big cats

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Brothers in Fatal Cougar Attack Fought Ferociously

Family describes heroic efforts by Taylen and Wyatt Brooks

(Newser) - One of two brothers who were searching for shed deer antlers in Northern California on Saturday became the first person to be killed by a mountain lion in the state since 2004—and authorities described how fiercely the pair fought back during the attack. The Guardian reports Taylen and Wyatt...

In Indonesia's Jungles, a Hunt for an Extinct Beast

Genetic tests on a single hair suggest Javan tiger may still roam Java

(Newser) - In Indonesia, the hunt is on for a tiger thought to have gone extinct some four decades ago. The Javan tiger, native to the island of Java, was last officially spotted in the 1980s and declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2008. But there have...

'Aloof' Big Cats Are Partial to Keepers' Voices
Big Cats Are
Like Pet Cats
in One Big Way
in case you missed it

Big Cats Are Like Pet Cats in One Big Way

Familiar human voices draw longer, more intense responses than unfamiliar ones, researchers show

(Newser) - Domestic cats can tell their owner's voice apart from other humans, and apparently their larger cousins have that same capability, according to new research out of Michigan's Oakland University. In the study published Thursday in the PeerJ—Life and Environment journal, scientists wanted to see if tigers, cheetahs,...

Study Finds New Worry for Endangered Cheetahs
Study Finds New Worry
for Endangered Cheetahs
new study

Study Finds New Worry for Endangered Cheetahs

They become more nocturnal on hot days, and that could mean less food for them

(Newser) - Cheetahs are usually daytime hunters, but the speedy big cats will shift their activity toward dawn and dusk hours during warmer weather, a new study finds. Unfortunately for endangered cheetahs, that sets them up for more potential conflicts with mostly nocturnal competing predators such as lions and leopards, say the...

Los Angeles, Mumbai Share Rare Trait Among Mega-Cities

They each have big cats

(Newser) - Los Angeles and Mumbai, India, share many superlatives as pinnacles of cinema, fashion, and traffic congestion. But another similarity lurks in the shadows, most often seen at night walking silently on four paws. These metropolises are the world’s only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines—mountain lions in...

9 Big Cats at National Zoo Being Treated for COVID

Keepers aren't sure how the lions and tigers got sick

(Newser) - Lions and tigers and … COVID? Several big cats at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC, have tested positive after showing symptoms like decreased appetite, lethargy, and sneezing, per NBC 4 Washington . Zoo officials aren’t sure how the big cats got sick—they’re too far from visitors...

Owners Give Up On Keeping 80lb Cougar in Apartment

Ill-advised pet is leaving New York and on her way to a wildlife refuge

(Newser) - A big pet in a little New York City apartment is a challenge. It’s a pretty huge challenge when it’s an 80-pound wild animal. The owners of the pet in question, an 11-month-old cougar raised from a cub, surrendered the animal before anyone got hurt. The cougar, called...

Snow Leopards Started Wheezing, Coughing. Now, Confirmation

At Lousville Zoo in Kentucky, 3 big cats test positive for COVID

(Newser) - Three snow leopards in a Kentucky zoo have come down with COVID-19, making it the latest type of animal to get sick after coming into close contact with humans. Per a filmed statement from Louisville Zoo Director John Walczak and a written statement from the zoo, zoo staff noticed within...

Mistake Leads to Mauling at Carole Baskin's Rescue

Male tiger attacked volunteer as she reached into cage

(Newser) - A tiger nearly ripped off a volunteer's arm Thursday at Carole Baskin's Big Cat Rescue, made famous by Netflix's Tiger King. Candy Crouser had arrived to feed the male tiger, Kimba, around 8:30am when she noticed he was "locked in a section that was away...

Cows With 'Butt Eyes' Ward Off Deadly Attacks
Experts Paint Eyes on
Cow Butts—and It Works
in case you missed it

Experts Paint Eyes on Cow Butts—and It Works

Researchers find a low-cost way to save cattle in Botswana

(Newser) - Want to save cattle from predatory attacks? First, paint eyeballs on their butts. Then see what happens. That's pretty much the gist of a new study out of Botswana—and it worked, Happy Mag reports. Researchers at the University of South Wales painted the eyes on cow butts to...

Old Perfume Taking Up Space? Zoo's Big Cats Will Take It

Banham Zoo puts out a call for perfume, cologne

(Newser) - Have any old bottles of perfume or cologne lying around? Banham Zoo in Norfolk, England, will take them. The zoo says its lions, tigers, and leopards "respond very positively to unique scents when sprayed in their enclosures," and since their supplies are running low, they're hoping the...

Florida's Big Cats Are Stumbling, and No One Knows Why

Panthers and bobcats in Florida appear to be afflicted with disabling nerve disorder

(Newser) - There's a problem with Florida's big cats. The New York Times reports on a bunch of strange sightings of panthers and a bobcat in the Sunshine State, caught on trail cameras, that show the felines having trouble walking, caused by an apparent neurological disorder. Kittens seem to be...

Attacked Runner Kills Cougar, Drives to Hospital

Somebody had a really bad Monday

(Newser) - The survival instinct kicked in for a northern Colorado man, who not only killed a mountain lion that attacked him as he was running in a mountain park on Monday, but then hiked out of the area, and drove himself to a hospital. "The runner did everything he could...

Big Cat Sighted Near Paris
 Big Cat Sighted Near Paris 

Big Cat Sighted Near Paris

The town of Montevrain is on high alert after multiple sightings

(Newser) - A woman leaving her husband's grocery market in Montevrain just east of Paris saw what she believed to be a lynx, took a photo of what indeed appears to be a large feline, and called her husband from the confines of her car. Residents were told to stay indoors,...

Tigers, Lions Seized From Kansas Farm

Animals kept in inadequate, dirty cages, authorities allege

(Newser) - Well, we're short a bear. But we're going to go with "Oh my" anyway, after a tiger, two mountain lions, and a variety of other wild cats were seized from a patch of private farmland in rural northeast Kansas. The animals were living in inadequate chain-link enclosures...

Mountain Lion Shot Dead in Downtown Santa Monica

Residents angered by shooting of big cat

(Newser) - Things didn't end well for a young mountain lion who made his way through miles of urban landscape to downtown Santa Monica yesterday. After the janitor of an office complex stumbled across the cat, police officers made several attempts to subdue it using tranquilizing darts, nonlethal bullets and a...

Wild Jaguar Spotted in Arizona
 Wild Jaguar Spotted in Arizona 

Wild Jaguar Spotted in Arizona

Sighting is first since 2009

(Newser) - A wild jaguar has been seen in the US for the first time in more than two years. The sighting was made by an Arizona hunter using dogs to track mountain lions and was confirmed by state wildlife officials. Jaguars—the only big cat in the Americas to roar—are...

Big Cat Chomped on Ohio Exotic Animal Owner

Cops dealing with fallout from grisly animal case

(Newser) - Terry Thompson died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound but one of the dozens of exotic animals he freed before killing himself would have killed him if he'd waited any longer, police say. Investigators found bite marks on the Ohio man's head that appear to be from a big...

Calvin Klein's 'Obsession' Entrances Big Cats

Men's scent becomes secret weapon for zookeepers

(Newser) - Obsession for Men, Calvin Klein's musky scent for guys, may or may not work to lure the ladies, but it's a huge hit with tigers, leopards, and jaguars of both sexes. It's become the secret weapon of zoologists trying to entice big cats to linger, the Wall Street Journal reports....

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