BajaNomad - Puma sighted in Guerrero Negro!!!

Puma sighted in Guerrero Negro!!!

shari - 6-27-2012 at 08:59 AM

I have learned over the years living in baja to ALWAYS have a camera handy. Bouncing along a side street in GN a few days ago, I spotted this...

this poor emaciated mountain lion or Puma as they call it was found wandering around the Sta.Gertrudis area and brought to the vet in GN. They are nursing her back to health and she will most likely live in a zoo....Juan wanted to bring her home.

she is a little over a year old and blind. I had never been so close to a cougar before...she has huge paws! She is very tame and liked to be patted...although I did so V E R Y carefully.

wow

captkw - 6-27-2012 at 09:02 AM

I get to see them in the wild once in a while but never near people/towns !! why is it blind????? K&T and the zoo near santiago will make a grown man cry !!

[Edited on 6-27-2012 by captkw]

rts551 - 6-27-2012 at 09:04 AM

Saw one by Campo Fisher couple of years ago dashing across the road.

shari - 6-27-2012 at 09:13 AM

I saw one on the beach in San Roque once and have seen tracks on the beach in Asuncion of a mom and cub..what an impressive kitty.

Mulegena - 6-27-2012 at 09:20 AM

She. Is. BEAUTIFUL!!

What a glorious animal. Great photos, Shari.

What zoo are they thinking, btw?

I'm asking out of concern for the puma, of course, and also because the osprey that was sent to Mulege from La Bocana is alive, rehabilitated, but will never fly again.

It doesn't appear that the US will allow her into the US to join a willing and capable riparian sanctuary.

Osprey - 6-27-2012 at 09:34 AM

Riparian relates to rivers.

shari - 6-27-2012 at 09:40 AM

the vet only said they hoped a zoo would take her...not sure if they will sell her or donate it...but you can see her if you are in GN....pretty cool to pet a puma!

Cisco - 6-27-2012 at 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shari
the vet only said they hoped a zoo would take her...not sure if they will sell her or donate it...but you can see her if you are in GN....pretty cool to pet a puma!

Oh Shari. Juan is right on. The animal would be much happier at your place and the dog's would make sure nothing happens to her, Protect her and show her around the place.

And your kitty needs a giant Bud around the house also, those dogs must be boring after awhile to a thinking kitty.

Hope you get her.

motoged - 6-27-2012 at 10:17 AM

Shari,
Juan looks so happy in that pic with the cougar... :saint:

I am a big-time cat guy and have always said I wish I had a BIG cat....but maintaining such a critter is a huge task re: health, safety, security, etc.)

Years ago I met a fellow (he was a trapper and guide....local folks hired him to kill predatory cougars in the area) who had several cougars in a chainlink compound in his backyard/acreage. He had them since they were kittens (he shot their mothers), but kept folks away from them as they could be unpredictable with .

The ground shakes when they purr....I hope a good home works out for that beauty....a shame about the cat being blind

David K - 6-27-2012 at 10:51 AM

Sing us 'Soft Kitty'... :light:

Cypress - 6-27-2012 at 10:53 AM

No shortage of 'em in my neck of the woods. Very impressive critters. :yes:

rts551 - 6-27-2012 at 11:04 AM

but still a wild animal that make unpredictable pets as they grow older

bacquito - 6-28-2012 at 07:02 AM

Thanks for the post, I hope the cat ends up with a good home.

Eli - 6-28-2012 at 08:31 AM

Oh my, I am so grateful to have clicked on this this thread. Your pictures of such a Majestic Critter are breath taking! You have such a talent with the camera.
The Puma, she is beyond beautiful. My first reaction to seeing her were tears welling in my eyes. I love the big cats.
I too shutter at the thought of a place like the horrid Santiago Zoo, it is not at all suitable for animals. May she find a home where she is not caged, but in some kind of compound where is loved and well cared for. I wish her all the luck in the world.

BajaBlanca - 6-28-2012 at 08:44 AM

beautiful cat ! as she is blind, I would imagine her risk as a danger is much less than under normal curcumstances .... maybe there is a sanctuary on the mainland that might take her ? maybe the biosphere would like to take her ?

do you know the story of who brought her in ?

one year is very young ... just a baby.

DavidE - 6-28-2012 at 08:46 AM

Knew a family in the San Francisco Bay area with a free-roaming mountain lion named "Lover" Matheson as his name, Browney Matheson. Mrs Matheson was slightly built and about five feet in height.

When the cat used to goof off Mrs. Matheson used to take a broom and whack it right in the rear, hard. Talk about a sight. A five foot long cat running for its life with its ears pinned back with this itty bitty woman whacking it with a broom.

Lover used try to sharpen his claws on the living room furniture. One day I pulled up to their house just as a guy in a 4X4 arrived. His doberman jumped out of the bed. "I wouldn't let him do that" I warned. He laughed. Five minutes later I saw a flash of black and brown headed south with a tan mountain lion clutching at his hind quarters. Never did ask Browney what happened. Lover had some kind of a bone problem when it was a kitten and the Matheson's invested a lot of vet money into saving it.

