300# livestick killing lion?
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 1:29 am
http://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/ne ... _lion.html
Woman says mountain lion killing animals
By Charles Iyoho, News Messenger
Friday, November 27, 2009
A 300 pound mountain lion has been terrorizing a property off of Karnack Highway in Marshall, maiming over 10 animals and yanking a male 200 pound billy goat through a fence, a neighbor in the area claimed recently.
Virginia Ruyf said she now fears for her life after a large cat killed at least 16 animals, including goats and sheep, at an unattended property next door — on 4607 Karnack Highway — about three weeks ago.
Ms. Ruyf said she saw the large animal again almost a week ago while walking her dog outside.
"I saw the animal probably about five days ago and I started looking it up on the Internet to see what it was," said Ms. Ruyf, who moved to the area from Alabama 10 years ago. "I am afraid to go off the edge of my porch and there's mornings that (her dog) pushes me back in the house and won't go off the porch until after daylight. I can't run from it."
Ms. Ruyf alleges the killings occurred sometime in the early morning, between midnight and 1 a.m. — when "all of the animals were going crazy."
She said she reported the incident to animal control officers, police officers and city officials, but that still nothing has been done.
"I've called the city regulations office and left my name and number, left messages, and no one called me back," she said. "They were suppose to send a game warden out and they never sent a game warden and from what I understand, it's killed other animals in this area."
However, a Harrison County game warden, when contacted over the phone Tuesday, said, to his knowledge, that the office had not received any such calls and Laura Speight, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist, said her office also hadn't heard any such reports.
"I have not heard anything," Ms. Speight said over the phone Tuesday. "Occasionally, we get calls from people ... but we haven't had anything recently that I've been called in on."
But Ms. Speight said such a sighting wouldn't be completely out of the question.
"Mountain lions have a very large range. They usually don't stay in the area, but we do have sightings from time to time, but very few of them have we been able to authenticate," she said. "A lot of times what people see are bobcats and they mistake them for mountain lions."
Ms. Ruyf said she's positive the animal responsible for the killings was a mountain lion, citing information received from a female officer who talked to her shortly after the incident.
"(The police officer) said that she had been trained in the area of cats when she was in Wyoming," Ms. Ruyf recalled, "and she said this is a cat and it's a big cat."
Ms. Ruyf says she fears that the animal may return to attack her family, her dog or even herself. She's especially fearful because her mobility is limited after undergoing a total of eight "major" surgeries, including surgeries on her legs, back, shoulder and heart, since being struck by a car 11 years ago while attempting to remove a dog from a roadway. She can't run nor walk without the assistance of a cane.
Ms. Ruyf lives about one-eighth of a mile from Loop Highway 390, she said.
"I've called everybody that I can think of calling and no one has came out. No one is doing anything. No one is telling anyone that this animal has been out here attacking and killing animals," she said. "I want to know why something hasn't been done."
Woman says mountain lion killing animals
By Charles Iyoho, News Messenger
Friday, November 27, 2009
A 300 pound mountain lion has been terrorizing a property off of Karnack Highway in Marshall, maiming over 10 animals and yanking a male 200 pound billy goat through a fence, a neighbor in the area claimed recently.
Virginia Ruyf said she now fears for her life after a large cat killed at least 16 animals, including goats and sheep, at an unattended property next door — on 4607 Karnack Highway — about three weeks ago.
Ms. Ruyf said she saw the large animal again almost a week ago while walking her dog outside.
"I saw the animal probably about five days ago and I started looking it up on the Internet to see what it was," said Ms. Ruyf, who moved to the area from Alabama 10 years ago. "I am afraid to go off the edge of my porch and there's mornings that (her dog) pushes me back in the house and won't go off the porch until after daylight. I can't run from it."
Ms. Ruyf alleges the killings occurred sometime in the early morning, between midnight and 1 a.m. — when "all of the animals were going crazy."
She said she reported the incident to animal control officers, police officers and city officials, but that still nothing has been done.
"I've called the city regulations office and left my name and number, left messages, and no one called me back," she said. "They were suppose to send a game warden out and they never sent a game warden and from what I understand, it's killed other animals in this area."
However, a Harrison County game warden, when contacted over the phone Tuesday, said, to his knowledge, that the office had not received any such calls and Laura Speight, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist, said her office also hadn't heard any such reports.
"I have not heard anything," Ms. Speight said over the phone Tuesday. "Occasionally, we get calls from people ... but we haven't had anything recently that I've been called in on."
But Ms. Speight said such a sighting wouldn't be completely out of the question.
"Mountain lions have a very large range. They usually don't stay in the area, but we do have sightings from time to time, but very few of them have we been able to authenticate," she said. "A lot of times what people see are bobcats and they mistake them for mountain lions."
Ms. Ruyf said she's positive the animal responsible for the killings was a mountain lion, citing information received from a female officer who talked to her shortly after the incident.
"(The police officer) said that she had been trained in the area of cats when she was in Wyoming," Ms. Ruyf recalled, "and she said this is a cat and it's a big cat."
Ms. Ruyf says she fears that the animal may return to attack her family, her dog or even herself. She's especially fearful because her mobility is limited after undergoing a total of eight "major" surgeries, including surgeries on her legs, back, shoulder and heart, since being struck by a car 11 years ago while attempting to remove a dog from a roadway. She can't run nor walk without the assistance of a cane.
Ms. Ruyf lives about one-eighth of a mile from Loop Highway 390, she said.
"I've called everybody that I can think of calling and no one has came out. No one is doing anything. No one is telling anyone that this animal has been out here attacking and killing animals," she said. "I want to know why something hasn't been done."