ARTICLE: Predator on our porch

If we can venture into nature to walk and picnic, why can’t leopards hang around our homes?

Luxurious condominiums on the edge of a megapolis which one promoter sold with the tagline — “where nature peeps through every window.” All the advantages of a modern lifestyle but with the added bonus of fresh air. The best of both worlds in Mumbai city. But nature isn’t greenery alone; it also includes wild animals.


While the view from the picture windows was easy on the eye, occasionally, what the unsuspecting newcomers saw made them gulp with nervousness. At dusk, wild cats the size of German shepherds leaped out of the adjoining forest on to the top of the peripheral walls and strolled nonchalantly. Sometimes, they lounged on ledges with their long tails twitching metronomes, oblivious of the many worried human eyes pinned on them. Their cold yellow predatory eyes turned black as their pupils dilated with failing light.


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NEWSLINK: Lynx on the loose after escaping from zoo in Wales

Police in Wales said reports of lynx sightings are coming in after one of the big cats escaped from a local zoo.


Dyfed-Powys Police said the lynx escaped at some point last week from Borth Wild Animal Kingdom, near Aberystwyth, and was spotted Sunday from a police helicopter.

Police said a second sighting was reported later the same day.


Tracy Tweedy, co-owner of the zoo, said keepers had thought the lynx was hiding in its enclosure until a Sunday check verified the animal was not on the premises.

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ARTICLE: State monitors cougars with help from a ‘determined’ dog with a super sniffer

This is a story about a dog and poop.

Not just any poop — as any dog could tell you — but droppings from the state’s apex predator: mountain lions.

A lot of what wildlife biologists know about the big cats recolonizing parts of Nebraska can be credited to the nose of a graying Chesapeake Bay retriever named Train.


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NEWSLINK: Africa's lions, wild dogs to get more protection

Africa's lions, wild dogs, leopards and cheetahs are all set to get increased protection with two UN-related wildlife bodies proposing a new initiative at a global summit in October to halt their serious decline, it was announced on Thursday.

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ARTICLE: Cat on the roof of the world

Pausing to draw in another lungful of thin, biting air, I take in the dramatic, aching beauty of the Shamshy Wildlife Sanctuary in the small Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan. Scree- and snow-covered ridges arc upward in every direction, birthing the river Shamshy, sparkling and racing through the vast valleys. After a short trek, the accompanying rangers and I ‘chatted’ over a meal of lepunshka and compot — so ubiquitous they could well be the national bread and drink of Kyrgyzstan. Conversation is stilted, but language barriers melt when chief ranger Japarov Emil shows images captured in camera traps placed in the reserve: Eagle, hare, pikka, buzzard, a herd of ibex careening down a slope, and... snow leopard! Voice high-pitched with excitement, Emil gesticulates that he saw one last month, casually strolling across his path.

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NEWSLINK: Alberta Parks warns of cougar sightings along Ha Ling Trail near Canmore

Alberta Parks is warning People hiking in the Kananaskis area to be extra vigilant after multiple cougar sightings along Ha Ling Trail, southwest of Canmore.


An Alberta Parks spokesperson said Friday evening that the trail was still open.

The department’s website has safety tips for anyone who spots one of the big cats on the trail.

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NEWSLINK: Local Hiker Has Close Encounter With Mysterious Animal

A local hiker got the fright of her life after a close encounter with a mysterious animal in the woods near Blackhead yesterday morning. VOCM’s Linda Swain reports.

Sonja Duchesne was walking the East Coast trail with her two Rottweilers when she heard a growling sound in the woods.


Duchesne tells VOCM News she’d never heard anything like it before. Her two dogs immediately started to growl back.


She couldn’t see the animal making the noise, but knew it was nearby. The low growl frightened her so much so that she immediately left the area and googled the sounds of various animals. She found a YouTube video of a panther in a cage growling that she claims matches the sound she heard exactly.

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NEWSLINK: Tiger Kept At Truck Stop For 17 Years Dies, But The Legal Battle Isn't Over

The tiger at the center of a years-long legal battle between animal rights activists and a Louisiana truck stop owner has died, but the owner’s desire to get another tiger means the fight likely isn’t over.

