Orang Asli fights off tiger with rock
By Sylvia Looi
Sunday February 7, 2010
IPOH: Orang Asli Yok Meneh has been foraging in the forest for years bringing home petai and other vegetation. Yesterday, the usual uneventful trek became a harrowing one for the Semai when a tiger pounced on him.
But the 47-year-old is not one to be easily done in. He summoned up courage and fought the animal with his hands and a rock. And the human won. The animal slunk away.
The attack left Yok Meneh with a gaping wound measuring 15.2cm (6in) long and 10cm (4in) deep on his back. He also suffered injuries to his hands and legs from fighting back.
“In all my years of going into the forest to collect produce, this is the first time I have been attacked by a tiger,” said Yok Meneh,from his bed at the Teluk Intan Hospital.
He was in the forest near his house at Kampung Ras in Sungkai, about 80km from here, when the incident happened.
“I was so engrossed in collecting petai that I did not notice the tiger had crept up behind me,” he said, adding that the tiger was silent until it had pounced on him and pinned him down.
“And then it started growling and growling. I shouted for help before it sunk in that I was all alone and no one could save me.
“The moment I realised I had to save myself I tried to grab anything I could with my hands.
“I found a rock, grabbed it and fought back, hitting the tiger on its head again and again until it slunk away.”
The feisty orang asli then dragged himself about 1.6km out of the forest to his home.
When his wife saw him bedraggled and bleeding, she sought the help of a worker from a nearby oil palm estate to take him to a clinic.
However, because of the severity of his injuries, Yok Meneh was transferred to the Teluk Intan Hospital for treatment.
Asked whether the attack would deter him from going back into the forest, Yok Meneh said he had no choice but to continue as his family’s survival depended on the produce he collected.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/2/7/nation/5631287&sec=nation
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Friday, February 05, 2010
3 Cheetahs Swim Moat, Briefly Escape in N. Zealand
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: February 4, 2010
Filed at 9:32 p.m. ET
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- Three cheetahs swam a moat and crawled through a hole in a rusty fence to escape their enclosure and then briefly roamed inside a wildlife park in New Zealand.
Orana Wildlife Park rushed visitors to a secure area while rangers rounded up the big cats Thursday, park chief executive Lynn Anderson said Friday.
''Our cheetahs, just like a domestic house cat, they all hate swimming, so if you had asked me yesterday would any of our cheetahs swim I would have said no,'' Anderson told National Radio. ''They proved us quite wrong.''
The cats, three youngsters who had been bred at the park, crawled through a fence hole that was exposed recently when greenery was cut back, she said. The breakout at the park near Christchurch lasted about a half hour.
The whole fence around the cheetahs' enclosure will be replaced, Anderson said.
Lucy Tame, a 25-year-old park visitor, said she and her mother took photographs as the three cats made their escape shortly after midday.
''We saw them sitting in their enclosure and they decided to go for a bit of a swim, one, two, three,'' she said. After climbing through the hole in the fence, the cats ran in front of a park shuttle bus, causing the driver to jam on his brakes, she said.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/04/world/AP-AS-New-Zealand-Cheetah-Breakout.html
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Learn more about big cats and Big Cat Rescue at http://www.bigcatrescue.org
Published: February 4, 2010
Filed at 9:32 p.m. ET
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- Three cheetahs swam a moat and crawled through a hole in a rusty fence to escape their enclosure and then briefly roamed inside a wildlife park in New Zealand.
Orana Wildlife Park rushed visitors to a secure area while rangers rounded up the big cats Thursday, park chief executive Lynn Anderson said Friday.
''Our cheetahs, just like a domestic house cat, they all hate swimming, so if you had asked me yesterday would any of our cheetahs swim I would have said no,'' Anderson told National Radio. ''They proved us quite wrong.''
The cats, three youngsters who had been bred at the park, crawled through a fence hole that was exposed recently when greenery was cut back, she said. The breakout at the park near Christchurch lasted about a half hour.
The whole fence around the cheetahs' enclosure will be replaced, Anderson said.
