Anyone see the news about the jaguar that escaped from the zoo after the hurricane? Yikes...I hope the person it attacked is ok.

The jaguar that attacked a man was not from the zoo.

Information for Travelers and Residents

Warden Message U.S. Embassy Belmopan, Belize

October 26, 2010

Dangerous Animal Escaped from near the Belize Zoo following Hurricane Richard- Still Loose



The U.S. Embassy in Belmopan is issuing this Warden Message to alert Americans that there has been an incident near the Belize Zoo involving a jaguar fatally attacking a person. The Belize Police Department is responding; however, the animal has not yet been recaptured. The Belizean Police have confirmed the jaguar escaped from its cage. All the animals at the Belize Zoo have been accounted for.



We recommend U.S. Citizens avoid the area surrounding the zoo and stay away from forest areas for the time being. We also suggest American Citizens monitor local radio and television stations for official updates. Additional media reports may be found at Channel 5 News Belize (http://www.channel5belize.com/), Channel 7 News Belize (http://www.7newsbelize.com/), and the Belize Tourism Industry Association (http://btia.org/).



We encourage U.S. citizens living or traveling abroad to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department's travel registration website at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/ so that they can obtain updated information on travel and security. Americans without Internet access may register in person with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy to contact them in case of emergency.



For emergencies involving American citizens in Belize, please contact U.S. Embassy Belmopan. The U.S. Embassy is located in Belmopan City on Floral Park Road, telephone from the United States: 011-501-822-4011; telephone from within Belize: 822-4011 or after working hours at 610-5030. You may also contact the Embassy by e-mail at: ACSbelize@state.gov. The Embassy's Internet address is http://www.belize.usembassy.gov/.


Edited by myself.

According to Patrick Jones from Love FM:

"BREAKING NEWS: Escaped jaguar attacks and kills a man in Belize. Details coming shortly."

"Victim identified as Bruce Cullerton. Apparently a tree fell on the cage the animal was being kept in. The animal got loose and attacked Cullerton. The jaguar is NOT from the Belize Zoo, but was apparently being kept as part of a documentary being filmed in Belize. I am heading into the area where the attack happened and will be keeping you posted. The jaguar is apparently still on the loose in Central Belize."

This cat was not from the Belize Zoo. I hope someone contacts the Embassy to put this right. Experts have been drafted in and there will be a capture attempt tonight.

Jaguar that escaped during Hurricane Richard blamed in US citizen's death in Belize
By The Associated Press -

A jaguar that escaped from its cage at a Belize animal rescue centre during Hurricane Richard has been blamed in the mauling death of a U.S. citizen whose body was found on Tuesday.

The four-year-old male jaguar named Max escaped when a tree fell on his cage on Sunday, the same day Category 1 Hurricane Richard hit the country's Caribbean coast with howling winds and rain.

Authorities found the victim's body near the animal centre on Tuesday. It had bite marks on the forearm and neck, and had apparently been attacked the day before and dragged for some distance into the bushes.

Belize's national police force identified the victim as Bruce Cullerton, an American who also held Belizean citizenship.

Kelly McCarthy, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Belize, confirmed that "a U.S. citizen died from a jaguar attack." McCarthy could not provide any information on the man's hometown or name.

The escaped jaguar had been sighted in the area of the attack near the animal centre, located west of Belize City. Officials of the Belize Forest Department were trying to recapture it using steel-mesh cage traps baited with meat.

The 130-pound (59 kilogram) jaguar had been taken to rescue and research centre two years ago, after a tourist resort which had held the animal as an attraction gave it up after tourists complained.

The centre's operators, Richard and Carol Foster, rescue animals and attempt to return many of them to the wild. But it is unclear whether Max would be allowed to roam free again if he is recaptured.

MAN MAULED TO DEATH BY JAGUAR

Richard Foster; CEO, Research Centre

“We had a horrendous hurricane come through here on Sunday night. Winds of excess of a hundred miles an hour.”

The chain of events that has apparently led to the death of Bruce Cullerton started on Sunday night, during the passage of Hurricane Richard.  A four year old jaguar being rehabilitated by Richard and Carol Foster escaped and is believed to have mauled Cullerton on Monday night.

Richard Foster

“This cat I know from experience. I have worked with him a lot and he originally come from Backa Bush where he exhibit. Tourists decided they didn’t want him there so he was brought over to us. Now it took about six days or a little less to catch that cat in a trap. He was originally caught from the wild in a trap, so I understand so he had a healthy dislike for traps. It was pointless really setting it the first night when he was not hungry.”  

