Tiger shot and killed near Reagan Library

[odannyboy]

Must be some pretty rugged part of California where this library is located.

LOS ANGELES - Authorities shot and killed a tiger Wednesday that had been roaming the hills near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The cat was shot several hundred yards from soccer and baseball fields at the edge of a housing development, said Lorna Bernard, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Game.


"It's unfortunate that we had to kill it," Bernard said. "It's even more unfortunate that the person who owned it didn't come forward and alert us immediately. We might have been able to capture it."


Trackers had to shoot to kill because a tranquilizer would have taken five to 10 minutes to bring down the animal, Bernard said. They were concerned the animal might attack them or bolt onto a nearby highway. The animal was killed near Simi Valley, about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

Authorities received a call just after 6 a.m. from a resident who reported the tiger strolling past his back fence. He said his children took pictures from inside their home.


Ken Tucker told KCBS-TV the tiger walked to a nearby house and "was just staring down" the neighbor's dogs. The trackers had been looking for the animal for eight days, using infrared equipment at night. They had set traps with goat meat and chicken.

The hunt began after the discovery of paw prints on a ranch near the library that were far too large for native bobcats or mountain lions. The size of the tracks indicated the animal weighed as much as 600 pounds. Bernard said the owner could have told authorities about the tiger's temperament and eating habits, which might have helped them catch the animal sooner.


As the cat roamed the hills, it became hungrier and disoriented, making it more dangerous to the nearby community of horse ranches and sprawling homes.
Authorities said they were investigating how the cat got loose in the hills.


"Obviously we'll be looking at all the facilities in the area that housed big cats," Bernard said. Two weeks ago, authorities removed nearly two dozen large cats, including lions and tigers, from property rented by Abby and Emma Hedengran not far from the library, Bernard said. All the animals that inspectors found on the property were accounted for, she said.


A telephone message left Wednesday for the Hedengrans by The Associated Press was not immediately returned. Tests will be performed on the tiger that may provide clues about its history.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._re_us/big_cat

[Snowden]

I thought Saddam's sons were killed - or do we have another person with a private zoo? Why a pet tiger? Why in the meaning, of why would it be permissable? People have pets that are dangerous - but whoever had this one didn't take proper care that the neighborhood was safe. Poor animal.

[Betty Boop]

Simi Valley is a beautiful suburban area of north Los Angeles County, the last city, I believe, before crossing into Ventura County which is still fairly agricultural. There are some beautiful hillside/foothills in the area which is where the Reagan Library is nestled. California has a little bit of everything geologically! I'm glad they got the cat finally but am sorry though that it had to be destroyed for public safety reasons. I know that originally they did not know if they had an African lion (as opposed to a California mountain lion) or tiger - they just knew from its tracks that it was a very large cat!

[odannyboy]

Originally Posted by CalDreaming02

Simi Valley is a beautiful suburban area of north Los Angeles County, the last city, I believe, before crossing into Ventura County which is still fairly agricultural. There are some beautiful hillside/foothills in the area which is where the Reagan Library is nestled. California has a little bit of everything geologically! I'm glad they got the cat finally but am sorry though that it had to be destroyed for public safety reasons. I know that originally they did not know if they had an African lion (as opposed to a California mountain lion) or tiger - they just knew from its tracks that it was a very large cat!

Cal, what is the deal with all that rain? I hope you are not waterlogged where you are at, but considering this severe weather in California as of late isn't it usually limited to the southern half of the state?

[Betty Boop]

Don't know why all the rain this year - a once in 100-year occurrence so they say. We are now at the second wettest winter in recorded California weather history and after this weekend's storm blows through probably will be the wettest. Actually Northern California (from Fresno north) usually has far greater rain. California as a whole depends on the Sierra Nevada snow pack and the Colorado River for our water supply. Up by the Reagan Library really has had it very bad as has the high desert where Beast resides. Where I am at (Inland towards low desert elevations), we are definitely drenched but our hillsides are holding in my area which after the last two fire seasons were major worries. Still, I feel sorry for the people who are more coastal (Ventura, Los Angeles, and Orange counties) and thought they had solid ground beneath their million (and in some cases multi-million) dollar homes only to find their homes slipping on the downslopes a couple inches at a time rendering them uninhabitable now and being the result of natural disaster are not insurance covered. Typical California rainfall in the south is about 15" per year - to date we are at 34+" with all of March still ahead. When the sun peaked out today, it was a very welcome relief. After this season, I bet Beast's neighbors never again laugh at him for building that giant ark out in his stretch of desert!

[Betty Boop]

Danny,

Thought you might appreciate this link. While they are stating near the Reagan Library, which is Simi Valley, the cat was bagged in Moorpark, on the Ventura County side of the line. This link gives you some good geographic and geologic frames of reference.

http://nbc4la.feedroom.com/iframeset.jsp?ord=868406

[USMC5831]

A pet tiger I hope my son sticks with a dog.