Lucy Tame, a 25-year-old park visitor, said she and her mother took photographs as the three cats made their escape shortly after midday.
''We saw them sitting in their enclosure and they decided to go for a bit of a swim, one, two, three,'' she said. After climbing through the hole in the fence, the cats ran in front of a park shuttle bus, causing the driver to jam on his brakes, she said.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/04/world/AP-AS-New-Zealand-Cheetah-Breakout.html
------------
Learn more about big cats and Big Cat Rescue at http://www.bigcatrescue.org
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Tiger, cub break free from Assam zoo enclosure
Tiger, cub break free from Assam zoo enclosure
Naresh Mitra, TNN, 30 January 2010, 08:33pm IST
GUWAHATI: A tigress and her cub slinked out of an enclosure at Assam State Zoo on Saturday morning, triggering fear among 10,000-plus visitors present. Dibya, the eight-year-old female, had had a taste of human blood two years ago when she mauled a visitor to death along with another tiger.
For an hour and a half on Saturday morning, Dibya prowled around the zoo, covering nearly 400 metres, even as visitors screamed and ran helter skelter. Zoo authorities first deployed five elephants to shield visitors from being attacked by the big cat and then evacuated them. The thrilling drama finally ended around 11 am when the Bengal tigers were tranquilized and put back into the cage.
Ironically, Dibya and her year-and-a-half-old cub had been kept in a separate enclosure as the nine tigers were considered to be too many in the 175 hectare zoo. Dibya, who had been brought from Mysore Zoo in an exchange programme in 2005, was to be sent to another zoo in exchange for some animals that are more tame. Dibya and her cub though had other ideas.
At 9.30 am on Saturday, the duo walked out of the enclosure when zoo keeper Prabin Mikir forgot to secure the slide door between two portions of the cage. The cub accidentally pushed the slide door aside and stepped into the main cage and then stepped out through the open door with Dibya closely trailing her. Had the incident happened minutes earlier, cleaners Appa Rao and Rangil Ali, who were disinfecting the cage, would have been mauled by the twin cats.
On leaving the cage, the two walked in different directions. Visitors out for a day of fun at the zoo got the shock of their lives when they saw the big cats walking around carefree. "I could not believe my eyes when I saw the tiger walking about in the open. Though it was a cold morning, I began sweating. It was as though death was walking towards me," recalled visitor Kalyan Das after a close encounter. Dibya stopped 50 metres short of Das and turned the other way nonchalantly.
While Dibya was spreading terror, a crowd followed the antics of her cub. The adventurous cat pranced around for half hour and then took shelter in a shallow drain away from the prying eyes. Another 15 minutes on, zoo officials managed to shoot a tranquilizer dart and put the cub to sleep. Dibya, meanwhile, jumped over a short moat and into the giraffe enclosure with the tranquilizer team in hot pursuit. Though the latter did manage to fire a dart, it did not have any effect on the big cat that then jumped out and wandered along the main pathway.
Bitupon Hazarika, who had come to the zoo with his friends from Jorhat, later recalled the chilling moments. "It may seem to be thrilling in hindsight, but right then, with the tiger on the prowl, it was blood-curdling. Though zoo officials were guarding us, I felt very unsafe," he said.
The tranquilizer team continued to follow Dibya and fired the next dart when she was walking along the broad pathway. But it too failed to put the cat to sleep. Apparently unconcerned by the pricks, she took rest in a shelter and then jumped into the giraffe fence again. It was then that the third dart was fired and had the desired effect. Dibya sat down and went into a drowsy state around 11 am.
Divisional forest officer Narayan Mahanta, who is in charge of the zoo, admitted it was sheer luck that no one got injured. "We were worried that if Dibyu had attacked, it would have caused mayhem. Luckily she didn't. The entire incident happened due to lack of coordination between the zoo keeper and cleaners. It was eminently avoidable. We will look into the sequence of events and identify the lapses," he said.
