Expert says he's sure big cat is out there

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

OLINDA, Maui — Big-cat expert Bill Van Pelt told residents yesterday that evidence gathered during his five-day Maui visit has led him to conclude a leopard, jaguar or mountain lion is roaming the community.

"Is there a cat in the area?" the Arizona Game and Fish Department official said at a morning meeting of about 50 people at Seabury Hall. "It is my professional opinion: Yes, there is a large cat in the area."

Not everyone in the audience was so sure.

"I'm ready to eat scat if you find a cat," declared Glenn Coryell, a 30-year Olinda resident.

Coryell said he thinks pitbulls were responsible for recent deer kills. He also suspects that a neighbor's wandering black dog with a long tail is what's behind the reported big-cat sightings.

Chelsea Fahsholtz said that before hearing Van Pelt's comments, she was 90 percent sure of the existence of a big cat. Now she's even more convinced.

Van Pelt, who was to return to Arizona last night, said the cat appears to be prowling in and around a 3-mile area containing three gulches that branch out in different directions with homes in between. The animal is using a few trails that connect the gulches, he said.

Van Pelt warned residents to use caution and common sense while moving about. He also urged them not to worry too much.

"Don't let your fear get the best of you, because there's no indication this animal is aggressive at all," he said.

The latest apparent sighting occurred Tuesday night, when a man saw "something very large" jump into the truck bed of his son's pickup, apparently to snack on leavings from a barbecue, Van Pelt said. The man yelled at what he thought was a person, but an animal jumped out of the truck and ran into the night.

When Van Pelt arrived on the scene, he tried to find tracks and he searched for the cat through a night-vision scope, but to no avail.

Earlier that day, Van Pelt led a team of wildlife workers into a gulch and discovered deep scratches in a tree and some animal hair. He said he would take those strands, along with fur samples collected from a barbed-wire fence last month, to a University of Arizona geneticist for analysis.

While the availability of hair samples might be a promising development, Van Pelt said the evidence that won him over was a set photos of an axis deer mauled last month. The attack showed classic big-cat characteristics, he said, and colleagues to whom he sent the images confirmed his assessment.

Another dead deer was reported in the area about the same time, but wildlife officials did not get a chance to examine the carcass.

State wildlife officials said they are preparing a "capture plan" while continuing to monitor the area and mapping out the animal's Olinda range.

The plan will probably call for the use of foothold snare traps recommended by Van Pelt. Such traps are designed to capture an animal without killing it. Crews will continue to use baited box traps, since the creature seemed so willing to jump into the back of a truck in search of food.

"We will capture it alive," said Paul Conry, the state's wildlife program manager. "But if conditions change, if it becomes a threat to the public, we may have to destroy the animal."

If the state captures the cat, a team to be assembled would include a veterinarian to oversee the use of a tranquilizer gun, Conry said. The state has been talking to the Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo's staff in Hilo about taking custody of the big cat.

Officials urged residents to be vigilant and to keep reporting sightings as well as suspected cat sounds and other signs. Residents also have been reminded about the state's wildlife amnesty program, which allows people to turn in contraband pets.

Some people suspect that the mystery cat was smuggled in and kept as a pet for a while.

Van Pelt advised residents to not leave pet food outdoors and to turn lights on before going outside in the dark. Don't hike alone, he said, and keep dogs on a leash during walks.

He cautioned: "And if you see the animal, watch it. Don't turn and run. If you see it, just back away from it."

Contact Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or call (808) 244-4880.