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Arizona Game and Fish Expert Verifies Mystery Cat is Prowling Maui
AGFD
8/19/03
An Arizona Game and Fish Department wildlife expert on loan to the state of Hawaii has confirmed that a big cat is prowling the island of Maui.
Bill Van Pelt, a Game and Fish Department biologist with a extensive knowledge of big cats, spent four days on Maui examining evidence left behind by a large animal that has been roaming wooded slopes and ravines of east Maui. The mystery animal was first spotted last December.
Van Pelt confirmed that markings found in a ravine are consistent with those of a big cat, possibly a young mountain lion, leopard or jaguar. Large predatory cats are not native to Hawaii. Van Pelt says photographs of a deer-kill show wounds consistent with those a large cat would inflict.
Hair samples believed to have come from the cat are being submitted to the University of Arizona for testing. Results should be back in about two weeks. “Hopefully, the hair samples will let us know the species of feline they are trying to capture on Maui,” Van Pelt says.
Now that Van Pelt has confirmed their suspicions, Hawaii wildlife officials are taking steps to try to capture the big cat alive using box traps and snares.
Deborah Ward, a spokesperson for the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, says that the Maui community appreciated Van Pelt’s fieldwork and expertise. “Bill provided so much good information to the public that everyone is asking when he will be coming back,” she says.
Van Pelt – after spending 18-hour days (mostly at night) in the lush tropical habitat on Maui – says he mostly wanted to get home and get some rest. “No, I didn’t get to spend any time on the beaches. I barely got to spend any time sleeping.”
Van Pelt’s visit to Maui was funded by the state of Hawaii and community organizations. The Maui Weekly newspaper paid for his travel and initial accommodations. The state of Hawaii provided his transportation and the Olinda Community Homeowners Association on Maui covered his meals and incidentals.
AGFD
8/19/03
An Arizona Game and Fish Department wildlife expert on loan to the state of Hawaii has confirmed that a big cat is prowling the island of Maui.
Bill Van Pelt, a Game and Fish Department biologist with a extensive knowledge of big cats, spent four days on Maui examining evidence left behind by a large animal that has been roaming wooded slopes and ravines of east Maui. The mystery animal was first spotted last December.
Van Pelt confirmed that markings found in a ravine are consistent with those of a big cat, possibly a young mountain lion, leopard or jaguar. Large predatory cats are not native to Hawaii. Van Pelt says photographs of a deer-kill show wounds consistent with those a large cat would inflict.
Hair samples believed to have come from the cat are being submitted to the University of Arizona for testing. Results should be back in about two weeks. “Hopefully, the hair samples will let us know the species of feline they are trying to capture on Maui,” Van Pelt says.
Now that Van Pelt has confirmed their suspicions, Hawaii wildlife officials are taking steps to try to capture the big cat alive using box traps and snares.
Deborah Ward, a spokesperson for the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, says that the Maui community appreciated Van Pelt’s fieldwork and expertise. “Bill provided so much good information to the public that everyone is asking when he will be coming back,” she says.
Van Pelt – after spending 18-hour days (mostly at night) in the lush tropical habitat on Maui – says he mostly wanted to get home and get some rest. “No, I didn’t get to spend any time on the beaches. I barely got to spend any time sleeping.”
Van Pelt’s visit to Maui was funded by the state of Hawaii and community organizations. The Maui Weekly newspaper paid for his travel and initial accommodations. The state of Hawaii provided his transportation and the Olinda Community Homeowners Association on Maui covered his meals and incidentals.