SS Rao, nodal officer for wildlife crime control at the state forest department, has been entrusted with the probe into the incident. In December 2007, a 50-year-old man had been mauled by Dibya when he had scaled a barricade to take photographs of the cats and fell into the enclosure.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Tiger-cub-break-free-from-Assam-zoo-enclosurePictures-sent-to/articleshow/5517952.cms
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/
Naresh Mitra, TNN, 30 January 2010, 08:33pm IST
GUWAHATI: A tigress and her cub slinked out of an enclosure at Assam State Zoo on Saturday morning, triggering fear among 10,000-plus visitors present. Dibya, the eight-year-old female, had had a taste of human blood two years ago when she mauled a visitor to death along with another tiger.
For an hour and a half on Saturday morning, Dibya prowled around the zoo, covering nearly 400 metres, even as visitors screamed and ran helter skelter. Zoo authorities first deployed five elephants to shield visitors from being attacked by the big cat and then evacuated them. The thrilling drama finally ended around 11 am when the Bengal tigers were tranquilized and put back into the cage.
Ironically, Dibya and her year-and-a-half-old cub had been kept in a separate enclosure as the nine tigers were considered to be too many in the 175 hectare zoo. Dibya, who had been brought from Mysore Zoo in an exchange programme in 2005, was to be sent to another zoo in exchange for some animals that are more tame. Dibya and her cub though had other ideas.
At 9.30 am on Saturday, the duo walked out of the enclosure when zoo keeper Prabin Mikir forgot to secure the slide door between two portions of the cage. The cub accidentally pushed the slide door aside and stepped into the main cage and then stepped out through the open door with Dibya closely trailing her. Had the incident happened minutes earlier, cleaners Appa Rao and Rangil Ali, who were disinfecting the cage, would have been mauled by the twin cats.
On leaving the cage, the two walked in different directions. Visitors out for a day of fun at the zoo got the shock of their lives when they saw the big cats walking around carefree. "I could not believe my eyes when I saw the tiger walking about in the open. Though it was a cold morning, I began sweating. It was as though death was walking towards me," recalled visitor Kalyan Das after a close encounter. Dibya stopped 50 metres short of Das and turned the other way nonchalantly.
While Dibya was spreading terror, a crowd followed the antics of her cub. The adventurous cat pranced around for half hour and then took shelter in a shallow drain away from the prying eyes. Another 15 minutes on, zoo officials managed to shoot a tranquilizer dart and put the cub to sleep. Dibya, meanwhile, jumped over a short moat and into the giraffe enclosure with the tranquilizer team in hot pursuit. Though the latter did manage to fire a dart, it did not have any effect on the big cat that then jumped out and wandered along the main pathway.
Bitupon Hazarika, who had come to the zoo with his friends from Jorhat, later recalled the chilling moments. "It may seem to be thrilling in hindsight, but right then, with the tiger on the prowl, it was blood-curdling. Though zoo officials were guarding us, I felt very unsafe," he said.
The tranquilizer team continued to follow Dibya and fired the next dart when she was walking along the broad pathway. But it too failed to put the cat to sleep. Apparently unconcerned by the pricks, she took rest in a shelter and then jumped into the giraffe fence again. It was then that the third dart was fired and had the desired effect. Dibya sat down and went into a drowsy state around 11 am.
Divisional forest officer Narayan Mahanta, who is in charge of the zoo, admitted it was sheer luck that no one got injured. "We were worried that if Dibyu had attacked, it would have caused mayhem. Luckily she didn't. The entire incident happened due to lack of coordination between the zoo keeper and cleaners. It was eminently avoidable. We will look into the sequence of events and identify the lapses," he said.
SS Rao, nodal officer for wildlife crime control at the state forest department, has been entrusted with the probe into the incident. In December 2007, a 50-year-old man had been mauled by Dibya when he had scaled a barricade to take photographs of the cats and fell into the enclosure.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Tiger-cub-break-free-from-Assam-zoo-enclosurePictures-sent-to/articleshow/5517952.cms
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/
Sunday, January 24, 2010
What will happen to Norman Buwalda's tiger?
What will happen to Norman Buwalda's tiger?
