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 I
kneeled down and looked inside the transport cage. My eyes locked
with a set of beautiful blue-green eyes.
As the eyes continued staring at me, I slowly put my hand up to the
bars talking softly to the young cougar inside. Weighing no more
than 40 pounds, badly malnourished with ribs showing, I knew she
could be no more than a year old.
I slowly put my hand into the cage to touch her. Her eyes held hope
and love. I gently stroked her as she purred. Suddenly, I felt
something warm and wet hit my arm and I realized ‘it was my own
tears’.
How could a person that God created do this to such a beautiful
animal.
I had gotten the call early that morning from a State Ranger that
they had found a young cougar almost dead from wounds and
starvation. Quickly, I put a call in to my daughter to see if she
could go to Anahuac to meet with the Ranger and pick up the cat.
Debbie assured me it would not be a problem. The Ranger said they
had received a call three weeks earlier wanting to know the penalty
for releasing a cat in the reserve. He informed the ‘unidentified
caller’ of the penalty and also told him due to the lack of
greenery, trees and water that a cat could not survive there.
That’s how Ayonia's, came to call the refuge her home.
Now, Ayonia weighs 89 pounds and is a joy to be around. She loves to
run and play, chase after a ball, throw her stuffed animal into the
air and catch it before it hits the ground. She is always ready
when I pass her in her habitat to be petted and talked to sweetly.
Eventually, we hope to build a large cougar habitat so
Ayonia's and
all the other cougars can safely run and play together. For now,
she is very content to be a few feet away from two male cougars in
their habitat.
Ayonia's never tires of showing off and flirting with her two friends
who cheer her and egg her on, as she struts her stuff.
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