THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 5, 1996 TAG: 9606050364
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN AND DIANE TENNANT, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 69 lines
An escaped baby cougar gave his neighbors in Pembroke Manor an unexpected wake-up call Tuesday morning.
While his owner was away, a 40-pound pet cougar named Jake broke free from a pen behind a home on General Gage Road and roamed the neighborhood. Curiosity didn't kill this cat, but it landed him behind bars after animal control officers took him away.
The commotion began about 7 a.m. when a neighbor spotted the 8-month-old cougar, which is tame, neutered and declawed. She called police. Soon, the cul-de-sac was filled with police, animal control officers and frightened but curious onlookers.
Sylvia Apostolis, who cares for an elderly couple next door, was driving into the neighborhood about 8 a.m. when she saw the commotion. She knew Jake was the source of the fuss.
``I saw him running back and forth in the bushes,'' said Apostolis, 42. ``He was scared.''
Jake wasn't the only one shaken up, Apostolis said. One man opened his door and saw the cougar in his front yard. ``That poor man must have been petrified.'' she said. ``He looked at me and he was freaking.''
Apostolis said she knew the cougar was tame.
``I jumped out of my car, running pretty fast, yelling, `Don't shoot it!' '' she said. ``My heart was pumping. I don't think I could have stood it if they shot him.''
Officers cornered the cougar about three houses down. Witnesses said he escaped after breaking his leash and a wooden fence.
No one was hurt. Animal control officers used a steel wand to collar the gentle animal without much fuss about 8:15 a.m.
Later, Jake was shipped to the Peninsula SPCA facility in Newport News. ``We'll keep him here until the judge decides what to do with him,'' said Gene Falls, director of the Peninsula Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Cougars are a threatened species in Virginia, said State Game Warden Wayne Gilbert, and sightings are rare. Cougars, also known as mountain lions, may grow to five feet long, not including the tail. They generally do not attack people.
It is a violation of state regulations to keep a cougar as a pet without the proper permits, Falls said.
Charges will be filed in Virginia Beach District Court, Gilbert said, for either possession of a mountain lion without a permit or bringing in a predatory animal. Both are misdemeanors.
The owner's name has not been released because he had not been charged Tuesday.
Federal charges also may apply for bringing Jake across state lines, the game warden said. The owner, a Georgia resident, said he brought the cougar with him when he came to Virginia Beach to visit a friend.
The cougar chase did add an exotic note to animal control officials' usual deer and raccoon reports, Gilbert said. ``I can honestly say this is the first time I've had to deal with a cougar.'' ILLUSTRATION: BETH BERGMAN
The Virginian-Pilot
Jake the cougar prompted a chase through a Virginia Beach
neighborhood when he broke out of his pen Tuesday. Animal control
officers captured the gentle beast in about an hour.
BETH BERGMAN
The Virginian-Pilot
Jake is being cared for by the Peninsula SPCA in Newport News.
Cougars, or mountain lions, are threatened animals in Virginia. by CNB