January 12, 11:37 AM
Toronto Animal Rights Examiner Anita Robeson
On January 10, 2010, a Siberian tiger attacked and killed its owner, Norman Buwalda, a 66-year-old man from Southwold, Ontario.
According to the World Society for the Protection of Animals Canada (WSPA), located on Eglinton Avenue in Toronto, "an estimated 500 exotic cats are kept as pets in the province."
WSPA's programs officer, Melissa Matlow, says, "Keeping a tiger on your property should be considered as dangerous as keeping a loaded gun, and yet no agency is inspecting zoos and private animal collections to ensure they are safe."
In light of Buwalda's death, WSPA is "calling on the Ontario government to implement licensing to prevent future deaths and injuries."
In 2004, some of Buwalda's neighbours were so concerned for their safety, they managed to have a bylaw passed banning local residents from owning exotic animals. But Buwalda fought the law and had it overturned after a two-year court battle.
That same year, a 10-year-old boy was attacked by one of Buwalda's tigers while attempting to take its picture. The child suffered injuries to his head and neck, but survived.
At one time Buwalda kept five wild cats on his property, including a lion and a cougar.
According to nationalgeographic.com, tigers in the wild live alone and "aggressively scent-mark large territories to keep their rivals away." Tigers naturally avoid humans, so those that do attack "are often sick and unable to hunt normally, or live in areas where their traditional prey has vanished"—like, say, a cage in your backyard.
The tiger's fate is now in the hands of Southwold township officials.
Let's hope it isn't punished for doing what its natural instincts compelled it to do.
http://www.examiner.com/x-34913-Toronto-Animal-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d12-What-will-happen-to-Norman-Buwaldas-tiger
http://www.bigcatrescue.org
January 12, 11:37 AM
Toronto Animal Rights Examiner Anita Robeson
On January 10, 2010, a Siberian tiger attacked and killed its owner, Norman Buwalda, a 66-year-old man from Southwold, Ontario.
According to the World Society for the Protection of Animals Canada (WSPA), located on Eglinton Avenue in Toronto, "an estimated 500 exotic cats are kept as pets in the province."
WSPA's programs officer, Melissa Matlow, says, "Keeping a tiger on your property should be considered as dangerous as keeping a loaded gun, and yet no agency is inspecting zoos and private animal collections to ensure they are safe."
In light of Buwalda's death, WSPA is "calling on the Ontario government to implement licensing to prevent future deaths and injuries."
In 2004, some of Buwalda's neighbours were so concerned for their safety, they managed to have a bylaw passed banning local residents from owning exotic animals. But Buwalda fought the law and had it overturned after a two-year court battle.
That same year, a 10-year-old boy was attacked by one of Buwalda's tigers while attempting to take its picture. The child suffered injuries to his head and neck, but survived.
At one time Buwalda kept five wild cats on his property, including a lion and a cougar.
According to nationalgeographic.com, tigers in the wild live alone and "aggressively scent-mark large territories to keep their rivals away." Tigers naturally avoid humans, so those that do attack "are often sick and unable to hunt normally, or live in areas where their traditional prey has vanished"—like, say, a cage in your backyard.
The tiger's fate is now in the hands of Southwold township officials.
Let's hope it isn't punished for doing what its natural instincts compelled it to do.
http://www.examiner.com/x-34913-Toronto-Animal-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d12-What-will-happen-to-Norman-Buwaldas-tiger
http://www.bigcatrescue.org
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Missing Tiger Found in Van Zandt County
Missing Tiger Found in Van Zandt County
By FRANK HEINZ
Updated 3:30 PM CST, Thu, Jan 21, 2010
A tiger reported missing in Van Zandt County has been found and secured.
The 400-pound female tiger was reported to be on the run after escaping its enclosure during Wednesday's storm. A Van Zandt Sheriff's Department deputy said he thought he spotted the tiger Wednesday night.
The tiger was found Thursday afternoon and secured. It is now in the possession of Texas Game Wardens. There have been no reported injuries in connection with the tiger's escape.
