# Exotic Pets



## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

How do you prepare for that ... 

If the story is true we have a African lioness on the loose about 25 - 30 miles south of me. More than a few people called it in. The news did a short report on it ... which is now gone. 

An expert (per a friend that saw it on the news) said it was a African lion cross ...{cross with what ... was my question!} We do have a problem with people letting exotic pets loose, he went on. {Ya THINK!}

After a little research I found we have a few Large cat {African lions, tigers and Mountain lion) RESCUES... :gaah: in N.C. that I found on the web. The zoo and sanctuaries said all their animals was accounted for.

After the coyote attack on the little girl. I started to carry my 22 when doing farm chores ... rethinking that now.:gaah: I know we have panthers in the area but an African lion!!! 

CRAP!!!


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## Jimmy24 (Apr 20, 2011)

Better carry something a little more than a 22, Andi....pay attention...

Jimmy


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## Dixie (Sep 20, 2010)

Jimmy24 said:


> Better carry something a little more than a 22, Andi
> Jimmy


I thought the same thing Jimmy!
I've seen lions crossed with tigers...some of those are big!


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

I've seen folks around here who own exotics-some non natives and some natives-not two blocks away from us a neighbor found a huge(and I mean almost 4 foot long) iguana! 
I have also helped a friend who was house sitting catch a 6 foot long ball python that got loose when she went to feed it. she didn't have a problem feeding it but was not gonna stay in that house with it running around loose. I used to own two ball pythons and not at all afraid of snakes so it wasn't a big deal and we even found it right off-wrapped around the water heater in the closet.
But hubby and I saw the strangest animal cross the road in broad daylight-we got a good, good look at it and it took me a week online and talking to my friend who was a zoo keeper in Detroit- it was(as close as we can tell) a Jaguarundi! It looks like a big cat(size of a large dog) with a bushy tail like a bottle brush,(quite like a coyote and the same color) big and full, but the face is more smashed in and shorter than a cougar(which we do have here and they have been seen, and I don't care what the DNR says-they can and will survive and breed in our state) it ran like a cat not a coyote(we have them too). My zookeeper friend told me that for every exotic pet that is licensed there are roughly 25 to 30 that are not and are not on the books and when they get loose they are not reported.
A neighbor raised two pure bred wolves and they got loose one day and they walked right thru the yard, and being hand raised by people they are/were not afraid! and when they howled they could be heard all thru the area!
About 5 miles from my house they used to hand raise cougar kits that were abandoned and they were usually grown till almost a year old and then they went to zoos or other animal venues. They had a fully caged in yard even the top all the way across and you could usually find them outside in the afternoons... They also used to have a number you could call if you hit a deer and didn't want it they would even come get it to feed them.

Ever watch the shows about big cats and especially the big Black Cats? I have no doubts that folks had leopard or black jaguars and just let them loose!


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## philjam (Dec 17, 2008)

22 lr to the head will kill any thing. 

Legal breeders breed big cats. Lots of lion, tiger, jaguar, ocelot, cheetah, cervel and other exotic cats, just waiting to escape from legal breeding pens.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Just do a search on big snakes in Florida! I thought that they had problems when I lived there in the 80's but it is so much worse now.


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## catsraven (Jan 25, 2010)

*Andi be careful! If you see it DO NOT RUN. I dont know what you know about large predators, but if you run it will trigger is hunting instinct. You cant out run them. Back away slowly and dont turn around. Keep it in your sight. Get to safety as quick as you can with out running. If you have to, shoot it. If its a cross it is a
Lion and Tiger they are called Ligers

Here is a full grown Tiger and a full grown Liger










Here is a Liger and a woman










Big is an under statement. Humungous would be a better choice.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Legal breeders I do not worry about ... It is the dang person that had a tiger/lion for a pet and then let it loose!

What are they thinking!!!

When you have a resuce in your area I think dogs, house cats and such... NOT lions and tigers ...

This is unreal ... My hubby said I worry to much ... but I would rather be safe than sorry. 

*Andi breaking out the 45 so she can do chorse in the morning ... :ignore:


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

catsraven - Thanks for the pictures ...I had no clue.