And that belief that hunger will keep the animal close to familiar surroundings is what the Fosters and officials of the Forestry Department are hoping will help them to recapture the animal.

Patrick Jones; Stand Up

This is the cage where the Jaguar named Max escaped on Sunday night during the passage or Hurricane Richard. Indications are that a tree fell on top of the structure damaging it and allowing the animal to break free. In the ensuing twenty four hours it is believed that was when the jaguar attacked and killed Cullerton.    
There is evidence at the scene that indicates that the jaguar attempted to drag Cullerton into the nearby bush. His body was found about a hundred feet from behind a vehicle parked under the house. Exactly what happened on Monday night never be known; but veterinarian Dr. Isabelle Paquet-Durand says this was a tragic incident that was not normal behaviour for a jaguar.

Dr. Isabelle Paquet-Durand

“In general jaguars, wild jaguars, will only seek proximity to humans when they are really sick and old like these problem jaguars of which some we have had here but normally they would not attack a human. This has never happened before; the only time that fatalities too have occurred with jaguars has been in zoos when people have not observed the rules and gone into an enclosure with a jaguar. Tame jaguars are dangerous, wild jaguars are never do this.”

This is Cullerton’s dog, and today the vet was tending its wounds, apparently from the same attack that killed its owner. The Fosters, with help from the Forestry Department and Belize Zoo are working feverishly to recapture the animal. According to Wildlife Officer Rasheda Garcia the intention is to trap the animal not kill it, just so random killings of other animals does not happen.

Rasheda Garcia

“We heard about the report this morning. Since we heard about it we came here and we have been investigating to find out exactly what happened. The jaguar escaped from the Fosters during the hurricane so now what we are doing we are working along with Omar Figaroa who is an expert on Jaguars in Belize. We are also working with some keepers from the Belize Zoo who have had a lot of experience capturing jaguars. Tonight we will be out trying to capture this jaguar.”

And the fate of the animal once recaptured is not certain.  What is known however is that the Fosters intended to use it in an upcoming National Geography documentary.

Richard Foster

“We were hoping to use it in a National Geographic film but so far this particular cat hadn’t had any expose in the media.”

Patrick Jones, Reporter

In terms of the safety of people in this area, should they be concerned until you capture this animal?

Richard Foster

“I would say just stay away from this general area. I don’t think it will do to Democracia; the cat, that’s why I wanted to establish food here the first night after it escaped, stayed in this area. This is his come and I am sure he probably within a couple hundred yards of us right now sleeping in the bushes. It is very timid during the day; they get bolder at night.”

And hopefully that trait will help the search team to locate and trap the jaguar before another incident takes place.

LOVEFM

So the US Embassy puts out a warning and tells people not to go into the forest because there is a Jaguar on the loose?

This just in from the US Embassy(We are not capable of balancing our checkbook but we can best care for you): A nurse shark was spotted in the ocean off Ambergris Caye. Please stop by the embassy and pick up one of our GPS trackers so that we know where you are every second of your existence and don't go in the water!

It's a jungle out there!

Expert: “The Cat Must Be Put Down”

So, tonight, residents of Central Belize are on high alert - because a killer cat is on the loose. The Police and the Forestry departments have been deployed to find the cat before it harms anyone else.

The Forestry Department called on conservation biologist Omar Figueroa - who's worked extensively with big cats in that area. He's trapped and tracked over 40 jaguars and pumas in what's known as the central corridor and has now set 6 traps for this one.

He told us that the event of a jaguar attacking and killing a man is not typical of a wild cat - but it has happened before with jaguars kept in captivity.:….

Omar Figueroa, Conservation Biologist
"The incident that we have here is extraordinary. I think there is only been like 2 attacks on a human before that has been recorded and this had occurred in a zoo, so you have this sort of behavior happening when you have a jaguar in captivity and then somehow they manage to escape. A cat that have been in captivity loses that fear of humans, so that's why this particular needs to be recaptured and it needs to be taken care of."

Jules Vasquez
"You have any idea how this cat will be moving? What he will be looking for?"