Tony, better known as Tony the Truck Stop Tiger, was euthanized Monday at the age of 17 after suffering from kidney failure. Michael Sandlin, the owner of Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, acquired Tony when the big cat was 6 months old. He would spend the rest of his life living in an enclosure by the side of the highway.

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NEWSLINK: Sohna residents spot leopard twice, claim pets missing

Panic gripped Sohna on Saturday after some residents claimed to have spotted a leopard twice near Sohna Tourist Complex late in the night.


"We saw a big cat near the hills. In the last 15 days, two goats and a pet dog have gone missing from the area. We are sure a leopard is roaming near human settlements and attacking our animals. We are extremely worried about our safety," said Shankar Kumar, a resident of Sohna.

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NEWSLINK: Persian Leopard Near Recovery

A female Persian leopard under medical care has now almost recovered and will soon be released back into the wild.


Undergoing care at a wildlife facility in Qazvin (143 km northwest of Tehran), the leopard “is currently in such good health condition that it can return to her habitat this week”, ILNA quoted Ali Teymouri, director of the Hunting and Fishing Office at the Department of Environment, as saying.

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ARTICLE: International Snow Leopard Day

That the Snow Leopard faces extinction ought to give us all cause for alarm. For this magnificent creature is king of the ecosystem, given his status as the leading predator when it comes to regulating wildlife population.


He faces threat both from the environment and mankind; including climate change, reduced prey and surges in human population. Yet above all is he hunted. His skin, after all, is known to sell for rather handsome amounts. And then his bones are prized by practitioners of traditional medicine. There are those, too, who profit from keeping him in captivity whether at the circus or at the zoo. And even when he is not being deliberately hunted down — he still remains under fire. 

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NEWSLINK: Lion preys on calf in middle of Junagadh city

Commuters of Bhavnath road in Junagadh city were in for a surprise early morning on Monday as they witnessed an adult lion sitting on one side of the four-lane road eating a calf.


It was around 5.30am that people passing by Pajnaka Bridge noticed the lion sitting in the middle of the road eating his prey. Forest officials said that the lion might have come from the nearby forest area on the road and preyed upon the calf moving there.


For the next half-an-hour the lion sat on the road as bewildered commuters passing by in cars, autorickshaws and motorcycles stopped and clicked pictures and recorded videos.

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THE LAST WEEK AT THE CFZ-USA BLOG

NORTH CAROLINA BIGFOOT

HUMANOID ENCOUNTER IN NEW ZEALAND

THE LION-MAN

LEGEND OF GREEN MAN

BEAST OF NORTH LONG LAKE

ZOMBIE BRIDES

SISISMITE - HUMANOID OF MEXICO

LAVELLAN - SCOTTISH CRYPTID

ELEPHANT SAVED FROM DROWNING

DO FAIRIES EXIST?

SEA MONSTERS OF SCOTLAND

DISCUSSION OF DOGMAN

ALIEN ABDUCTION OR OBE EXPERIENCE?

HAS BIGFOOT BREASTS?

UF OVALS

PEUCHEN - MAPUCHE MONSTER

MONSTER OF LAKE BAIKAL

MIND CONTROL AND BIGFOOT

MYSTERY BIRD REPORT

ALLEGED VAMPIRES KILLED IN MALAWI

SIGHTING OF LITTLE MAN

GROUP OF BIGFOOT STEALING PIGS

BIGFOOT MUSEUM TO BE BUILT IN MONTANA

CFZ TV - EPISODE 3

LITTLE PEOPLE - NATIVE AMERICAN TRADITIONS

MONSTERS OF WISCONSIN

INSECT NUMBERS FALL

ROCK RIVER MONSTER

FLYING SNAKE IN IOWA

WHY DID BIGFOOT CROSS THE ROAD?

ARE CRYPTIDS MYTHICAL?

ANIMALS WITH SPECIAL POWERS

DOG-HUMAN COMMUNICATION

IS BIGFOOT THE ORIGIN OF THE TROLL?