And that is one "BIG" cat !!!


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

That's a HUGE cat. I thought my 20 pound lardball housecat was a whopper...sheesh.

I had (note the had) a distant relative several years ago who raised wolves in PA. I only ever met her once or twice. I assume it was legal but I'm not sure. Anyway, she was kind of a petite lady and the wolves killed her while she was feeding them. Her husband found what was left after the fact. IMO-there's no reason to have large predators as "pets". It just leads to problems.


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## power (May 7, 2011)

Not all exotics are bad. Many of the insects, birds, and animals we have in our country wasn't originally here. The honey bee and the pheasant are just two of them.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

Ligers are not good climbers, they're just too heavy.

Supposedly they can run up to 50kph (NOT mph, like some 'sources' (wikicrapia) states) for *very* short bursts (<100yds), but I wouldn't want to test that...

Ligers are the result of mating of a male lion with a female tiger.

Tigons are the result of mating a female lion with a male tiger.

Liger is known to have a *RELATIVELY* gentle and docile nature particularly when interacting with handlers, idk if I would want to test that either...


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Andi you may want to look into getting you some bear spray to wear on a lanyard around your neck while doing chores. It's like pepper spray but for really big/mean animals.


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## IrritatedWithUS (Jan 9, 2011)

Last year we had 4 monkeys escape from the university and were in the woods for an entire day and night. They caught them but it made the news


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

*Hell*



Jimmy24 said:


> Better carry something a little more than a 22, Andi....pay attention...
> 
> Jimmy


All a twelve year old Watusie boy carrys is a spear ! :flower:


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## Bigdog57 (Oct 9, 2008)

IMHO, the feral Python problem in south Florida is blown out of proportion. They pose no danger to humans (with the possible exception of very young children), and do hunt other problem critters. Hey, we NEED them to keep all those danged ex-pet Gambian Brown Rats in check - those rodents are a far bigger nuisance. The gators will help keep the Pythons in check - they love snakemeat........ 
That "100 pound Coyote" in the news recently had to be a Coydog - no coyote gets that big, and it looked far more doglike - tail not bushy enough, head not right, etc. It was likely an escaped 'pet', and has no fear of humans. Real coyotes are only a threat when in a pack and starving. That critter was well-fed!


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## power (May 7, 2011)

Bigdog57 said:


> IMHO, the feral Python problem in south Florida is blown out of proportion. They pose no danger to humans (with the possible exception of very young children), and do hunt other problem critters. Hey, we NEED them to keep all those danged ex-pet Gambian Brown Rats in check - those rodents are a far bigger nuisance. The gators will help keep the Pythons in check - they love snakemeat........
> That "100 pound Coyote" in the news recently had to be a Coydog - no coyote gets that big, and it looked far more doglike - tail not bushy enough, head not right, etc. It was likely an escaped 'pet', and has no fear of humans. Real coyotes are only a threat when in a pack and starving. That critter was well-fed!


The pythons have developed a taste for alligator. Just a matter of which one gets in the first bite.


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## Jimmy24 (Apr 20, 2011)

BillM said:


> All a twelve year old Watusie boy carrys is a spear ! :flower:


What can I say....mine spear would be a 12 ga.....

Jimmy


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## Jimmy24 (Apr 20, 2011)

philjam said:


> 22 lr to the head will kill any thing.


No doubt, but if your up to your arse in tigers and lions I want more than a 22!!

Hard to remember your draining the swamp, when your up to your arse in alligators....

Jimmy


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## power (May 7, 2011)

Jimmy24 said:


> No doubt, but if your up to your arse in tigers and lions I want more than a 22!!
> 
> Hard to remember your draining the swamp, when your up to your arse in alligators....
> 
> Jimmy


Not to mention that most wild animals do not set around long enough for a person to get that perfect shot with a 22. If anything ever gets in their mind that they want to eat me I don't want to have to wait for that perfect shot.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

IrritatedWithUS said:


> Last year we had 4 monkeys escape from the university and were in the woods for an entire day and night. They caught them but it made the news


 I had a monkey given to me 45 years ago.After it grabbed my finger and took a nice chunk out it,it jumped the cage never to be seen again.Last seen swinging the trees at Ft.MacPherson,Ga..The whole police dept and army base searched but never found it.Also saw a nut mouth feedign a parot who ended up swinging off the fools lips.

No more exotics for me.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

power said:


> Not all exotics are bad. Many of the insects, birds, and animals we have in our country wasn't originally here. The honey bee and the pheasant are just two of them.


True but (you knew there was a "BUT" ) How many pheasants would it take to take an arm off?

I'm sorry but for a person (any person) to be able to walk into a pet store and say I will take that Lion, Tiger or Bear ... (Or Liger ... Tion ??? ) is a little over the top ... Hell, I had to sign a paper to get 10 gold fish in Virginia ... (yea ... that was over the top :gaah

Lions, Tigers and bear can (and will, IMO) mess you up, giving the chance. And with money getting tight, who is to say "that person" would not let them loose ... ... :gaah:...


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## dirtgrrl (Jun 5, 2011)

This is one of those things that makes me nuts.... there are plenty of domesticated animals about who need homes. Why would anyone in their right mind keep a wild animal that could be a danger to themselves and their community? They may be a little tame but they are never domesticated. 

These animals are even more dangerous than native wild animals like bears, wolves, and mountain lions because they have lost their natural fear of humans and regard us as a source of food (if not food). Legitimate rescue organizations that rehabilitate native wild animals for release take great pains to not get the animals habituated to humans and human food sources. 

Not turning your back and running is good advice, especially for mountain lions. Also try to make your self look larger by standing up and holding your elbows away from you. One guy I know (unarmed) unzipped his jacket and held it open which made him look twice as large. And yell at the top of your lungs! Scream and stare directly at the animal! The point is to act as little like prey as possible and make the animal think twice about how much work it's going to take to eat you. If the animal is desperate you may get attacked anyway, but you certainly will if you turn and run.

As for bears, well, I have a rather sick joke about bear poop and pepper spray...

This is why I like shotguns... and don't live in bear country.


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## power (May 7, 2011)

*Andi said:


> True but (you knew there was a "BUT" ) How many pheasants would it take to take an arm off?
> 
> I'm sorry but for a person (any person) to be able to walk into a pet store and say I will take that Lion, Tiger or Bear ... (Or Liger ... Tion ??? ) is a little over the top ... Hell, I had to sign a paper to get 10 gold fish in Virginia ... (yea ... that was over the top :gaah
> 
> Lions, Tigers and bear can (and will, IMO) mess you up, giving the chance. And with money getting tight, who is to say "that person" would not let them loose ... ... :gaah:...


Another but. But if they forced everyone to get a permit for all pets we would be complaining about govt. interference. Who is to say what a person can have for a pet?


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

power said:


> Another but. But if they forced everyone to get a permit for all pets we would be complaining about govt. interference. Who is to say what a person can have for a pet?


Again True ...

but if that PET can do HARM to people, farm critters and your house hold pet ... then IMO ... makes it different ...

Right now N.C. has more DOG laws then lion and tiger laws ... 

Now I'm not one to have gobbermint stick their nose in every thing we do ... but ... sorry, I'm a little freaked out about having a LION/Cross running around on its own...
if you see what I mean...

SOMEONE has turned this cat free ... so is it up to me to worry about that.,, We have the critters Mother Nature gave us, we have the damn dogs down the road and if that is not it ... well we must worry about dang lions, tigers and bears!!!!!!!!!

Sorry ... but for me we cross the line at "lions and tigers" 

Again this is IMHO!


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## neldarez (Apr 10, 2011)

These are 2 of the exotics that have been daily stalking my home!!


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## neldarez (Apr 10, 2011)

A far cry from a liger but still.............pretty exciting in my book... Just trying to make you smile  and see my pretty birds...:congrat:


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## dirtgrrl (Jun 5, 2011)

nelda your photos are awesome!


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## neldarez (Apr 10, 2011)

thanks dirtgrrl.......I so enjoy my birds...that's why if I don't lay up anything else, I have to lay up sugar so I can feed them! lol...........


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