#Pet mountain lion how to

Humans, however, have options captive animals do not, which is why Jim OвЂ™Connor says he wouldnвЂ™t get another cougar.

#Pet mountain lion how to

Everyone I know who owns one seems to believe вЂњno one knows how to take care of big cats except me.вЂќ And though rare, incidents do happen - none worse than the Sandstone, Minn., woman, with every license and credential in the world, mauled to death by her own undernourished tiger in 2006. So do I endorse private ownership of exotic felines today? Not quite. We, too, got it from an ad in the paper, and El Gato exhibited the same stalking and refrigerator-climbing habits that Tasha did - with a major addition: He did bite, and I still have the scars.Д«ut we loved him nonetheless, and his personality was so strong, heвЂ™s still the first thing high school friends ask about when reconnecting with me. ItвЂ™s discouraged by a 2004 Minnesota law requiring that existing animals be registered with counties and severely restricting new acquisitions, though there are loopholes.ДЄll this resonates with me because my family lived with an ocelot for 20 years. If something goes wrong, youвЂ™d have to trailer it to Minneapolis.вЂќДЄnd that gets into the larger issue of owning exotic species in the first place. ItвЂ™s like having a really hot sports car without anyone here who knows how to fix it. вЂњBut if youвЂ™re going to have one, youвЂ™d better be sure there are vets in your area to take care of it.

вЂњYou donвЂ™t have to bring your exotic in, just like you donвЂ™t have to bring a cow into the vet. Regardless, he said the zooвЂ™s policy is to make a referral. вЂњAs far as him calling here and talking to someone, I donвЂ™t recall that,вЂќ said Sam Maida, the zooвЂ™s executive director, explaining the zoo would have been under city management at that time. They do not handle exotic cats,вЂќ he said, adding he called the Lake Superior Zoo and other animal facilities from Duluth to the Twin Cities. He called around to other vets, but complained he couldnвЂ™t get past the receptionists. They had closed their practices, Jim said, and Tasha, now 16, stopped eating, showing signs of diabetes. Tasha also made outings to the vet, although two doctors would come to see her - until last fall. вЂњThey come up in the yard and they want to see it.вЂќ But neighbors didnвЂ™t mind the cougar, he said. Jim also brought home a bear cub once, which the Department of Natural Resources took away. вЂњShe never bit it, but she hung on.вЂќ The visitor remained вЂњcalm and collected,вЂќ she said, and eventually Tasha let go. вЂњOnce, in her kennel, she grabbed a guyвЂ™s fingerвЂќ in her mouth, Marlene said. Larger prey wasnвЂ™t on the menu, even when inadvertently offered. Instead, they settled on poultry, sometimes combined with cat food. вЂњShe was already eating red meat,вЂќ said MarleneвЂ™s husband, Jim, adding a lesson: вЂњNever feed them red meat. Obviously, the OвЂ™Connors did know that, and had an idea of what they were getting into when they acquired the four-month-old big cat from a newspaper ad in 1993. вЂњPeople would come over and say, вЂOh, my God! Do you know thereвЂ™s a cougar on your refrigerator?'вЂќ Marlene OвЂ™Connor of Proctor recalled Saturday. Like when she lounged on top of the refrigerator. Whatever else you say about her, Tasha was ridiculously cute.