Desertbull - 6-28-2012 at 08:39 PM

Saw a Bobcat running on the beach 15-miles south of San Juanico....EPIC!

rts551 - 6-28-2012 at 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaBlanca
beautiful cat ! as she is blind, I would imagine her risk as a danger is much less than under normal curcumstances .... maybe there is a sanctuary on the mainland that might take her ? maybe the biosphere would like to take her ?

do you know the story of who brought her in ?

one year is very young ... just a baby.

or worse (dangerous) as everything will be instinct.

bajachris - 6-28-2012 at 10:26 PM

Any Idea what happened to her head? Looks like some wounds...

bajadogs - 6-28-2012 at 11:39 PM

That's AMAZING, beautiful and sad. Shari, do you think Café would get along with that cat?

shari - 6-29-2012 at 06:17 AM

Cafe would love giving her one of those famous nibbling massages she gives our siamese/bobcat! Our dogs are cat lovers as you know. Juan had a real bobcat as a pet but it got stolen in BOLA....he's jonesin for another one.

the first picture I took of her looking to the right was when the vet's big german shepherd came around the corner...she sure sensed him there...he was tied up but she was concerned.

Cisco - 6-29-2012 at 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shari
Cafe would love giving her one of those famous nibbling massages she gives our siamese/bobcat! Our dogs are cat lovers as you know. Juan had a real bobcat as a pet but it got stolen in BOLA....he's jonesin for another one.

the first picture I took of her looking to the right was when the vet's big german shepherd came around the corner...she sure sensed him there...he was tied up but she was concerned.

Shari a couple of years ago I read of a for pay group in Arizona that would take clients out on mountain lion hunts, not to kill but to photograph.

This man joined one of the trips and wrote about cornering a girl cat and how the animal made one leap along the cliff face, swatted three dog's off the cliff (they were only a nuisance to her, not a danger) to fall to their deaths several hundred feet below and was gone over the cliff ridge in one leap.

He wrote of the majesty of these animals (this is from memory although I remember the book) and how an adult male 140 pound animal can bring down a 1000 pound Elk. They are immensely strong and will get on the prey's back, get it by the head and break it's neck.

The animals prefer to eat the heart of the prey first and the last human killed by lion in San Diego county was identified by the heart being eaten. They will kill humans as we encroach and surround them and take the main food source, venison, from SoCal.

The book guy said you can take all of the bones and hard parts of an adult lion and pretty well fit them into a shoe-box. They are all sinew and muscle and can leap 20 feet from a sitting position.

What majestic and amazing creatures they are.

If I happen upon a Bobcat in my travels I'm thinking it would find a home on a promontory next to the sea in BA. Whadda ya think?

boe4fun - 6-29-2012 at 11:05 AM

Hey Shari, Great photos. If you guys do adopt, I'll volunteer to bring you down as much Costco bulk cat food as I can load up - just let me know how much you want! But if you find a zoo in the US willing to adopt, we could try to smuggle her across the border like we did with little Pacifico.

Mexitron - 6-29-2012 at 11:16 AM

Magnificent cat---hope you get to keep her!

Mulegena - 6-29-2012 at 11:26 AM

The GN veterinarian referred me to another veterinarian who is the municipal PROFEPA representative regarding the housing of these gorgeous wild creatures of Baja. The agency is interested in preventing the illegal trafficking of Mexico's wild animals.

I enquired regarding the osprey who has been rehabilitated and is being temporarily kept in Mulege. She will never fly again, and so can't be released. It would be in her best interests to be transferred to a bird sanctuary, here or in the US.

motoged - 6-29-2012 at 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cisco
[......What majestic and amazing creatures they are.

If I happen upon a Bobcat in my travels I'm thinking it would find a home on a promontory next to the sea in BA. Whadda ya think?

Cisco,
I agree with you about the beauty and majesty of these big cats....just want to clarify cat is a cougar, not a bobcat.....

Shari's Siamese-Bobcat (You can see how ferocious she is...

Getting a bath from What's-his-name:

[Edited on 6-29-2012 by motoged]

Cisco - 6-29-2012 at 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by motoged

Quote:

Cisco,
I agree with you about the beauty and majesty of these big cats....just want to clarify cat is a cougar, not a bobcat.....

Shari's Siamese-Bobcat:

Getting a bath from What's-his-name:

Sorry for the confusion.

I was referring to Juan's losing his bobcat in BOLA. The rest of my post was regarding mountain Lion, Puma, Cougar, Panther...and whatever else they may be called in different parts.

Good hearing from you. Any more bikin Baja trips planned?

Cypress - 6-29-2012 at 01:07 PM

Anybody that can't tell a Cougar from a Bobcat ought to pay a visist to their optometrist. :lol:

motoged - 6-29-2012 at 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cisco
I was referring to Juan's losing his bobcat in BOLA. The rest of my post was regarding mountain Lion, Puma, Cougar, Panther...and whatever else they may be called in different parts.

Good hearing from you. Any more bikin Baja trips planned?

Cisco,

Maybe be riding down there over Xmas....South Cape region....after a side trip to BA....maybe....

More cats:

http://www.wimp.com/tigercubs/

shari - 6-29-2012 at 07:22 PM

the Miche is also good at choosing which lures you will need on your fishing trip.

coconaco - 6-30-2012 at 06:49 PM

Shari, is that current a photo?

green and yellow in San Quintin right now and
just read Surf Doc called out the same colors today in your area.

The cat is on it.

shari - 6-30-2012 at 09:09 PM

naw...the kitty lure photo was taken in the fall last season.

Yup...today was a BIG day...Juan's first yellowtail of the season ...way early...sure hope it means sashimi regularly now!