A real life big cat crisis has descended upon Long Island drawing in the likes of Netflix documentary Tiger King’s Carole Baskin, who allegedly helped to identify the wildcat that was spotted stalking outside a West Islip home on Tuesday.
Suffolk County police were called about a wildcat in the area of Boulevard Avenue in West Islip on July 26 at approximately 10:40 am. Although police responded to the area, the animal was not located.
Original Facebook post from Humane Long Island.
Since then social media has lit up with theories about what kind of cat it is and where it might have come from. Speculation is that it was an illegally held exotic pet but that has not been confirmed by police yet.
On Wednesday, Humane Long Island, an animal advocacy organization, posted on Facebook that the big cat had yet to be located.
“But a plan has been formulated when and if they are located,” the post read. “We are in touch with the New York DEC and Suffolk County SPCA and have informed these authorities that Save The Animals Rescue (STAR) Foundation is willing and able to foster the big cat and Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge has offered to give them a permanent home.”
Humane Long Island thanked Big Cat Rescue for helping with the identification of the animal and Wild Cat Sanctuary for offering their expertise.
If Big Cat Rescue sounds familiar, that’s because Carole Baskin, founder and CEO of the organization, was featured on the Netflix documentary Tiger King.
Baskin commented that the wildcat could actually be a Siberian Lynx.
The New York Post interviewed Roy Gross, of the Suffolk County SPCA, who said the animal “can be extremely dangerous.”
“Safeguard your children, safeguard your pets,” he told the newspaper.
Authorities urge anyone who comes in contact with the wildcat to keep their distance and dial 911 or the non-emergency police number, 631-852-COPS.