The ownership of exotic wild animals (such as tigers, lions and jaguars) in Texas is allowed by law with a license. The animal also must be registered with the state, according to BornFreeUSA.org.
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/Tiger-Reported-on-the-Loose-in-Van-Zandt-County-82285787.html
http://www.bigcatrescue.org
By FRANK HEINZ
Updated 3:30 PM CST, Thu, Jan 21, 2010
A tiger reported missing in Van Zandt County has been found and secured.
The 400-pound female tiger was reported to be on the run after escaping its enclosure during Wednesday's storm. A Van Zandt Sheriff's Department deputy said he thought he spotted the tiger Wednesday night.
The tiger was found Thursday afternoon and secured. It is now in the possession of Texas Game Wardens. There have been no reported injuries in connection with the tiger's escape.
The ownership of exotic wild animals (such as tigers, lions and jaguars) in Texas is allowed by law with a license. The animal also must be registered with the state, according to BornFreeUSA.org.
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/Tiger-Reported-on-the-Loose-in-Van-Zandt-County-82285787.html
http://www.bigcatrescue.org
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Zion faces four charges over dead employee
Zion faces four charges over dead employee
17th January 2010
For Information About White Tigers Visit:
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/cats/wild/white_tigers.htm
Four charges laid by the Department of Labour after the death of animal handler Dalu Mncube at the Zion Wildlife Gardens will be heard in the Whangarei District Court next week.
Mr Mncube was killed by a tiger while cleaning its enclosure in May last year.
His death was a major blow for the wildlife park on the outskirts of Whangarei, which had gained world fame through the Lion Man television series.
Department of Labour communications adviser Eric Janse van Rensburg yesterday declined to specify who or what "entity" the charges had been laid against.
"As the matter is before the court the department will make no further comment," he said.
But the Northern Advocate understands all charges have been laid against Zion Wildlife Gardens as an entity and no individuals have been charged.
Two charges have been laid under Section 6 of the Health and Safety in Employment Act for "failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of employees while at work".
The other charges were laid under Section 16 of the act for "failing to take all practicable steps to ensure no hazard that is, or arises in, the place of work harms people who are lawfully at work as employees of a contractor".
Zion spokeswoman Sara Reid could not be contacted to comment on the charges yesterday, but she had earlier said they would be strenuously defended.
Tourists had watched in horror as Mr Mncube, 26, was fatally mauled by a 260kg white tiger while he and another keeper were cleaning the animal's enclosure.
The second keeper had tried to use a length of wood to beat the tiger off the stricken man until another staff member was able to shoot the big cat dead. The wildlife park was closed by government officials because of safety and animal welfare issues.
But Whangarei-born Tim Husband was brought over from Australia to lead the park's recovery and just under a month later it re-opened with rules preventing staff from having direct contact with adult animals.
http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/local/news/zion-faces-four-charges-over-dead-employee/3908695/
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/
17th January 2010
For Information About White Tigers Visit:
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/cats/wild/white_tigers.htm
Four charges laid by the Department of Labour after the death of animal handler Dalu Mncube at the Zion Wildlife Gardens will be heard in the Whangarei District Court next week.
Mr Mncube was killed by a tiger while cleaning its enclosure in May last year.
His death was a major blow for the wildlife park on the outskirts of Whangarei, which had gained world fame through the Lion Man television series.
Department of Labour communications adviser Eric Janse van Rensburg yesterday declined to specify who or what "entity" the charges had been laid against.
"As the matter is before the court the department will make no further comment," he said.
But the Northern Advocate understands all charges have been laid against Zion Wildlife Gardens as an entity and no individuals have been charged.
Two charges have been laid under Section 6 of the Health and Safety in Employment Act for "failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of employees while at work".
The other charges were laid under Section 16 of the act for "failing to take all practicable steps to ensure no hazard that is, or arises in, the place of work harms people who are lawfully at work as employees of a contractor".
Zion spokeswoman Sara Reid could not be contacted to comment on the charges yesterday, but she had earlier said they would be strenuously defended.
