Nov 16, 2008 12:08 am US/Eastern
Cougar Attacks Teen In South Florida Home
PALM SPRINGS NORTH (CBS4) ―
A 16-year-old girl was rushed to the hospital Saturday after being mauled by a cougar. According to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the girl suffered non-life-threatening injuries: puncture wounds, cuts and scratches to her head, neck and arms.
The young woman was attacked at the house at 17910 NW 84th Avenue in Palm Springs North.
It is unclear why the 150 pound cougar attacked the teen, but the
owner of the home apparently has the proper permits to have the large
cat at his home.
Jorge Pino, a spokesman for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission, says the owner, Alan Rigerman, also has snakes, small
alligators and other animals. He was out of town when the attack took
place.
"Heard the girl screaming at the top of her lungs 'help me, help me, help me, this thing is gonna kill me!' so I jumped the fence! I got back there and the cat had the girl by the head," described neighbor Richard Morales. He was able to beat the large cat named Chaos off the girl, and control him enough to get him back inside his cage. "The kid had no permission to be in the house."
Miami-Dade police say a young man entered the home illegally. That 22-year-old has been arrested and charged with burglary. Morales says the young man was trying to impress his girlfriend and her mother. The girl and her mother were not arrested. The arrested man was indentified by neighbors as Anthony Zitnick.
The cougar remains in a cage at the house, according to Pino, and will remain there throughout the investigation. "They're wild animals," Pino told CBS4 News. "They're not necessarily violent animals but they're wild animals. Any wild animal who is a predator is going to act accordingly."
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
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