ALLEGED DRAGON SKELETON

PARANORMAL SIEGE

CHUPACABRA SIGHTINGS

BIGFOOT IN CALIFORNIA

FORTHCOMING BOOK ON CANADIAN MYSTERIES

IS THERE LIFE ON VENUS?

CATLIKE CREATURE WITH HUMAN FACE

ANIMALS & MEN: LATEST ISSUE

BIGFOOT IN WISCONSIN

BIGFOOT IN EAST FRESNO

GREMLINS - REPORTS FROM PILOTS

BIGFOOT TERRORIZES FAMILY

RUSSIAN UFOLOGY

WODEWOSES OF YELLOWHAM HILL

BIGFOOT BURIAL CAVE?

NEWSLINK: Minor girl killed by tiger in Madhya Pradesh forest

A 10-year-old girl was mauled to death by a tiger when she was grazing cattle in the buffer zone of Ratapani wildlife sanctuary in Hosangabad district in Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Monday.
The feline pounced on her and dragged her in the forest for nearly 100 feet even as her two siblings tried to rescue her by pelting stones on the carnivore, a local forest officer said. The incident took place near Khamabad village in Ratapani sanctuary on Sunday.


Although, the wildlife sanctuary was yet to be declared a tiger reserve, around a dozen big cats have so far been sighted in the reserve forest, official sources said.

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NEWSLINK: Leopards create panic near Mysuru

Two adult leopards have been creating panic in and around Somnathpura village of T-Narispura taluk for the past three days. According to Forest officials, the big cats have killed a few stray dogs in the region recently.


T-Narsipura Range Forest Officer T Sunitha told Express on Monday that the leopards were sighted at a private plantation and a trap with a cage has been set up.The department set the trap after officials saw the pug marks of the leopards on Sunday. Sunitha said, “For the first time, leopards have been sighted in this part of the taluk. Usually leopards are sighted at two small hills of the taluk.”

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NEWSLINK: India man-eating tiger dies after being electrocuted

A tiger which killed four villagers in central India has died after being electrocuted, an official said Sunday, ending a hunt by armed rangers for the beast.

A court in Maharashtra state issued a shoot-to-kill order Friday against the two-year-old female tiger after its latest victim, a woman, died earlier this month.

But efforts to capture or kill the tiger were called off after it strayed against an electric fence near a village early Saturday, said Rishikesh Ranjan, field director of Pench Tiger Reserve.

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ARTICLE: On the trail of a bobcat

The official sunrise is meaningless for it is to be a dark, gloomy and rainy day. My early morning walk will begin with exactly those conditions. Regardless however of the lack of the giant fireball in the sky, the day is glorious. Could there be any better time than walking in wet fall woods?

Just last week I wrote of nearly the same thing but on this day, it is raining, and has been doing so for a few days. I soak up the colors and all the aromas of a wet fall forest. This alone is enough to keep me coming back day after day. But on this day, I have a motive for my trip. I do feel somewhat naked, for due to the rain, I have left my camera gear behind. But that is ok as this is nothing but a scouting trip for one very elusive Fulton County species.

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NEWSLINK: Mountain lion debate just won't go away

Mickaell Watts of Greenville said she started a Facebook page on reported mountain lion sightings in the area because she was seeing posts online and wanted to set up a central place for people to document their experiences.


“This way, everyone can try to stay safe while hiking, or keep their pets and kids safe,” Watts, 29, said, acknowledging the wildcat is thought to be long extinct.


Despite years of reported sightings, state officials said there is still no evidence mountain lions exist in New Hampshire.

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PHOTOS: Stunning picture of one of only 80 of the rarest big cats living in wild

Amur leopards are the most endangered cat on the planet, but this shot is seen as 'the best ever taken' of the species by a photo trap.

The scientists have been for a long period seeking to 'catch' a leopard at this spot with a magnificent background of mountain cliffs, and finally did so.

The stunning image is the pride of the Land of the Leopard nature reserve in the Russian Far East has been sent as an entry in the 2017 PhotoTrap Russian competition.


