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The Arizona Game and Fish Department caught and collared a wild jaguar in Arizona for the first time, officials said Thursday. While a handful of the big cats have been photographed by automatic cameras in recent years, the satellite tracking collar will now help biologists learn more about this animal's range. Meanwhile, a jaguar was spotted in central Mexico for the first time in a century. Scientists photographed the cat with an automatic camera set alongside a trail thought to be frequented by the spotted felines. The male cat in Arizona was captured southwest of Tucson during a study aimed...

The video shot in Jack Foerschler’s barn shows his flock of sheep lying quietly in the dark... The flock seems peaceful, until the animals are suddenly startled. A nanosecond later, a blur leaps into the screen and tackles one of the sheep. The ewe is able to escape momentarily, jumping up from the creature’s clutches, running to the viewer’s left. But the invader is faster. It bounds to its feet and extends a claw toward its fleeing prey. The viewer can see its massive claws, slender muscular body and distinctively long tail. The culprit that killed four ewes, a ram...

State needs to 'sort the facts out' The state Game, Fish & Parks Department continued its investigation Friday into a lion attack reported a week ago by 33-year-old Ryan Hughes of Rapid City. And the agency still stopped short of listing the report as a confirmed attack. Hughes said Friday that he was puzzled and annoyed that some people continue to doubt his word about the attack, which he said occurred last Saturday afternoon during an ice-fishing trip on Sheridan Lake. "Basically, it just kind of hurts your feeling when something happens and people don't believe you," Hughes said. "I...

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Attacks on humans by man-eating lions are on the rise in Tanzania and Mozambique, raising the stakes in the conservation game as environmentalists strive to save the big cats from extinction. Lions in the area have developed a taste for human flesh because people have been sleeping outdoors to protect their crops from raiding bushpigs, which the cats follow onto croplands, a leading expert said. "In Tanzania in the early 1990s there were about 40 recorded lion attacks a year. In the past couple of years they have risen to over 100 and about 70 percent are...

The link contains a video of why, exactly, one should kill a lion with your first shot.

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa — A suspected mugger being chased by security guards met a grisly end after he fled into a zoo and climbed into the tiger enclosure. His mauled body was discovered Sunday by a visitor to the zoo in Bloemfontein, in central Southern Africa, prompting initial confusion as to how the man ended up in the enclosure.... "What exactly happened we don't know and we won't ever know because the only person who could tell us is dead," police spokeswoman Else Gerber said. She said there was an empty can of beer near the corpse and that the...

Lion sightings that began being reported in May 2004 have been few and far between for nearly a year. But now, one more big cat encounter is being added to the list. And for this one, there is physical proof. Like the others who have had sightings before him, Rufus Hurst of Granville man says he knows what he saw. But unlike the others, he has the pictures to prove it. "That is a very, very, big cat,” Hurst said, referring to the photographs. "The tail, I mean this thing goes all the way back. I think it's just a...

Footprints fuel speculation on big cats, creatures and beasties near Broome. A series of unusual footprints found along a coastal creek, south of Broome, have got people speculating about what kind of creature made them. The tracks were found near the Aboriginal community of Bidyadanga. Residents have been spooked by the discovery, with people afraid to go fishing at night. Superstitions and imaginations are in overdrive on the possibility of dragons, dinosaurs and escaped panthers. The prints are large three toed pads, a bit like a cartoon cat paw, and reputed to be the size of a human foot if...

Jaguarundi lurking on Florida soil?By TONY BRITT tbritt@lakecityreporter.comThe Pacific Northwest has Bigfoot; the western desert states have jackalopes and now Florida has its own mysterious animal that only a select few people have seen - the jaguarundi.The jaguarundi, a member of the cat family, is native to Central America and the northern and central countries of South America and there have been rare sightings in parts of Texas and New Mexico. The cats are called "Otter Cats" in Mexico and are excellent swimmers. Adults normally weigh less than 20 pounds, but they are long cats characterized by their long...

Black panther ‘sightings’ likely to be mountain lions. Over the years there have been numerous sightings of large cats in Bee County. Among those sightings are some of black panthers; however, wildlife experts are unanimous and emphatic when they say “no such animal exists.” From a Jan. 10, 2004, sheriff’s report, “A resident of the 3100 block of CR 406 reported a ‘beautiful, big, black panther in a wooded area’ near her home.” In the spring of 2003, a sheriff’s deputy reported a “large black cat” crossing the road in front of his vehicle while on patrol. According to Michael...

WASHINGTON (AP)--The House on Monday sent President Bush legislation that outlaws selling and shipping lions, tigers and other big cats across state lines without a state or federal license. The bill targets pet owners like Antoine Yates, who was attacked in October by the tiger he raised in his New York City apartment. It exempts licensed zoos, sanctuaries, circuses and animal trainers, such as magician Roy Horn, who was almost fatally mauled by one of his tigers. Bush is expected to sign the bill, according to its supporters in Congress. However, it is opposed by the Interior Department's Fish and...

Tiger "Hunting" in the USA US Federal officials are investigating more than a dozen ranches in the USA where "hunters" shoot tigers, jaguars, leopards and mountain lions. In some cases animals have been tranquillized and tied to trees and then shot, or released in areas the size of a football field to be killed by high-paying customers. A report in San Jose Mercury News in California quoted Fish and Wildlife Service special agent Bill Talkin saying one tiger at a Monterey Ranch was shot dead in its cage when it refused to move out. Witnesses said another had walked less...

<p>SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (AP) - A tiger attacked a kindergartner at a school assembly Friday, sending the 6-year-old boy to a hospital.</p> <p>The tiger was being led out of an auditorium at Baymonte Christian School by its trainer when it suddenly lurched over a row of seats and grabbed the boy by the head in its jaws, Scotts Valley Police Capt. Harry Bidleman said.</p>