Endangered cat was run over by vehicle and shot

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jwc4OiTWXJsC_Eio4-Sc2J7tkmLAD96VRT180

By DANIEL WOOLLS

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish official says a pregnant Iberian lynx, the world's most endangered cat, has been found dead in a nature reserve.

The official says it was run over by a vehicle and had also been shot with a shotgun. It was pregnant with two cubs.

The cause of death was the vehicle, the official said Tuesday on condition of anonymity in line with department rules.

The Iberian lynx, which looks like a bobcat, is classified by the World Conservation Union as the planet's most endangered feline species.

The environmental department of Spain's southern Andalusia region says only about 200 specimens are thought to live in the wild, in two areas of Andalusia.

The department official says the female was found dead Friday in one of those areas, Donana National Park.

[Sultana]

1. Kill the fucker who did that

:mad:

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[Barack_America]

5. How do you know it was intentional?

It's entirely possible that the animal was accidentally hit and that the driver, fearing the animal was suffering, but afraid to approach it, subsequently shot it to end it's suffering.

I'm an animal lover to the extreme, but let's not jump to conclusions here.

[Sultana]

9. The dumb fucker should've drove carefully then...

x(

[NeedleCast]

11. That's kinda silly...

Sad that the animal lost it's life but you have no evidence that he was not driving carefully.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. That just hurts.

If they can't be safe in a nature preserve, where on earth can they be?

I am outraged.

[MadHound]

3. It could simply be that somebody was being kind

They may have run it over by accident, and rather than have it live its last minutes of life in severe pain, they simply shot it. I was wishing for a .22 the other day for much the same reason. Riding in I came across a regular house cat that had been hit by a car. It was obvious that it wasn't going to live, and I really wanted a gun to put it out of its misery. As it was, I sat by the side of the road and soothed, petted and comforted it as best I could for the last minutes of its life. Bummer of a way to start a Monday.

[Barack_America]

6. That was very kind of you to do.

:hug:

[MadHound]

7. Thanks,

It was a suck day all around, came home to find my neighbor's cow had died while trying to give birth. I went home and hugged all my animals extra tight last night.

Thankfully today's going much better.

[ashling]

8. That was my first thought

:hi:

[northernlights]

12. that was my first thought, too

I had a puma run out in front of my car on a back road once. Luckily I was driving very slowly and it was running very fast. I also had a deer jump in front of my car after dark on an icy road once. Damn lucky that I have quick reflexes and good traction, because it was frighteningly close. And I saw a housecat get hit and stopped to help it. It was too far gone, we made it to the nearest house but it died in my arms while they were on the phone with the vet.

The lynx may well have been hit by accident and the driver did it a kindness by not leaving it to suffer and die slowly.

[NeedleCast]

4. Maybe Someone Actually Doing the Right Thing?

Hit it with a vehicle on accident, crippling it. Shot it to stop it from suffering?

[GreenPartyVoter]

10. Poor kitteh!!

[kimmerspixelated]

13. That's truly awful.

Don't tell the lounge...shhh! They tend to worship cats, and would probably go into a collective slump! Just saying..

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

14. It sounds like an accident & the person shot the cat to put it out of its misery,