80-Pound Cougar Removed From New York City Home Where She Was Kept as a Pet Illegally

On Monday, animal welfare officials said that an 80-pound cougar was removed from a New York City condominium where she was being kept illegally as a pet.

According to Kelly Donithan, director of animal catastrophe response for the Humane Society of the United States, the owner of the 11-month-old female cougar surrendered the animal on Thursday.

According to officials, the cougar, known as Sasha, was treated at the Bronx Zoo over the weekend and is currently on its way to the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas.

The relocation of the big cat was handled by the Humane Society, zoo officials, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and the New York Police Department.

“I’ve never seen a cougar in the wild, but I’ve seen them on leashes, smashed into cages, and crying for their mothers when breeders rip them away,” the Humane Society’s Donithan said. “I’ve also seen the heartbreak of owners, like in this case, after being sold not just a wild animal, but a false dream that they could make a good ‘pet.’”

Donithan claimed that Cougar was lucky because her owners in the Bronx knew that the wild cat wouldn’t survive in an apartment and gave it up.

Donithan said, “The owner’s tears and nervous chirps from the cougar as we drove her away painfully drives home the many victims of this horrendous trade and myth that wild animals belong anywhere but the wild.”

Commissioner Basil Seggos noted that while cougars “may look cute and cuddly when young, these animals can grow up to be unpredictable and dangerous.”

The exotic trade in pets provides a little contribution to the conservation of endangered animals, said Bronx Zoo Director Jim Breheny.

“These animals often end up in very bad situations, kept by private individuals who don’t have the resources, facilities, knowledge, or expertise to provide for the animals’ most basic needs,” Breheny said. “In addition to these welfare concerns for the animals, the keeping of big cats by private people poses a real safety hazard to the owner, the owner’s family, and the community at large.”