Kitteh lovers...house cat or mountain lion, other? video at link is from Milwaukee

[HereSince1628]

Not clear to me what to click on to post the video so here is a link to the story.

To me, the cat's head seems too big in proportion to the rest of the cat to be a mountain lion. Supposedly someone from the DNR said it's a mountain lion...

http://www.wisn.com/news/lion-report-on-milwaukees-north-side-turns-up-empty-search/34271488

[Suich]

1. Looks like a cougar/mountain lion to me!

[HereSince1628]

6. Thanks. I only know them from teevee and photos...

which is to say I don't know them.

[Kali]

2. looks like a lion to me

kind of chunky looking - well fed or maybe an escaped "pet"?

[HereSince1628]

7. The zoo says its critters are all present and accounted.

I'm not sure really what it is.

[Kali]

8. there are idiots out there that think it is cool to keep wild predators as pets

bears, lions, wolves, etc.

in a few states it is legal, some require a permit and others it is a big no no. that doesn't mean people always follow the rules. if it was an illegal "pet" the owner may not want to report it missing, if you know what I mean.

on the other hand they are increasing their range just like coyotes are and they are becoming more accustomed to surviving in urban landscapes. watch your small pets as they will sure develop a taste for Fluffy and Fifi.

[Enthusiast]

9. Lions living around Milwaukee would be extremely well fed. No competition for food.

They could catch a deer or pet dog any time they're hungry.

[RKP5637]

3. I saw that on the news tonight. I wouldn't want to run across it. It's sure bigger than my cat! n/t

[Laffy Kat]

4. You know they're just gonna shoot it.

Makes me sad.

[HereSince1628]

5. The last one that came through S. WI ended up shot in the Chi suburbs

I'm not sure of the circumstance. Or if an effort was made to sedate it.

Last black bear that came through here got sedated via dart gun.

[magical thyme]

16. per news reports, they plan to kill it. nt

[HereSince1628]

19. There was at least one report the animal control commission wanted it darted.

I think it's going to be a question of finding it and considering where it's at.

Personally, if it's gone up a tree, I'd rather have them using darts than assault rifles. Considering the marksmenship of excited police...a magazine's worth of bullets shot up into a tree back-stopped only by the sky would be fairly undesireable.

[magical thyme]

20. I just saw that down below.

I'm hoping that means it's owner has turned up. Although now I'm remembering the news report said they plan to "euthanize" so maybe they plan to dart it, take it away and then kill it so they won't be shooting all over the place.

[Ryano42]

10. No way it's a Milwaukee Lion...

Looks too lean...

A real Milwaukee Lion would find subsistence from the local diet:

[HereSince1628]

11. The UW-Milwaukee athletes are the Panthers...looks to me like you posted a Panther survival kit!

[frogmarch]

12. I think it's a mtn. lion.

Where I live, we have them in town sometimes, and when I lived in So Dak, we did too. I know what they look like, and the kitty in the news film looked like one.

[laundry_queen]

13. I agree

I've seen a couple of them in real life (from the inside of my vehicle, lol)...they are a lot bigger than you think they would be. The first time I saw one, I thought it was a bear for the size, but thought to myself, "that cannot be a bear, it walks like a CAT." Plus, it was the same color as the feline in the video. Then it crossed the highway in front of me...I had to look it up when I got home because I didn't know they existed where I lived, but they did. And this video is exactly what I saw.

[Mosby]

14. looks like an african lion to me.

[magical thyme]

15. led to this poor puppy being shot.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=1154851

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-in-milwaukee-shoots-dog-mistaking-it-for-lion/

Definitely looks like either mountain lion or african lionness. Idiots get them as cubs because they think they're cute and it's "cool" to have an exotic pet. Then they grow up and aren't so cute any more, so they dump them. I have both in my neighborhood.

[HereSince1628]

17. Interesting...Milwaukee animal control commission also thinks it could be a pet.

Apparently WI is one of only a handful of states which don't prohibit owning wild/exotic animals as pets.

Last night there was a confirmed sighting by police, the neighborhood was sealed off by police and searched but no lion was found.

The plan seems to be to locate it, call in animal control, and dart it.

[magical thyme]

18. if they're planning to dart it, maybe they aren't going to kill it after all

if special license isn't needed, then maybe the owner of the missing cat turned up. It's usually (but not always) the extremely wealthy who have these "pets," which could influence their plans.

We don't prohibit them in Maine, either, but do require special licensing and have some rules around them. The lionness in my town is the 'pet' of a working class former military now gas station convenience store manager who saw her at a zoo auction and "knew" she was her "soulmate."

[Arkansas Granny]

21. Looks like a lion to me. Its too muscular for a housecat.

It move like an animal with some weight.

[In_The_Wind]

22. On NYC's coverage it looks like a Lion.

Here kitty, kitty, kitty.