Omar Figueroa, Conservation Biologist
"I don't think that this cat will move far away from where it was held in captivity and there are signs already that the cat is in the neighborhood of where the incident occurred so that is where I am right now trying to lure him back to some traps that we have set. I don't think the cat will go into the nearby village and roam in that area. These cats are very elusive, very cryptic, they will move away from that kind of confrontation, I believe. Where the incident occurred I think there is only 1 other individual, one other couple that lives right next the house where it occurred. The nearest village I believe is a few kilometers away and so like I said I don't this cat will be roaming out there near the village, he will stay right here. There are signs through traps, I have scouted the area and have seen a couple of fresh tracks that tell me the cat is in the area."

Jules Vasquez
"Should this animal be put down?"

Omar Figueroa, Conservation Biologist
"I believe it should Jules and for precisely the same reason that you mentioned: once this confrontation occurs I mean at the end of the day I might be a conservation biologist but we always put the human welfare first and foremost."

Up to this news time, the jaguar had not been sighted. Figueroa says that jaguars in the wild who have not been raised by humans strictly avoid human settlements. Of note also is that Figueroa says that if this cat comes into contact with the home range of the other jaguars who live in the area - he will doubtlessly be killed by the jaguar whose space he has entered.

He says there is no chance the cat can survive in the wild and so he has set all 6 of his traps within 500 meters of the jaguar's former home.

Channel 7

Man Eating Jaguar On the Loose! Cat Killed One Man

Amidst all the stories of property damage and loss produced by Hurricane Richard, an even more incredible story emerged this morning - that a jaguar killed a man in the La Democracia Area.

The first report was that the jaguar had escaped from the Belize Zoo when that facility was clobbered by the Hurricane. But that's not what happened; all the zoo's jaguars were locked up and accounted for.

It turns out that the jaguar escaped from Richard Foster who lives a mile down the road from the Belize Zoo. Foster is an internationally renowned nature photographer who keeps a captive jaguar as a photographic subject.

He's been keeping jaguars for decades - but when Hurricane Richard raked through that area a tree fell on the jaguar's cage and it got loose. And now the big cat has killed someone and it is an unprecedented, incredible story.

Monica Bodden has been following it since morning; she has this report:

Monica Bodden, Reporting
The jaguar is the third largest cat in the world and the largest and most powerful in the Western Hemisphere. It's not a family's average pet and with its exceptionally powerful bite, this spotted cat leaves few hopes of survival. Last night that fact was proved at mile28 and a half on the Western Highway - the home of 47 year old Bruce Colleton. He was fatally attacked by his neighbor's pet jaguar who had escaped.

This morning his body was found by his neighbor and taken away in the bed of this police pickup truck to the City's morgue.

Brian Collerton, Father of Deceased
"Apparently Bruce was visiting at the Fosters, our neighbors last night and left about dusk to go home and body wasn't found until this morning when Richard Foster and another close friend were looking for him."

Owner of the jaguar, nature photographer Richard Foster told us the animal escaped on Sunday night during Hurricane Richard. He said a tree fell on his cage causing a hole which he escaped through. He was last seen last night - lurking in front of Cullerton's yard.

Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"Last night about 10 o' clock I heard the dogs barking at the back of Bruce's house and I went down the road and I saw the jaguar sitting in the road looking at the dogs and I call his name and he saw my light and he turned and started to run up the road towards me because he knows me. So I made my speedy return to the house here and he came into the car park and he walked right through here, right where we are standing here. At that time I didn't know whether he had attacked Bruce by then, or if it happened later in the evening. I have no idea."

Bruce was found lying a couple yards away from his gate with fatal bites to his neck, head and hand. No one knows what really happened. But as you can see the tracks of this mature male were still visible.

Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"It wasn't until the next morning when a friend of his came by at the house and couldn't get a response. He came up here and asked if I had seen Bruce and I said 'no' and that he went back last night after looking at the internet here and we haven't heard from him, and I know that the dogs were barking at the jaguar and that he came up here. And so we went and went up to the gate and we saw that the gate was still locked. It was strange. Then we noticed the white thing on the side, his sneaker - it had blood on it and we looked further over in that direction and Bruce was lying around the corner. It's just the most awful thing that has happened."

Max - as the Foster's pet jaguar is affectionately known is 3 years old. He had been their pet for the past 1 and a half years. And over that period he had never shown any signs of aggression towards humans. According to the Foster's something like this is out of the ordinary for a jaguar.

Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"There is no record ever of a wild jaguar ever attacking a human being. That's only cats that are in captivity that have no fear of man, keepers and zoos and things, that do the wrong thing but this kind of thing can happen. We just don't know what the circumstances were down there. The little dog of Bruce's could have attacked the jaguar, got his aggression going and then one thing led to another. But normally if I see the jaguar out here I would have a fire extinguisher and if it came too close I would use it and that would keep him back. Many years we put jaguars in big enclosures and we've been with them for weeks and weeks, fifteen feet away and they don't attack you. It's just the jaguar's nature, they are not aggressive to human beings."

Monica Bodden
"At no point was there any aggression towards you or your family?"

Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"No, but jaguars are jaguars; they are predators in the wild and I would never put my finger towards them, that would be asking for trouble because he might just grab it playing, they are so powerful and they have such big claws and teeth. You just don't take that risk."

Bruce Colleton was a diesel mechanic who moved to Belize some 18 years ago. He has been living at mile 28 and a half on the Western Highway for the past 15 years. Bruce who suffered from Diabetes was schedule to return to his home in the US today - but never made it.

Brian Collerton, Father of Decease
"He came down from the states back in 1992 and he did a lot of cave diving, spelunking and river rafting and he was an outdoor type and thoroughly enjoyed single life in Belize for all these years and was leaving under protest but he realized he needed to get more help than he could down here."

For this dad who has lost his son to an alpha predator believing is not easy.

Brian Collerton, Father of Decease
"I think that the terms of the killing is less important than the fact that you've lost a son and I think I probably had many of the same feelings of the parents of the south side have when their children die from gun violence: it's a shock, you first don't want to believe it. But facts are facts and you live with it and it's still tough to imagine that he was within days of returning to the states after 18 years in Belize to get medical attention and now to have this happen…."

Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"It is the biggest nightmare that we have ever experienced in our lives. It will take a long time to get over this."

Meanwhile a trap is set for Max - hoping he returns today.

Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"I think without a doubt he is probably right close here now and as the dark comes in he will get bold and he will come out here or he may get back to where they set a trap for him right down there by the enclosure. There is a narrow place and Mr. Figueroa, the researcher and trapper here is doing very good research on jaguars and this beautiful animal in our country. He has set a trap with a little radio connection that if the cart springs it we'll know and then we will go down there and dart him quickly and get him inside."

Monica Bodden
"What are you guys planning to do with this jaguar? You think because it has tasted human blood it might....."

Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"Not at all, he doesn't know he has done anything wrong. It was a circumstance that we put in him in really, we have to say that and Bruce should not have walked down there maybe at night."

Channel 7

Pet jaguars are always a mistake.
I've know several people that got them as cute kittens and where maimed after they grew up.
You just cant be friends with a jungle cat.

and no US Embassy warning about ANGRY VILLAGERS burning down ex-pat homes in Toldeo? Man, get it right dudes!

Jaguar is captured, tourists can safely come to Belize again:

At Large Jaguar Euthanized


http://sanpedrosun.blogspot.com/2010/10/at-large-jaguar-euthanized.html

Richard and Carol Foster, who were caring for the cougar when it escaped, have contacted press sources to clarify their operation. They are not an animal rescue operation, as was originally reported. They are "wildlife/conservation filmmakers."

At Large Jaguar Euthanized

In a bizarre twist of fate, and to date the only fatality related to Hurricane Richard, was the death of American Ex-pat Bruce Cullerton when sometime on Monday a contained jaguar escaped from his hurricane damaged enclosure and lethally mauled Cullerton.

The grim accident took place near the Belize Zoo on the Western Highway after the area took a direct hit from the hurricane Sunday night. Professional wildlife photographers and owners of the animal compound where the jaguar was contained, Richard and Carol Foster, reported that their property had sustained a lot of damage and that the jaguar had escaped. Reports speculate that their neighbor Cullerton may have been trying to rescue his dog from the jaguar attack when he lost his life.

Tuesday afternoon news reports were rampant about the attack and Belize Wildlife Department (BFD) Officials, along with law enforcement, Belize Zoo personnel and local animal experts descended on the area to determine their next move. In a phone interview with Wildlife Officer Rasheda Sampson, Sampson told The SPSUN that last night a team of highly trained animal experts, including the BFD, set up a series of snare traps with sensors along the Foster and Cullerton’s property. At approximately 9:30pm they successfully snared the animal within feet of its home enclosure and after positive identification the jaguar was euthanized.


For the complete story read The San Pedro Sun tomorrow.

