• Donate Now
  • Volunteer
  • Contact Us
Big Cat Rescue
  • Get Involved
  • Cub Facts
  • The Sanctuary Cats
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us
  • Shop
  • Videos
  • Donate
No Result
View All Result
  • Get Involved
  • Cub Facts
  • The Sanctuary Cats
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us
  • Shop
  • Videos
  • Donate
No Result
View All Result
Big Cat Rescue
No Result
View All Result
Home News World

Willmar MN Cougar was likely a pet

Carole by BCR
February 23, 2016
in News World
0 0
0
0
SHARES
143
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Email

Cougar was likely a pet of someone living in the local area

Peter Cox West Central Tribune

Published Thursday, February 02, 2006

WILLMAR — The Willmar cougar will have a new home by the end of the week, but there is new evidence the animal might be from a west central Minnesota home.

 

Officials with the Wildcat Sanctuary in Cedar, just north of the Twin Cities, will likely be picking the cat up Friday and taking it to an out of state sanctuary, said Tammy Quist, Executive Director of the Wildcat Sanctuary. DNR officials okayed giving the cougar to a sanctuary Wednesday afternoon.

 

The 80-pound female cougar was spotted Tuesday morning near Kennedy Elementary School. Police and local animal professionals tracked the cat around the neighborhood for two hours, shot it with four tranquilizers and finally corralled and caged it around 10 a.m.

 

Since then, nobody has come forward to claim the cougar, but officials believe it isn’t wild.

 

“This is not a releasable animal,” said Dr. John Baillie with the Wildcat Sanctuary. “This is not a wild animal that strayed there. This is someone’s pet.”

 

 

Cougar has new home 

 

Officers deployed to capture cougar outside Willmar home 

Baillie came to that conclusion because of the cougar willingly came into a human habitat and stayed close enough to be shot with a tranquilizer.

 

Officials believe the cougar may have lived in a Willmar-area home. Nearly a month ago, Quist’s office received a call from someone wondering what to do with a unregistered, female cougar.

 

“They were thinking of surrendering the cat and didn’t know if they could meet the requirements for registration,” said Quist. Minnesota state law makes it illegal to own a wild animal without a permit.

 

The male caller said that Willmar was the closest town to his home, she said.

 

“He never called us back,” Quist said. “It could have been the same cat, or it might not have been.”

 

She said they will be checking their call records to see if they can track the caller.

 

Willmar Police Capt. Dave Wyffels said his office hadn’t received any information on any cougar owners in the county. No one in the county has registered a cougar, he said.

 

Quist said it’s not uncommon for people to release wild animals they can no longer take care of.

 

“This isn’t the first cougar that the DNR first thought was wild and later turned out to be owned by a person,” she said.

 

Last year a cougar was shot in Duluth. It turned out the cougar was owned by someone in the area. Also last year, in Anoka County, a collared cougar was caught.

 

“It’s not nearly as rare as people think,” Quist said. “What happened in Willmar isn’t an isolated incident.”

 

Quist said wild animals are frequently purchased at auction and illegally shipped into Minnesota. Some of the auctions are done in the state, she said.

 

People buy them as pets, she said, but soon realize these aren’t domesticated animals.

 

Her sanctuary, the only one of its kind in Minnesota, is full because of this problem. This is the reason the Willmar cougar has to be shipped out of state.

 

The Willmar cougar will live out its life at the sanctuary, she said. The sanctuary will not breed or show animals she said and will have great living conditions. It will not be released, she said, because it likely couldn’t live in the wild.

 

While this cougar doesn’t appear to have been wild, there have been sightings in the area.

 

Local DNR Area Manage LeRoy Dahlke said that his office receives one to two cougar sightings a year.

 

Some sightings are unsubstantiated or their tracks turn out to be the tracks of large dogs. However, he said, they’ve gotten “perfect descriptions of cougars from very reliable people.”

 

“I’m sure they’ve passed through before,” he said.