Tourists had watched in horror as Mr Mncube, 26, was fatally mauled by a 260kg white tiger while he and another keeper were cleaning the animal's enclosure.
The second keeper had tried to use a length of wood to beat the tiger off the stricken man until another staff member was able to shoot the big cat dead. The wildlife park was closed by government officials because of safety and animal welfare issues.
But Whangarei-born Tim Husband was brought over from Australia to lead the park's recovery and just under a month later it re-opened with rules preventing staff from having direct contact with adult animals.
http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/local/news/zion-faces-four-charges-over-dead-employee/3908695/
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/
Mauled man 'trusted animals'
Mauled man 'trusted animals'
Township to revisit bylaw banning exotic, dangerous pets after resident's savage death
Published On Tue Jan 12 2010
SOUTHWOLD, ONT.–To folks in this rural community near St. Thomas, Norm Buwalda was as much a curiosity as the exotic animals he kept as giant pets.
Neighbours along the township's Second Line didn't much care for the two lions, two tigers and a cougar he kept in a screened-in outbuilding. They say he kept pretty much to himself and didn't take much part in community life.
So when the 66-year-old Dutch native was fatally mauled by one of his 300-kilogram tigers Sunday, the irony wasn't lost on them that Buwalda had fought and successfully overturned a township bylaw that would have banned such exotic animals from the area.
"He told us once that he trusted animals more than he trusted people," neighbour Joanne Does said Monday. "He felt closer to animals than people.
"He appeared like a bully ... but he was a very sad man, lonely I think."
Does was among area residents who lobbied township councillors in 2002 to pass a bylaw banning exotic beasts from private property. She said Buwalda's lion cub was seen running with dogs in the neighbourhood at the time.
Council didn't act until after a 10-year-old Toronto boy visiting Buwalda was mauled by a tiger in 2004. A two-year court battle ensued and Buwalda's lawyers finally convinced a judge to overturn the township ban.
Mayor Jim McIntyre said it's time to try again to write a bulletproof bylaw to keep exotic creatures from local properties in the township, 30 kilometres southwest of London. He planned to pitch the idea to council Monday night.
"It a shock to the community," he told the Star. "I think the courts were wrong in overturning our bylaw. For us it was all about public safety."
OPP Const. Troy Carlson said police were awaiting the results of an autopsy. He said Buwalda's animals were left in his family's care and would not be seized by authorities.
A man at Buwalda's home refused to say what the family would do with the animals and ordered a Star reporter from the property.
The World Society for the Protection of Animals said Buwalda's death should serve as a warning of the dangers of owning exotic animals. Ontario is the only province that doesn't require a licence to keep dangerous exotic animals, the society added.
Melissa Matlow, the society's programs officer in Canada, said his death could have been prevented if Queen's Park had banned the keeping of dangerous exotic pets when it recently revised the OSPCA Act.
"It should be restricted to only people who are keeping professional facilities and can ensure the animal's welfare and the public safety," she said, adding dangerous animals such as tigers are not suitable pets.
"You need a licence to keep a gun – you don't need a licence to keep a tiger in your backyard and that's just inadequate for public safety."
Patricia England can hear the big cats roar from her home, half a kilometre from Buwalda's property.
"It's sad, terribly sad," she said. "He told us his animals wouldn't hurt a fly – and now this.
"We're all beings on this planet and we all have a place, but this isn't the place for wild animals.
"It's not the animal's fault. It was just doing what a tiger does."
http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/749513--mauled-man-trusted-animals
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/
Township to revisit bylaw banning exotic, dangerous pets after resident's savage death
Published On Tue Jan 12 2010
SOUTHWOLD, ONT.–To folks in this rural community near St. Thomas, Norm Buwalda was as much a curiosity as the exotic animals he kept as giant pets.
Neighbours along the township's Second Line didn't much care for the two lions, two tigers and a cougar he kept in a screened-in outbuilding. They say he kept pretty much to himself and didn't take much part in community life.
So when the 66-year-old Dutch native was fatally mauled by one of his 300-kilogram tigers Sunday, the irony wasn't lost on them that Buwalda had fought and successfully overturned a township bylaw that would have banned such exotic animals from the area.
