Mountain lion seizing family pets in Chinese village

Haikou (CNS) -- Recently, an elusive 'big cat' prowling the Shishan Township of Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, has been the focus of public alarm.

"Caution! Recently, a large mountain lion was seen lingering around our town seeking food." warned conspicuous police posters mounted in well trafficked areas of the surrounding 12 villages.

Su Rui, senior whose living quarters are attached to a pottery repair factory, reported that the predator visited his place twice at the close of the Chinese year of the Rabbit, and unfortunately carried off his two dogs; one returned with wounds and the other has not been seen since.

He recalls the catamount's footprint to be about the size of a fist: 10 cm long and 5 cm wide, but it ran too fast for Su to catch sight of it.

Experienced villagers say no such 'robbery' of pets has been seen before these incidents, since common wild animals around the region are reputedly friendly with family dogs, or at least leave them alone. "It may be a lion that has escaped from captivity, someone's private cage，" speculated He Zailin, an employee at the provincial tropical wildlife zoo and botanical garden.