Posted by ellenruth on March 10, 2003 at 01:33:39:
After being taken from a private home in VA Jake the mountain lion was sent to the West Rock Nature Center in New Haven, CT where he lived for 6 years ingratiating himself to all that met him. In August 2001 the city of New Haven transferred ownership and had him trucked to the International Wildlife Center in Frost, Texas a new and underfunded organization that did not have the proper facilities to house Jake. I followed his progress there via private reports and USDA inspection reports until those were removed from the net in the spring of 2002. Due to changes in regulations sometime around July 2002 the local authorities closed down the IWC and all the animals were apparently dispersed. Apparently the manager James Garrison travels displaying several of the tigers but the whereabouts of the rest of the animals is unknown. I have contacted several refuges and wildlife centers in TX/OK/MO but none seem to know what happened to Jake. If you have any leads or information regarding Jake, please contact me at
ellen@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
