6 days ago
Beast or best friend? Officials weigh in
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Curiosity spread like wildfire after a blurry image hit the internet two weeks ago.
Search for possible large wild cat in Mānoa called off
The snapshot sparked speculation with many, including the eyewitness, Donovan Luis, who took the photo, convinced the animal was a large wild cat.
Jonathan Ho, the manager of the Department of Agriculture plant quarantine branch, said it looks like this one is a case of mistaken identity.
'It's more than likely a dog,' Ho explained. 'The way that they have their paws kind of wide, where cats tend to have their feet closer together. And then the color pattern, it again, much more like a bulldog mix.'
Ho admitted they don't have definitive proof the animal is not a wildcat, but said all the evidence they've gathered has led to this conclusion.
'We put out trail cams and we baited them just to see if we could get something to come in. We got quite a few pictures of cats, feral domestic, feral cats in the areas,' he said. 'Those animals are not disappearing. People's pets aren't disappearing. All of that really doesn't lead us to believe that it is a large wild cat.'Ho said big predators have large territories and they don't usually hang around, and this animal was spotted twice in one week in the same place, which doesn't fit the profile.
Even the location is an unlikely choice for a mountain lion.
'At that point of the mountain, kind of in between all these residential areas, for an ambush predator. That's kind of cryptic. It doesn't comport with biology. So based off of all of that, we've, you know, we're kind of calling it off,' he explained.
But Ho added that they are glad Donovan Luis reported the sighting.
'Things happen and realistically if you don't know, call,' he said. '(It's) better to be safe than sorry. And you know, we can work with folks. And thankfully, this one turned out to be nothing.'
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