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There has been a cougar sighted in Broken Arrow, a small city right next door to Tulsa.
A few years ago there were reported sightings of a cougar in the area but the authorities poo poo'ed it as mass hysteria and nothing to be concerned about.
Barb and me knew otherwise as I'm sure a lot of other folks did as well.
We never saw the cougar but we did see its tracks at the reservoir just a couple of miles from our house while we were out gathering Sage.
On another Sage picking outing along the dirt back roads we also saw cougar tracks along the edge of the road where we had stopped to pick Sage.
It wasn't a good area for us as the banks alongside the road were too high too see over easily.
We decided that we could find more Sage in an area where we could at least see into the fields along the road so we left leaving the cougar to hunt game he/she was more used to hunting just in case he/she was around.
Here is a link to the Tulsa Daily World where you can read the story.
And here is a link to the story itself but I don't know if it'll work if you're not subscribed and logged in.
The subscription is free.
This is the story....
Big cat is reported sighted in BA
By ROD WALTON World Staff Writer
11/15/2005
A park is closed, some schools have restrictions, and one resident says the animal ate his dog.
BROKEN ARROW -- Repeated sightings of a possible mountain lion have local officials worried enough to close a city park and impose restrictions on nearby schools Monday.
Witnesses -- including a neighbor who said the animal grabbed and ate his dog -- told authorities that the large feline is stalking an area of south Broken Arrow. A neighborhood association even hired a Tulsa trapper to catch the animal.
"It looks pretty solid," said Billy Minter, the trapper. "They're so elusive, (and) they're smart.
Minter has not seen the animal himself, but numerous residents reportedly have caught a glimpse.
Carla Pruden, president of The Lakes at Indian Springs Homeowners Association, said about seven of her neighbors reported seeing the big cat.
One neighbor told Pruden that the cat ate a family dog.
"They saw a large, 100-pound cat-type animal," Pruden said. "They saw it come out of the woods, grab the dog and go back into the woods, making screeching, meowing sounds."
Members of a construction crew also reportedly told authorities they saw the cat. The Lakes at Indian Springs is part of a growing housing area in what used to be undeveloped land.
"They're running out of places to go," Minter said of the mountain lions, coyotes and other animals.
However, he said, he has never run into a mountain lion in this area.
"It's not unusual for them to be passing through, but it's unusual for them to be hanging around," he said.
The sightings have been reported over several weeks, and the search is serious enough that city officials closed the nearby Ray Harral Nature Park.
"We've had no indications that it is aggressive toward human beings," Parks Director Scott Esmond said in a statement.
"But we do worry about small dogs and cats in the area, and we don't want anyone walking their dog in the park until we know it's safe."
Two schools -- Childers Middle School and Spring Creek Elementary School -- also are near the park.
Students were being sent home Monday with notes to their parents about the sightings and the park's closing, district spokesman Keith Isbell said.
"We want to alert parents," he said. "We're starting to restrict some outside activities until we get some additional direction from the city."
The animal's reputed territory seems to be bound by Jasper Street (131st Street) on the south, Tucson Street (121st) on the north, Elm Place (161 East Avenue) on the west and Lynn Lane Road on the east, authorities said.
The Lakes at Indian Springs Homeowners Association has hired Minter to "live-trap" the animal, Pruden said. The city has offered to pick up that tab, Esmond said.
Residents and others in the area should be on the lookout for a large cat with a long tail, between 100 and 150 pounds. Its color seems to be tan, according to those who have seen it.
Rod Walton 581-8457
rod.walton@tulsaworld.com
Related Photos & Graphics
A few years ago there were reported sightings of a cougar in the area but the authorities poo poo'ed it as mass hysteria and nothing to be concerned about.
Barb and me knew otherwise as I'm sure a lot of other folks did as well.
We never saw the cougar but we did see its tracks at the reservoir just a couple of miles from our house while we were out gathering Sage.
On another Sage picking outing along the dirt back roads we also saw cougar tracks along the edge of the road where we had stopped to pick Sage.
It wasn't a good area for us as the banks alongside the road were too high too see over easily.
We decided that we could find more Sage in an area where we could at least see into the fields along the road so we left leaving the cougar to hunt game he/she was more used to hunting just in case he/she was around.
Here is a link to the Tulsa Daily World where you can read the story.
And here is a link to the story itself but I don't know if it'll work if you're not subscribed and logged in.
The subscription is free.
This is the story....
Big cat is reported sighted in BA
By ROD WALTON World Staff Writer
11/15/2005
A park is closed, some schools have restrictions, and one resident says the animal ate his dog.
BROKEN ARROW -- Repeated sightings of a possible mountain lion have local officials worried enough to close a city park and impose restrictions on nearby schools Monday.
Witnesses -- including a neighbor who said the animal grabbed and ate his dog -- told authorities that the large feline is stalking an area of south Broken Arrow. A neighborhood association even hired a Tulsa trapper to catch the animal.
"It looks pretty solid," said Billy Minter, the trapper. "They're so elusive, (and) they're smart.
Minter has not seen the animal himself, but numerous residents reportedly have caught a glimpse.
Carla Pruden, president of The Lakes at Indian Springs Homeowners Association, said about seven of her neighbors reported seeing the big cat.
One neighbor told Pruden that the cat ate a family dog.
"They saw a large, 100-pound cat-type animal," Pruden said. "They saw it come out of the woods, grab the dog and go back into the woods, making screeching, meowing sounds."
Members of a construction crew also reportedly told authorities they saw the cat. The Lakes at Indian Springs is part of a growing housing area in what used to be undeveloped land.
"They're running out of places to go," Minter said of the mountain lions, coyotes and other animals.
However, he said, he has never run into a mountain lion in this area.
"It's not unusual for them to be passing through, but it's unusual for them to be hanging around," he said.
The sightings have been reported over several weeks, and the search is serious enough that city officials closed the nearby Ray Harral Nature Park.
"We've had no indications that it is aggressive toward human beings," Parks Director Scott Esmond said in a statement.
"But we do worry about small dogs and cats in the area, and we don't want anyone walking their dog in the park until we know it's safe."
Two schools -- Childers Middle School and Spring Creek Elementary School -- also are near the park.
Students were being sent home Monday with notes to their parents about the sightings and the park's closing, district spokesman Keith Isbell said.
"We want to alert parents," he said. "We're starting to restrict some outside activities until we get some additional direction from the city."
The animal's reputed territory seems to be bound by Jasper Street (131st Street) on the south, Tucson Street (121st) on the north, Elm Place (161 East Avenue) on the west and Lynn Lane Road on the east, authorities said.
The Lakes at Indian Springs Homeowners Association has hired Minter to "live-trap" the animal, Pruden said. The city has offered to pick up that tab, Esmond said.
Residents and others in the area should be on the lookout for a large cat with a long tail, between 100 and 150 pounds. Its color seems to be tan, according to those who have seen it.
Rod Walton 581-8457
rod.walton@tulsaworld.com
Related Photos & Graphics