Escaped jaguar kills U.S. man in Belize... as he tries to protect his dogs from attack

By Daily Mail Reporter

Victim: Bruce Cullerton, killed by a jaguar after the animal's cage was damaged in Hurricane Richard in Belize

“Max” The Killer Cat Captured And Put Down

When we left you last night, jaguar expert Omar Figueroa had set four leg-hold traps for the killer jaguar called Max. The traps were concentrated within 500 yards of the runaway cat's home at the residence of Richard Foster near mile 28 and a half on the Western highway. The is adjacent to the home of 47 year old Bruce Cullerton - who was killed by the jaguar on Monday night.

And by 9:30 - Max had been snared - Monica Bodden picks up the story from there:

At 10:30 last night the HEALTHY male jaguar called Max was trapped in one of Omar Figueroa's traps:

Omar Figueroa, Conservation Biologist
"Around 9:35 pm the trap was triggered and at that moment we knew we had it because I didn't see any signs of another cat in the area and so I move in with my team. When we got there, there were folks from the Forest Department and folks from the Belize Zoo at the Fosters' so we all went back to check on the trap and it was a hit. It was the target cat, we identified it. As you know jaguars have unique rosette patterns - no 2 jaguars have the same pattern. So immediately we knew that was the cat. And then like you do with any cat in a trap you immediately have to move in and immobilize the cat, so that's what we did. We had the veterinarian on site and we had the zoo staff on site, we immobilize the cat, we knock him down. I think about 10:15-10:20 the cat was down he was stable. The cat was a very healthy cat. It probably weigh about 130 pounds."

After he was captured - a vet was brought in to put him down - a sad moment for the big cat's owner Richard Foster:

Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"The Forestry Department had a serious talk about it and they decided that it would be better for the country and better publicity for everyone if this cat was put down. we are sad because this is a beautiful and you cannot blame the cat for doing this it is what we do as human beings to these animals is a result of it, so in all it is a very sad situation."

Sad but absolutely necessary says Figueroa

Omar Figueroa, Conservation Biologist
"When an animal crosses a certain line, I mean it comes a time when you have to make some hard decisions and its not to say that it was the cat's fault, I think it's wrong to start pointing fingers and say whose fault it was. But it's hard to really say what happen, there was a dog that got injured as well and so it's kind of difficult to really put the pieces together. It is a serious tragedy unfortunately but I believe that first and foremost humans safety has got to be safe guarded. In all the research we do, in all our efforts we are driven first and foremost by human safety. When something comes that compromises that then we need to act in the best interest of human safety. Its just something had to be done to relief fears that people might have naturally and so I believe the Forest Department did the right decision."

Now this beleaguered owner is concerned about the reputation of jaguars with al the international media buzz this one has generated

Richard Foster, owner of jaguar
"Many of these cats that are in captivity especially in Belize are the ones that are cattle killers and there were trap and brought and kept in the Belize Zoo. It would be ridiculous and a very dangerous thing to do to release a jaguar into the wild. No one will never do anything like that and we would certainly wouldn't do that and this cat escape purely because of ferocious hurricane that came through."

Conservation biologist Figueroa says keeping predatory cats as pets is always an iffy proposition.

Omar Figueroa, Conservation Biologist
"At the zoo they have very capable and competent staff there, they have wonderful education programs to handle these type of cats you need the train people like the folks at the zoo and I also must say that I believe that the Foster's were capable as well, they have a history of working with these animals in the wild, in captivity. They have done some remarkable documentaries and like I said it was a freak accident with a tree falling on what was otherwise a safe and secure structure to hold in this cat. But something needs to be made clear here this is not a wild cat. A wild cat is a completely different cat, a wild cat behaves differently a wild cat would never attack a human. IF a wild cat would attack human I would be here standing with you. There are days in the forest when I walk along trails and when I walk back I see jaguar tracks on top of my tracks. If wild jaguars were attacking humans the entire Americas would be a different place. That doesn't happen."

"Well this jaguar had to be out down to rest due to his actions that he had committed of taking a human life hence you can see here. This is where he was injected into the heart with a lethal injection."

Figueroa - who is also a senator is completing his doctoral thesis on jaguars in Central Belize. The forestry department took out the dead jaguar this morning. We note that the story has picked up major traction in international media with the inevitable misrepresentations and exaggerated portrayals of jaguars running wild in central Belize. The Belize Zoo took the brunt of it with the US Embassy issuing a visitors' advisory stating that the jaguar had escaped from the Belize Zoo - which it did not. Foster's home is a mile away from the zoo.

