GARY T. KUBOTA / GKUBOTA@STARBULLETIN.COM Wildlife biologist Fern Duvall, left, met with Maui Invasive Species Committee staffers Russell Suzuki, Sam Akoi IV and Erik Barnard in lower Olinda yesterday trying to track the big cat.
State officials play
‘chicken’ with
Maui’s mysterious catSearchers will set new traps
and warn residents to stay away
OLINDA, Maui >> State wildlife searchers were expected to intensify efforts to capture a large cat-like animal today after finding evidence of its presence in a gulch in lower Olinda.
The animal is described as being about 4-feet long and possibly a jaguar or leopard.
The searchers yesterday morning found tree trunks with deep scratch marks indicating that they had been used for climbing and as scratch posts, said Deborah Ward, state Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman.
"Also in the area were eight to 10 dead doves," she said. The doves showed bite marks on their backs and that cat-like paw prints were on the ground, Ward said.
But an impression of a paw print was too difficult to make because the soil crumbled easily, she said.
Ward also said that less than an hour into the search, a resident reported seeing a large cat in lower Olinda.
"The body of the cat alone appears to be approximately 4-feet long," she said.
DLNR wildlife biologist Fern Duvall, who has been leading the search efforts, had said earlier that sightings by residents indicate the animal is dark brown, and that the animal could be a jaguar or leopard.Ward said officials plan to bait an existing trap today with chicken meat and will be adding four additional traps with the same bait in the gulch.
State officials are asking the public to stay out of the lower Olinda area. Ward said wildlife officials fear that too many people might scare the animal into a different area and thwart efforts to capture it.
"Don't scare the animal. Give us a chance to catch it," she said. "We want it to feel comfortable enough to explore the trap and go inside."
Ward said that Duvall feels the searchers have a "pretty good idea of the area where there are potential capture spots."
Lower Olinda is a dryland area of pastures, eucalyptus forest and high grasses, where neighbors live acres apart and animals can easily go unnoticed.
The team of searchers gathered at about 8:30 a.m. yesterday near Oskie Rice Arena before beginning their search in the thickly wooded gulch.
There have been reports over the last six months suggesting that a large cat is loose in the area, with at least five sightings.
Until yesterday, the last sighting was on June 9 when Olinda residents Willie and Susan Wachter saw the animal as they left their driveway by the gulch.
Officials are asking residents to immediately report any sightings and not to approach or try to capture the animal.
Reports should be made to Duvall at 873-3502 or 984-8100. After normal business hours and on weekends, call the Maui County police at 244-6400.
