year-old woman fights off rabid bobcat

An 80-year-old New Hampshire woman who was attacked by a bobcat is recovering and back to tending to her garden, where the rabid animal left her bloodied over the weekend.
Elsie Dabrowski was cutting the grass around her flowers Sunday night when she said a bobcat suddenly lunged at her and latched onto her face with its teeth and claws. Dabrowski grabbed a sickle and struck the massive cat about five times before her dogs scared it away.

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Thursday 6 July 2017

NEWSLINK: Leopard scare at Poomarudikuzhi village

The Poomarudikuzhi village in Pathanamthitta district is under the leopard scare for the past 4 days. Pet dogs, cats and sambar deer (mlavu) have been killed by the leopard and very recently, the big cat strayed into the village killing a dog and cat owned by Vinod from Gitabhavan in Poomarudikuzhi.

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NEWSLINK: Wild lynx plan not possible under current law

Sheep farmers are growing increasingly concerned about plans to reintroduce lynx into the countryside.


It is understood that the Lynx Trust has applied for a licence from Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage to reintroduce the big cats into the countryside.


Conservationists pushing for a five-year trial reintroduction of Eurasian lynx say their preferred sites would be Kielder Forest in Northumberland and the Borders area in Scotland.


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Wednesday 5 July 2017

NEWSLINK: Tree plantation drive leaves wild cats at the mercy of poachers

Telangana is betting big on programmes like Harita Haram to increase tree cover, but it appears to be missing the bus when it comes to safety of the tiger, the national animal, and its smaller cousin, the leopard. The grisly discovery of the body of a young male leopard hanging from electric wires in Nizamabad district on Monday is only the latest incident that points to the poor status of the big cats in the state.

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NEWSLINK: Big cats released into safari

Two melanistic tigers – Krishna and Subhranshu – have been released to Tiger Safari at Nadankanan Zoological Park (NZP) here Tuesday.

The tigers, born in July 2014, were released into the safari at 9.30am in the presence of NZP director Sisir Acharya. They will remain in the safari for a few months which will help them grow in their natural habitat.

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Tuesday 4 July 2017

SIGHTING, UK: Notorious Wildcat of Warwickshire on camera?

The big cat was spotted prowling fields next to a hospital in Coventry. Stunned Matt, 36, was waiting for partner Hayley to recover from giving birth when he spotted the creature outside the window on Wednesday.

He told Sun Online: “I was just glancing out and saw this thing moving across the field.

“It was absolutely huge. I’ve been around dogs and seen plenty of foxes in my time and this creature just wasn’t moving like that."

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NEWSLINK: 67 tigers die in six months in India and government does not know why

In a worrying trend in the first six months this year, 11 tigers died every month, which means one tiger death reported every three days. What should concern the government more is that of 67 big cats dead, authorities have been able to find reasons behind the death in only one case.


The data for the first six months shows that 58 bodies were recovered but in nine cases only body parts were seized by the authorities. The highest number of tiger deaths was reported from Karnataka (14), Madhya Pradesh (13) and Uttarakhand (9).

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Sunday 2 July 2017

NEWSLINK: Zoo's Tiger Rocky Dies

The Cape May County Zoo has reported that Rocky the Siberian tiger died June 24.
Freeholder E. Marie Hayes, who oversees the Park and Zoo released the following: "Rocky was a rock star and held celebrity status at the zoo for many years. He was a magnificent animal that delighted visitors to the zoo from the time he arrived until his passing.
"Rocky and all the other species that are part of the AZA Species Survival Plan (SSP) are an important part of the research to learn more about the habits and behavior of endangered species and aid in the recovery. He will be missed by all."

Rocky was born at Six Flags Great Adventure, in Jackson April 6 2001. He was born small and weak and his mother, sensing a weak cub, refused to take care of him.

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NEWSLINK: New cheetah cubs to debut at Wild Animal Park for 'Big Cat Week'

It's Big Cat Week at Wild Animal Park in Chittenango, and on Sunday some cheetah cubs will finally be on display.


They will be out at 10:30 a.m. The goal of the week is to promote big cat conservation. The Wild Animal Park is the only place in the state where all seven big cat species can be seen.

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NEWSLINK: Red alert in Nallamala for tiger hunters

A red alert has been declared in the Nallamala forest following reports of a team of notorious tiger hunters, including a woman from Haryana entered the forest to kill the big cats.
Three strangers, including a woman were already reported to be found moving from one tribal hamlet to another in the garb of toy sellers.


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VIDEO: Rare white lion celebrates 1st birthday in Baghdad zoo

A zoo in Iraq is rearing a white lion cub and officials say they’re hoping to welcome another one of the unusual big cats in the coming month. The male cub is hosted at Iraq’s Al Zawra Zoo. He’s the first lion to have been born in Iraq and his white genetic mutation make him extremely rare.

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