Channel 7

Max, the Killer Jaguar, captured and euthanized

Bruce Cullerton was mauled to death by Max the Jaguar, on Monday night. It is a stunning and rare event and also a tragic one. Cullerton was the neighbor of Richard and Carol Foster, two outstanding film makers for the National Geographic Channel. Cullerton was an established roving mechanic and his remains will be cremated and the ashes will be scattered near the entrance to one of his favorite caves. But back to the cat, Max fled from captivity when a mango tree fell on his cage. How it came in contact and killed Cullerton has still not been ascertained but it is believed that he was attempting to save his dogs from the jaguar. On Tuesday night, Max was captured by a team of animal experts. News Five’s Isani Cayetano was has the details of Max’s capture.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

Four year old Max, a male jaguar which escaped from captivity during Hurricane Richard over the weekend was snared and euthanized around ten-thirty p.m. on Tuesday after the vicious mauling of Bruce Cullerton the night before. Cullerton was planning to relocate to the United States for medical treatment on the day he was killed. He was a neighbor and family friend of Richard and Carol Foster, both renowned filmmakers. Cullerton was attacked and mangled by this hundred and thirty pound cat as it prowled the grounds near their properties situated off the Western Highway. It is uncertain what led to the deadly encounter but officials from the Forestry Department and the Belize Zoo were quick to respond to the animal’s capture. With help from Omar Figueroa, a jaguar researcher who also works in the area, Max was lured and caught several meters away.

Omar Figueroa, Jaguar Researcher

“I did go out there and we scouted the area and we started to see signs of the cat. Signs that in fact the jaguar had not moved beyond a few hundred meters from where it was held captive.”

Max was held here in a reinforced enclosure where he was being reared and studied by the Fosters. According to Richard, they were making preparations to film the big cat for National Geographic Explorer when the incident took place. He was also present during the recapture of the jaguar.

Richard Foster, Natural History Filmmaker

“Omar Figueroa, who is the jaguar researcher here, came over with his research traps where he catches jaguars in a snare system. There’s a radio attached to it so he knows immediately when it’s being sprung. We set all this stuff up during the early evening and waited in the house. I spent time on the roof trying to call the cat in because he knows me very well and at about I guess nine-thirty Omar had a positive signal on one of his traps and came up here and found a trap at the back behind Max’s, that’s the jaguar’s name, cage in the back there and he went down there and he found the cat in the snare hooked by the foot.”

The cat was then sedated and handed over to members of the Forestry Department who unsuccessfully attempted to encage him.

Omar Figueroa

“A cage trap was used and this is part of, I believe the Belize Zoo and Forestry Department’s response to when you have jaguars that are predating livestock. They go and they set traps but [uhm] it was just my opinion that given the circumstances with this cat and how weary it was about its surroundings that it probably would not enter one of these caged traps.”

Max was later placed into this cage, a larger pen where he was put to sleep by a lethal injection.

“This guy had to be put down to rest due to his actions that he had committed of taking human life hence you can see here.”

Richard Foster

“This is where he was injected in to the heart?”

“This where he was injected into the heart with a lethal injection.”

Richard Foster

“Jaguars are rare enough in Belize as it is and they are an important part of the tourist industry and it’s very sad to have to put down a cat like this but after this incident they didn’t really have an awful lot of options because there might be a public outcry about it.”

It is believed that Max had attacked Cullerton’s dogs after escaping from his cage when a tree fell unto it during the hurricane. On Monday night Cullerton and Foster surveyed the area in search of the jaguar but to no avail. It is also alleged that the cat subsequently attacked Cullerton when he tried to break up the confrontation between both animals. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.

ESCAPED JAGUAR RECAPTURES AND PUT TO SLEEP

Max, the jaguar sought by its keepers and the forestry department following the death of U-S national Bruce Cullerton was captured last night. Max was under the care of Richard and Carol Foster, wild life documentary film makers, who intended to use the cat in an upcoming documentary for National Geographic. During Hurricane Richard a tree fell on the cage where the jaguar was being kept and he escaped. On Monday night it is believed that the jaguar mauled Cullerton as his body was found the following morning in the bushes near his house, about three hundred yards from the Fosters. Love News spoke with Carol Foster.