"He told us once that he trusted animals more than he trusted people," neighbour Joanne Does said Monday. "He felt closer to animals than people.
"He appeared like a bully ... but he was a very sad man, lonely I think."
Does was among area residents who lobbied township councillors in 2002 to pass a bylaw banning exotic beasts from private property. She said Buwalda's lion cub was seen running with dogs in the neighbourhood at the time.
Council didn't act until after a 10-year-old Toronto boy visiting Buwalda was mauled by a tiger in 2004. A two-year court battle ensued and Buwalda's lawyers finally convinced a judge to overturn the township ban.
Mayor Jim McIntyre said it's time to try again to write a bulletproof bylaw to keep exotic creatures from local properties in the township, 30 kilometres southwest of London. He planned to pitch the idea to council Monday night.
"It a shock to the community," he told the Star. "I think the courts were wrong in overturning our bylaw. For us it was all about public safety."
OPP Const. Troy Carlson said police were awaiting the results of an autopsy. He said Buwalda's animals were left in his family's care and would not be seized by authorities.
A man at Buwalda's home refused to say what the family would do with the animals and ordered a Star reporter from the property.
The World Society for the Protection of Animals said Buwalda's death should serve as a warning of the dangers of owning exotic animals. Ontario is the only province that doesn't require a licence to keep dangerous exotic animals, the society added.
Melissa Matlow, the society's programs officer in Canada, said his death could have been prevented if Queen's Park had banned the keeping of dangerous exotic pets when it recently revised the OSPCA Act.
"It should be restricted to only people who are keeping professional facilities and can ensure the animal's welfare and the public safety," she said, adding dangerous animals such as tigers are not suitable pets.
"You need a licence to keep a gun – you don't need a licence to keep a tiger in your backyard and that's just inadequate for public safety."
Patricia England can hear the big cats roar from her home, half a kilometre from Buwalda's property.
"It's sad, terribly sad," she said. "He told us his animals wouldn't hurt a fly – and now this.
"We're all beings on this planet and we all have a place, but this isn't the place for wild animals.
"It's not the animal's fault. It was just doing what a tiger does."
http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/749513--mauled-man-trusted-animals
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tiger attacks girl in Uttar Pradesh village
Tiger attacks girl in Uttar Pradesh village
IANS, 4 January 2010, 01:22pm IST
LUCKNOW: A tiger sneaked out of the Dudhwa reserve forest in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur district and attacked a 15-year-old girl, an official said on Monday.
"The tiger attacked the girl Sunday. Seriously injured in the attack, the girl is undergoing treatment and her condition is critical," Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), K.K. Singh told reporters in Lakhimpur, about 180 km from state capital Lucknow.
"Panic has gripped the entire Sumar Nagar village, where the tiger attacked the girl while she was working in her sugarcane fields," he added.
A combing operation was underway to drive the tiger back into the forest. It was suspected to be still hiding in the sugarcane fields of the village.
Dudhwa, one of the country's largest tiger reserves, has 106 tigers according to the last census.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Tiger-attacks-girl-in-Uttar-Pradesh-village-/articleshow/5409460.cms
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/
IANS, 4 January 2010, 01:22pm IST
LUCKNOW: A tiger sneaked out of the Dudhwa reserve forest in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur district and attacked a 15-year-old girl, an official said on Monday.
"The tiger attacked the girl Sunday. Seriously injured in the attack, the girl is undergoing treatment and her condition is critical," Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), K.K. Singh told reporters in Lakhimpur, about 180 km from state capital Lucknow.
"Panic has gripped the entire Sumar Nagar village, where the tiger attacked the girl while she was working in her sugarcane fields," he added.
A combing operation was underway to drive the tiger back into the forest. It was suspected to be still hiding in the sugarcane fields of the village.
Dudhwa, one of the country's largest tiger reserves, has 106 tigers according to the last census.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Tiger-attacks-girl-in-Uttar-Pradesh-village-/articleshow/5409460.cms
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/
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