Arizona wildcat experts
to assist Maui again
WAILUKU >> State wildlife officials are seeking the help of Arizona wildcat experts to show them how to put out snares in Olinda, after a dog suffered deep wounds possibly inflicted by a large cat.
"We are, of course, concerned about this," said Deborah Ward, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Land & Natural Resources. "This is the first report we have of an attack on an actual pet."
A 60-pound black Labrador named Nani was outside the home of William and Susan Wachter when it was injured about 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
The owners did not notice the scratches until later that morning and took the dog to veterinarian Ronald Moyer.
While the injuries were not life-threatening, the dog suffered a half-inch-deep wound near an eye and under its forearm, and a slash below the forearm.
The gash on the dog's side required a stitch.
Moyer said he could not say what caused the attack, but the wounds were more consistent with claw marks than teeth marks and happened in a matter of seconds.
He said the injuries could have been from a big cat.
Ward said the shortness of the encounter indicates the dog might have surprised the cat or the cat surprised the dog.
She said there have been two other incidents of cat sightings this month, including one after 5 p.m. Sept. 3, when a driver on an Olinda road reported seeing a large cat going up a swale.
Ward said state officials who were called by the driver did not see the cat.
She said around 1 a.m. on Sept. 4, a resident heard a sound from a large animal that might have been the cat.
Ward said wildlife biologist Fern Duvall has relocated sensor cameras to areas where the cat has been active most recently.
Duvall has been waiting for an Arizona cat expert to determine the kind of wildcat that is suspected to be roaming in Olinda, based on fur samples taken by state officials during searches.
Ward said the results may be completed in about a week.
Arizona state cat expert William Van Pelt confirmed last month that a large cat, not a dog, killed a 30-pound deer found near a gulch in lower Olinda on July 11.
Van Pelt, who suspected the animal may be a young adult mountain lion, leopard or jaguar, also mentioned the use of snares as perhaps the best way to capture the cat alive.
Ward said that Hawaii wildlife officials will consult with their counterparts in Arizona about how to best set snares to trap the big cat.
The Wachters are among several residents who have reported seeing the large cat.
Lower Olinda, mauka of Makawao town, is a mixture of pastures and dry-land forest, with stands of eucalyptus trees.
Anyone seeing or hearing a big cat in Olinda is asked to call Duvall at 873-3502 or the Maui Police Department at 244-6400.