Carol Foster; Documentary Film Maker

“The jaguar was captured with loop trap by Omar who studies cats in Belize. We set three or four traps in the back where the cat has a cage and we left the cage open because that’s where he normally gets fed. Around 9:30 last night he walked through and got trapped in the first trap. Everybody was here; the zoo, Omar and a veterinarian and the forestry department. They went ahead and knocked him out and he’s definitely Max the cat. We videoed him and interviewed the forestry department and they decided to go ahead and put him to sleep. They gave more drugs and put him to sleep and the forestry department just took him away.”

Wildlife experts say it is out of character for a jaguar to attack a human being.

LOVE FM

---

Max the Jaguar is dead

Hurricane damage leads to tragic deaths

In a bizarre twist of fate, and to date the only fatality related to Hurricane Richard, was the death of American Ex-pat Bruce Cullerton when sometime on Monday a contained jaguar escaped from his hurricane damaged enclosure and lethally mauled Cullerton.

The grim accident took place near the Belize Zoo on the Western Highway after the area took a direct hit from the hurricane Sunday night. Professional wildlife photographers and owners of the animal compound where the jaguar was contained, Richard and Carol Foster, reported that their property had sustained a lot of damage, and in a Facebook post on Monday evening Carol wrote, "We made it through 120mph winds. Wow!! What an experience. We were in the eye of the hurricane and when it passed it really went wild. The sound of the wind and the rain was so powerful. [...] But the worst of all is the jaguar got out - this is MAX and really beautiful young male...now it is not safe walking around the place." Ironically her fears became a reality when her neighbor, who may have been trying to rescue his dog from the jaguar attack, lost his life while doing so.

Tuesday afternoon news reports were rampant about the attack and Belize Wildlife Officials, along with law enforcement, Belize Zoo personnel and local animal experts descended on the area to determine their next move. In a phone interview with Wildlife Officer Rasheda Sampson, Sampson told The SPSun that last night a team of highly trained animal experts, including the Belize Forest Department (BFD), set up a series of snare traps with sensors along the Foster and Cullerton's property. At approximately 9:30pm they successfully snared the animal within feet of its home enclosure and after positive identification the jaguar was euthanized.

But how is it that this animal came to captivity in the first place? Unfortunately some exotic jungle animals are highly desired as pets and are illegally contained. In the case of Max, the animal was apparently surrendered two years ago after his illegal owners failed to care for him. In ill health the jaguar was placed at the Foster wildlife filming compound where in the past they had an understanding with the Conservation/Forestry Department to legally keep and nurture confiscated animals. For Max and other illegally contained wildlife there is no future but a life inside a cage. Once an animal like Max, who is an apex predator, is conditioned to depend on man for food their association with humans is a very dangerous one.

According to Cherie Chenot-Rose, director and biologist for the American Crocodile Education Sanctuary (ACES), apex predators are those animals at the top of the food chain, including humans. They play a key role in keeping our ecosystems in balance. When untrained persons attempt to domesticate any apex predator it normally ends in a tragedy. Apex predators fed by humans learn to associate people with food, and will seek people out for an easy meal. "It is very unfortunate that people still insist in breaking the Belize Wildlife Protection Act and try to keep wild animals as "pets." The law is there to protect people and the animals themselves. In this incident the jaguar was originally illegally kept and was ill. The animal was confiscated and put into the hands of a professional caretaker. If the animal had never been taken from the wild illegally as a pet to begin with, this cat would not have been in captivity. Once an apex predator no longer sees humans as a threat, they become very dangerous animals. A wild jaguar will normally run and hide to avoid encounters with humans. In fact, it is a rare and beautiful thing to catch a glimpse of a jaguar in the wild. This incident should by no means be reflected as a typical behavior of jaguars and we are praying for all those involved," stated Chenot-Rose.

According to Wildlife Officer Rasheda Sampson the Belize Forest Department Wildlife is in the process of drafting new wildlife legislation. Current statutes need updated and some existing laws are antiquated and vague. Consultants for the new legislation included the Belize Wildlife Conservation Network which is a network for Wildlife conservation entities in Belize. Hopes are that with more comprehensive laws in place the public will gain a better understanding of wildlife laws while accomplishing more effective enforcement. The draft proposals also outline extensive regulations for wildlife containment.

San Pedro Sun

My heart goes out to all my friends suffering from this loss. The San Pedro Sun should not forget the one fisherman of the group of three who the Coast Guard is still searching for. One man survived and drifted hanging onto a piece of lumber to Spanish Lookout Caye and the others body has been recovered.