Mountain Lion takes a stroll in Ladyville

There was a rare sighting of a Mountain Lion, also known as a Puma in Ladyville Village on Sunday. The sighting happened between four and four thirty on Sunday afternoon at a residence in the Lake Gardens Area in the village. According to Carmen Brown, she was inside her home when she heard several dogs barking. When she looked outside, she saw the large cat on a tree inside her yard. The animal appeared to have wondered into her yard from the back gate. When the dogs began barking, the animal ran up the tree. According to Brown, when the barking subsided, the cat ran down the street and disappeared. Reports are that other residents in the area have seen a mountain lion roaming the area and it is suspected to be the same animal.  Officials at the Forest Department say that they are aware of the sighting and have planned a sight visit to set up camera traps to monitor the creature’s activity in the area. Of the five wild cats found in Belize, the Mountain Lion is the second largest. Reports by the Belize Zoo indicate that continuous development and deforestation have contributed to the decline of their population.