Only around 80 of these big cats survive in their natural habitat in the wild due to excessive hunting and poaching during the 20th century.

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NEWSLINK: Second large cat sighting reported in MS

The legend of the large cat on the prowl in north Mississippi remains strong. A second person has come forward with more proof that there is definitely something to the story.


A video of the animal was recorded in Hernando on Wednesday and quickly went viral on Facebook.


"I've never seen anything that big," he said. "The cops and everyone were like, 'Holy cow, that's not a house cat. That's a large animal.'"


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NEWSLINK: Sabah’s Clouded Leopards are in Trouble

Clouded leopards are elusive creatures that hunt at night and spend most of their time away from prying eyes within dense forests. Thus, estimating their numbers in places like Sabah’s forests is a challenging undertaking. Yet a team of scientists led by researchers at Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) in the UK has done just that: estimate how many of these majestic predators remain in the state’s forest. Their finding: not all that many.

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NEWSLINK: Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania?

As the latest hoaxed photo of a mountain lion supposedly killed in Pennsylvania died a slow death on Facebook yesterday, the head of an organization tracking the eastern movements of the big cats was preparing a presentation for a Pennsylvania audience tonight.


Michelle LaRue, executive director of the Cougar Network and a research ecologist at the University of Minnesota, will discuss the eastern expansion of cougars from their core range in the western U.S. at 7 p.m. in Moravian College's Haupert Union Building, Bethlehem.


The Cougar Network, working with state agencies, have documented multiple mountain lions as far east as Kentucky, Tennessee and Michigan in recent years, as well as one cat killed on a highway in Milford, Connecticut, in June 2011.

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NEWSLINK: Pride of lions released in game reserve

A new generation of lion cubs may soon appear at Somkhanda Community Game Reserve in Northern KwaZulu-Natal.

Three lions were re-introduced to the reserve and rangers monitoring the daily activity of the big cats said the cats had been observed mating, as well as hunting and feeding.

The pride of one male and two females were translocated earlier this year from Phinda Private Game Reserve and kept in a boma until their recent release into the 12 140 hectare reserve.
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VIDEO/PHOTOS: Sand cat kittens captured on video in wild for first time

The first footage of sand cat kittens in the wild has been captured after four years of extensive research in Africa.

Three sandy-coloured kittens aged between six to eight weeks old were spotted by conservationists in the Moroccan Sahara.

It is thought to be the first time the elusive Sand Cat’s young have been caught on camera.

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: Pantanal jaguar nabs a yellow anaconda

Just days after witnessing an incredible attack by a jaguar on a large yacare caiman, photographer Chris Brunskill has struck gold again. On September 29, he managed to photograph another of the great spotted cats taking down another formidable reptile: an anaconda.
This latest action went down in southern Brazil along the Cuiabá River, one of the drainages of the huge wetland complex called the Pantanal (which is also where Brunskill captured the jaguar/caiman sequence earlier in September). From a boat, Brunskill spied the jaguar prowling along the high riverbank, just moments before the spotted predator keyed into something in the grass. Brunskill watched as the cat reached out a paw ... and flushed out a yellow anaconda.

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NEWSLINK: An escaped circus tiger is shot. Chaos erupts for 14 big cats and countless humans

It was still dark as Billy Farley turned his delivery truck off Interstate 75 onto the Jodeco Road exit south of Atlanta. His headlights caught a figure striding down the ramp toward the highway.


“At first, I thought maybe there was a huge, very, very large dog,” Farley recalled. “As I got up on it, I realized it was a tiger.”

In disbelief, Farley hit his brakes and called 911. His was one of at least three such calls on that Wednesday morning last month, records show, and the more than dozen police officers who rushed to the area indeed found an exotic predator. They tried using their vehicles to herd the cat up the off-ramp, but it jumped a guard rail and retreated into an adjacent neighborhood. They watched it slink around houses, lie down among bushes, slip behind a dumpster.

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NEWSLINK: Jaguars born in Benidorm

The Terra Natura Benidorm family keeps on growing as just last week, two baby jaguars were born to residents Grecia and Socorro.


