Sighting Of Mountain Lion Has Norwalk Residents Concerned, Puzzled
Is
it a large hybrid cat, leopard or an old dog with an off gait? Even
more intriguing, could it be -- as some experts are speculating -- an
African lioness?
Grainy surveillance footage of the large animal
strolling across a driveway late at night is fast becoming Norwalk's
version of Bigfoot.
The footage -- posted on the city of Norwalk's
Facebook page -- shows what looks like a large cat strolling across a
driveway in the 11500 block of Tina Street about 3:44 a.m. Tuesday.
But the poor quality of the footage is making it difficult to determine what exactly it is.
Neither do the experts, at least for now.
Craig
Packer -- a professor at the University of Minnesota Lion Research
Center and author of “Into Africa” -- said after examining the footage:
"Yes, it certainly does look like an African lion. It’s not a cougar.” Experts
at San Diego Zoo agreed that the animal "does not look like a mountain
lion," but that's about all, spokeswoman Christine Simmons said. "We cannot positively identify the animal in the video as it is difficult to tell scale, and the video is not clear," she said.
The animal, she added, has the appearance of a big cat, but could be "some kind of hybrid." Don
Nelson, a game warden with the California Department of Fish and
Wildlife, was surveying the site Friday afternoon and said he did not
come across anything that would have indicated a mountain lion had
passed through. "My guess is it's a large older dog, maybe a pit
bull or part pit bull," he said. "There was nothing pointing toward
'mountain lion.'" Joel Almquist said after reviewing the video in further detail numerous times, he said it looked more like a leopard.
The
cat’s movement, height of 22 to 24 inches and ears, which he said
aren’t as dropping as he thought, indicate it is a leopard. Joel
Almquist -- executive director and founder of the Forever Wild Exotic
Animal Sanctuary, which houses one lioness -- said that after reviewing
the footage repeatedly, he at first thought it was a dog. But upon
closer inspection, said he thought it was leopard, noting its movement
and height. He also compared the image of the animal to two of his own male leopards.
On
Friday, no one answered the door at the home where the surveillance
footage was taken, but Nelson noted that the footage distorts how big
the animal actually was. A security sign on the lawn that the animal
passes at equal height is no taller than 2 feet, he added.
Still,
Dale Anderson, executive director and founder of the Project Survival
Cat Haven in Dunlap, Calif. -- a big cat sanctuary -- reviewed the video
and said the animal appeared to be an African lion, pointing to its
gait and physical characteristics.
The big cat sanctuary has two African lions. Anderson said professionals who deal with big cats, not law enforcement, should immediately respond to the area. "This is not something we take lightly," he said.
The
California Department of Fish and Wildlife was investigating the
footage and had made no official determination, said agency spokeswoman
Janice Mackey. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Ralph Gama,
meanwhile, said the animal hasn't been spotted since Tuesday night, but
added that deputies are on alert. Authorities were canvassing the area
with fliers informing residents on how to react in an encounter with a
big animal.
If the animal in the footage turns out to be an African lion, it's unclear where it may have come from.
Anderson
said a lion on the loose would probably have been kept as a pet, which
he said is rare in California, where strict rules exist for owners of
exotic animals. "If a lion is out there like that, it shouldn't be happening," he said.
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