 

 

For the cats,

 

Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue

an Educational Sanctuary home

to more than 150 big cats

12802 Easy Street Tampa, FL  33625

813.920.4130 fax 885.4457 cell 493.4564

http://www.BigCatRescue.org MakeADifference@BigCatRescue.org

 

Meet our recent mountain lion cub rescues:

 

Tags: News World
Previous Post

Potter Park Zoo cat dies after eating rubber ball

Next Post

Tiger Haven must reduce to 1 tiger

Next Post

Tiger Haven must reduce to 1 tiger

Leave a Reply

  • Default Comments (0)
  • Facebook Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Help Feed Big Cats

One of the best ways to help is through general donations that can be used however it is most needed at the time.To make a general donation just click the Donate Now button below.  This is the best way to give as it has the lowest credit card processing fees and is immediate help for the cats.

Give to Big Cat Rescue

If you prefer to donate via Pay Pal, please use this link: Pay Pal

Recent Articles

  • Cat VS Dog…Fennel? June 22, 2022
  • Black Leopard Bath time! June 22, 2022
  • Nothing like a vacation, next door. Priya tiger at Big Cat Rescue June 22, 2022

Save Big Cats

Donate to Big Cat Rescue

Sanctuary Cats

  • Jaguars
  • Leopards
  • Lions
  • Tigers
  • Bobcats
  • Canada Lynx
  • Cougars
  • Ocelots
  • Savannah Cats
  • Servals

More from Big Cats

  • Big Cat Rescue is Live 24/7 on Webcams
  • Rescue Missions
  • About Big Cat Rescue
  • Big Cat Rescue News
  • Reviews
  • Our Recent Work
  • Sanctuary FAQs
  • Big Cat TV
Cat VS Dog…Fennel?

Cat VS Dog…Fennel?

June 22, 2022
Black Leopard Bath time!

Black Leopard Bath time!

June 22, 2022
Nothing like a vacation, next door. Priya tiger at Big Cat Rescue

Nothing like a vacation, next door. Priya tiger at Big Cat Rescue

June 22, 2022
  • Donate Now
  • Volunteer
  • Contact Us

© Copyright 2021 BigCatRescue.Org. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • 2018 Appeal
  • About BCR
  • About our Cookies
  • Account
  • BCR in the Media
  • Big Cat NFTS
  • Big Cat Rescue Caring for Cats and Ending the Trade
  • Big Cat Rescuers
  • Big Cat Times
  • Blog
  • Board of Directors
  • Browse Submissions
  • Connections
  • Contact Us
  • Cookie Policy
  • Credentials
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Donate Crypto
  • Embed Link
  • Followers
  • Following
  • GET THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT CUB PETTING
  • Global Big Cat News
  • Intern Program
  • Join Us
    • Registration
  • Kids
  • Latest from Big Cat Rescue
  • Licensing
  • Login
  • Login
  • Logout
  • Logout
  • Malaya Bobcat
  • Map
  • Map of Big Cat Owners
  • Member Directory
  • Members
  • My Profile
    • Edit Profile
  • Netflix
  • News about Big Cats
  • News Gallery
  • News@BCR
  • Our Live Feeds
  • Password Reset
  • PressRoom
  • Privacy Policy
  • Register
  • Register
  • Register
    • Edit Your Profile
    • Update Billing Card
    • Welcome
    • Your Membership
  • Rescues
  • Search result
  • Series Archive – Default header
  • Shop
  • SnowLeopard
  • Social Stream
  • Staff
  • Submission Confirmed
  • Teachers
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Terms of Use
  • User
  • USFWS
  • Vets
  • Videos archive
  • Get Involved
    • Automatic
    • Sponsorships
    • Volunteer
      • AdvoCats
      • Click to Feed
      • Intern
    • Legacy
    • Roar! Speak Out for Big Cats
    • Ink
  • Finances
  • How We Started
  • Abuse Issues
    • Issues
      • Exhibitions
      • Private Ownership of Big Cats
      • Zoos
      • White Tigers
      • Circus
      • Fur
      • Trophy Hunting
      • Canned Hunting
      • Why Regulations Don’t Work
  • Our Evolution
  • Photos & Facts
  • Videos
  • Our Volunteers
  • Your Privacy
  • Donate
  • Site Map
  • Field Trips

© Copyright 2021 BigCatRescue.Org. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist