[FEL-L] Manitowoc WI, vandals free cougars

[Gary Breuckman]

Cougars Freed At Lincoln Park Zoo

Associated Press
Katie DeLong

MANITOWOC - Two cougars freed from the Lincoln Park Zoo by vandals
were captured Thursday without injuring anyone, Mayor Kevin Crawford
said.

Vandals cut some chain-link fencing overnight to free the two animals
from their habitat. Both were found inside the zoo's outside fence,
tranquilized and returned to their cages.

Crawford said he doesn't know whether the vandals were influenced by
the Tuesday incident at the San Francisco Zoo in which a tiger
escaped from its enclosure, killed one person and critically injured
two others.

But he said police will seek whoever cut the fence to the big cats'
habitat.

"These animals can't survive in the wild," he said. "They are raised
for the purpose of education. People who think they are releasing
these animals as a service to the animals are just wrong."

The cougars have been domesticated and expect their food to be
brought to them, Crawford said.

But, he added, they still have killer instincts and could have
threatened area residents had they escaped the zoo's perimeter fence.

A zookeeper noticed cougar footprints in the snow and discovered the
animals' escape between 7 and 8 a.m., Crawford said. The zookeeper
immediately locked the front gates and called authorities.

With the animals recaptured, Crawford said police will now focus on
the search for the vandals.