The birth of the jaguars falls on the tenth anniversary since the last jaguar was born in the park, in 2007.
The jaguar – classed as a near threatened species – is part of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria’s European Endangered Species Breeding Programme (EEP). Grecia was pregnant for 93 days before giving birth – in some cases, mothers are pregnant for up to 105 days.


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VIDEO: Leopard can’t stop checking out its own reflection on someone’s car

The video depicts an “unbelievably rare sighting” of a leopard that seems infatuated by its own reflection in the side of a car. The park visitors wisely remain inside their vehicles while the vain kitty paces around catching glimpses of its own appearance whenever it can.


To be fair, it’s not often that big cats in the wild get a chance to to check themselves out. So we don’t really blame this leopard for taking advantage of the opportunity that presented itself.

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NEWSLINK: Injured tiger trapped

An injured tiger on the prowl near Doddabargi village in the Hediyala range of Bandipur Tiger Reserve was trapped and tranquilised on Monday. The action was necessitated following a villager coming under attack by a wild animal last evening presumed to be a leopard.


Bandipur Tiger Reserve Director Ambadi Madhav told The Hindu that a combing operation was launched on Monday and the Forest Department staff identified pug marks in the periphery of the village and believed that it was a tiger. They pressed into the jungles with a vehicle and found a crouching tiger in the vegetation.

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NEWSLINK: Is a cougar on the prowl in Peoria?

What’s skulking around the Rolling Acres neighborhood?


A cougar.


That’s according to two reports to Peoria County Animal Control Services, plus chatter on social media. PCAPS animal-control officers have searched the area but have spotted no cougar.


“So far, there’s nothing credible,” says Bridget Domenighini, director of PCAPS.


That’s not what some residents think in Rolling Acres, the area roughly bounded by War Memorial Drive to the west, University Street to the east, Glen Avenue to the south and Northmoor Road to the north. Nextdoor, a website that allows neighbors to share news and whatnot, featured several posts about a cougar over the past few days:

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NEWSLINK: Pilikula Biological Park faces problem of plenty with big cats

It is a problem of plenty, albeit in a pleasant way, for authorities of Pilikula Biological Park at Moodushedde village. Among the 120-odd species at the park which has around 1,200 animals, the 11 tigers, eight males and three females, headed by patriarch Vikram are the cynosure of all visitors' eyes. The only hitch is that as per Central Zoo Authority (CZA) norms, Pilikula is permitted to keep up to eight tigers for their healthy upbringing.


Park director H Jayaprakash Bhandary said the park has consistently tried to shuffle out the tigers to ensure the bloodline is clear and there is no in-breeding. "The issue of excess tigers as per CZA norms has arisen primarily because we have a successful tiger breeding programme at Pilikula compared to other large zoos," he said.

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NEWSLINK: White Tigers Maul Keeper to Death in India

An animal keeper at a national park in India was mauled to death by two white tigers.


The incident happened Oct. 7 at Bannerghatta Biological Park.


Some reports say the victim, known only as Anjini, entered the tigers’ enclosure to remove leftover food.


Others say he was trying to herd the big cats back into their enclosure.


The Times of India reports that one of the tigers pounced on him, sinking its teeth into his neck.

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NEWSLINK/EVENT: The myths surrounding the 'big cats' spotted in Kent will be debunked in a talk coming to Sheppey

One of Kent's leading figures in 'big cat' research will be hosting a talk on the creatures in Sheppey towards the end of the month.
Neil Arnold, who has written several books on the subject, has extensively researched big cat sightings in Kent for over 30 years.

Mr Arnold, 42, began his research aged just nine after hearing stories told by friends and family members. His curiosity led him to study the facts and question why no one took sightings seriously.
He said: "Sightings take place all over the UK, and have done for a few centuries. In the Victorian era people kept leopards and other exotic animals in menageries."

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NEWSLINK: Tigers test cat climbing post after Hamilton Zoo revamp

Tigers at Hamilton Zoo now have the mother of all cat poles to climb on.


Staff have spent months revamping the "tired" 2001 enclosure and it now boasts a big cat climbing post, a paddling pool, tunnels and a tweaked soundscape.


