large feline seen in Nashville, Tennessee park

There have been two sightings of a large, tawny feline, possibly a
cougar or caracal, at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee. The
park is 2,680 acres in size, partly wooded, and is on the outskirts of
the city. The caracal is an African variety of the lynx, generally in
the 40 pound to 60 pound weight range, and is less likely to attack
humans than is a cougar (which is about twice that size). If the cat
is a caracal, it would likely be someone's escape exotic pet.

--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

John F. Eldredge wrote:
There have been two sightings of a large, tawny feline, possibly a
cougar or caracal, at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee. The
park is 2,680 acres in size, partly wooded, and is on the outskirts of
the city. The caracal is an African variety of the lynx, generally in
the 40 pound to 60 pound weight range, and is less likely to attack
humans than is a cougar (which is about twice that size). If the cat
is a caracal, it would likely be someone's escape exotic pet.

People there are pretty sure it is a caracal or possibly a Eurasian
lynx.

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...0377/1006/NEWS

Much less alarming in an inhabited area than a couger, I think.

Still a good idea to keep cats and small or medium dogs indoors. Also
large dogs that might attack the caracal.

Will in New Haven

--

"Don't worry too much about being bluffed. D*gs DO bite."
_Poker for Cats_ by Feather


--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

"John F. Eldredge" wrote in message
...
There have been two sightings of a large, tawny feline, possibly a
cougar or caracal, at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee. The
park is 2,680 acres in size, partly wooded, and is on the outskirts of
the city. The caracal is an African variety of the lynx, generally in
the 40 pound to 60 pound weight range, and is less likely to attack
humans than is a cougar (which is about twice that size). If the cat
is a caracal, it would likely be someone's escape exotic pet.

--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

I certainly hope they catch it and get it relocated or returned to its owner
before somebody decides to shoot it.

Joy

Joy wrote:

"John F. Eldredge" wrote in message
There have been two sightings of a large, tawny feline, possibly a
cougar or caracal, at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee.

I certainly hope they catch it and get it relocated or returned to
its owner before somebody decides to shoot it.

Owner, my foot. People shouldn't "own" wild animals!

(My attitude isn't toward you, Joy, but toward people who think it's
cool to have exotic pets.)

Poor thing probably couldn't be "returned" to the wild - it probably
should go to a sanctuary.

Joyce

wrote in message
...
Joy wrote:

"John F. Eldredge" wrote in message
There have been two sightings of a large, tawny feline, possibly a
cougar or caracal, at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee.

I certainly hope they catch it and get it relocated or returned to
its owner before somebody decides to shoot it.

Owner, my foot. People shouldn't "own" wild animals!

(My attitude isn't toward you, Joy, but toward people who think it's
cool to have exotic pets.)

Poor thing probably couldn't be "returned" to the wild - it probably
should go to a sanctuary.

How do you know it hasn't escaped from one rather than being an exotic pet
escapee?

Tweed

Christina Websell wrote:

wrote in message

Owner, my foot. People shouldn't "own" wild animals!

Poor thing probably couldn't be "returned" to the wild - it probably
should go to a sanctuary.

How do you know it hasn't escaped from one rather than being an exotic pet
escapee?

I don't know anything - just expressing an opinion on exotic pet
ownership. It could be a puma, in which case it would be a wild
animal. But if it is somebody's escaped exotic pet, I don't think it
should be returned to the person who has been keeping it. They
shouldn't have such a pet to begin with.

If it was a sanctuary animal, then I hope it is returned there. If
it *can* be returned to the wild, so much the better.

Joyce

Christina Websell wrote:
wrote in message
...
Joy wrote:

"John F. Eldredge" wrote in message
There have been two sightings of a large, tawny feline, possibly a
cougar or caracal, at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee.

I certainly hope they catch it and get it relocated or returned to
its owner before somebody decides to shoot it.

Owner, my foot. People shouldn't "own" wild animals!

(My attitude isn't toward you, Joy, but toward people who think it's
cool to have exotic pets.)

Poor thing probably couldn't be "returned" to the wild - it probably
should go to a sanctuary.

How do you know it hasn't escaped from one rather than being an
exotic pet escapee?

Tweed

No way to know. I've not seen this on the news and it's only 300 miles from
me. Sounds like it got out from a zoo or sanctuary. There are a few
"country western" singer celebrities who might think it's cool to own an
exotic pet, but in that neck of the woods they're more likely to go hunting
than collecting.

Speaking of zoos... the Memphis zoo was surprised on November 15th by the
arrival of a baby giraffe yesterday! The zoo-keepers actually said they
didn't know the adult female giraffe was pregant! Well gee, if you're zoo
keepers, how could you NOT know?

http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5686963

Giraffes are amazing creatures. Like colts and calves, they stand within
minutes of birth. Imagine if your bare-kittens could walk a few minutes
after you had them! LOL

Jill

On 2006-11-18 15:38:39 -0600, "Christina Websell"
said:


wrote in message
...
Joy wrote:

"John F. Eldredge" wrote in message
There have been two sightings of a large, tawny feline, possibly a
cougar or caracal, at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee.

I certainly hope they catch it and get it relocated or returned to
its owner before somebody decides to shoot it.

Owner, my foot. People shouldn't "own" wild animals!

(My attitude isn't toward you, Joy, but toward people who think it's
cool to have exotic pets.)

Poor thing probably couldn't be "returned" to the wild - it probably
should go to a sanctuary.

How do you know it hasn't escaped from one rather than being an exotic
pet escapee?

Tweed

I think it is just because that usually is the case here in the U.S.
It's quite amazing the number of people you find with exotic "pets".

On 18 Nov 2006 21:49:33 GMT, wrote:

Christina Websell wrote:

wrote in message

Owner, my foot. People shouldn't "own" wild animals!

Poor thing probably couldn't be "returned" to the wild - it probably
should go to a sanctuary.

How do you know it hasn't escaped from one rather than being an exotic pet
escapee?

I don't know anything - just expressing an opinion on exotic pet
ownership. It could be a puma, in which case it would be a wild
animal. But if it is somebody's escaped exotic pet, I don't think it
should be returned to the person who has been keeping it. They
shouldn't have such a pet to begin with.

If it was a sanctuary animal, then I hope it is returned there. If
it *can* be returned to the wild, so much the better.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has expressed the opinion that
it is a caracal or an Eurasian lynx, according to the newspaper
article that Will cited upthread. I am not aware of any animal
sanctuaries in the immediate Nashville area that keep exotic cats, so
that would suggest that it is someone's escaped pet. If it has been
raised in captivity, it would have to be trained in hunting skills and
the like before being released into the wild, and such release would
likely have to be in Africa, not here. So, it will most likely end up
in an animal sanctuary.

Several local news articles have used the phrase "harmless caracal".
While a 40-pound cat is unlikely to voluntarily attack humans, I hope
no well-meaning amateurs try to capture it on their own. A panicky
caracal could do a lot of damage while fighting to escape.

--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

John F. Eldredge wrote:

Several local news articles have used the phrase "harmless caracal".

LOL! I guess everything's relative. I mean, compared to a puma, I
suppose a caracal doesn't seem too dangerous. But considering the
amount of injury a feral felis catus can cause, I wouldn't want to
mess with a caracal. (Originally I wrote "feral domestic cat", but
that just sounded *wrong*. )

While a 40-pound cat is unlikely to voluntarily attack humans, I hope
no well-meaning amateurs try to capture it on their own. A panicky
caracal could do a lot of damage while fighting to escape.

It seems irresponsible for newspapers to print such misleading information.

Joyce