"We wanted to change it up to make it more viewable for our visitors but also exciting and still creating a habitat that tigers would want to be in," curator Catherine Nichols said.

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NEWSLINK: Big cat count rises to six in Palamau Tiger Reserve

Here is a good news for the wildlife lovers. Tiger count in Palamau Tiger Reserve (PTR) has shot up to six, forest officials said on Tuesday.


“The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun through DNA sample analyses has confirmed that tiger count in PTR is minimum six. We received the confirmation report on Monday,” said LR Singh, principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF-wildlife).


One of the oldest tiger reserves of the country—notified a year after Project Tiger was announced in 1973 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Palamau had 22 tigers in 1972, according to the book ‘Main Baagh Hoon’, written by the former PCCF (wildlife) Pradeep Kumar.

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VIDEO: Collection of Wild, Exotic Animals Found in Arkansas Warehouse: 'It's a Really Weird Story'

There were six lions, seven tigers and a leopard — but no bears.


Arkansas authorities responding to a report of exotic animals locked in cages on a farm found exactly that in Poinsett County over the weekend.

“It’s a really weird story,” state Fish and Game Commission spokesman Keith Stephens told InsideEdition.com Wednesday.

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NEWSLINK: Problem leopard, suspect behind 5 attacks, trapped

After 54 days of efforts by wildlife experts, volunteers and the Thane forest department, Aarey's most wanted leopard, suspected to be behind four attacks and a death — all involving children — was finally trapped in the wee hours of Thursday morning.


The three-year-old 'problem' leopard, which was escaping trap cages for over two months, was trapped in Filmcity, Goregaon.


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NEWSLINK: Reports of bobcat sightings sought

Rhode Island, like the rest of the region, may be seeing a rise in the bobcat population – and South Kingstown seems to be a hotbed for the big cats.


The University or Rhode Island has teamed up with the state’s Department of Environmental Management to collect basic information on the species and its numbers in the area. For the last 10 years, the DEM has been keeping track of reported sightings and roadkill incidents involving bobcats in the state. According to URI research associate Amy Mayer, a large number of those sightings have been in South County, especially the Matunuck area.

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SIGHTING, UK: Big black cat in Scottish countryside sparks police search

Police responded to reports of a big cat seen roaming the Scottish countryside yesterday.
Officers in Angus said that they searched an area around a quarry on the outskirts of Forfar after sightings of a large black cat.

They did not report finding anything.
Angus Police tweeted about the search saying: "Sighting of large black cat near to outskirts of Forfar at quarry.

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NEWSLINK: Villagers say tiger sighted off Sinhagad

Forest officials collected pugmarks samples two rainy days after farmer reported attack on cattle; unable to determine if it was a leopard instead


The incident took place near Ambi village last Friday afternoon, when a farmer reportedly spotted a tiger at an alarmingly close distance. According to his claim, the tiger was attacking his herd of cattle, but when he protested loudly and forcefully, the wild predator fled into the forest nearby.

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NEWSLINK: Glenn Close is hoping to use her fame to save big cats

The 70-year-old actress was recently named as the co-chair of Panthera’s Conservation Council, which seeks to protect the world’s 40 wild cat species and their ecosystems, and Close is hoping her celebrity status will help to shine a light on the issue.


She said: “The biggest threat to big cats is the human population.


“What naturalists and conservationists have to figure out is given that the human population is growing, and will continue to grow, how do these two populations exist together? Because obviously the panthera population, they’re the vulnerable ones.”

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VIDEO: Rare white tiger is mauled to death by bengals ‘after zookeeper left enclosure door open’

A rare white tiger can be seen being stalked and mauled by Bengal relations in a shocking video.

The footage was recorded at a zoo in the Indian city of Bengaluru and took place after a mistake by a zookeeper.

Reports in local media allege that one of the zoo's staff left a door to the Bengal enclosure open which allowed two white tigers from next door to wander in.

The two big cats, named Amar and Shreyas, found themselves outnumbered in a brawl against the Bengals at Bannerghatta Biological Park.

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