Police & BAMZ Attend Report Of “Wild Animal”
[Updated with video. Police, BAMZ and Parks Dept officials attended the Cooper’s Island area after they received a report of what they termed a “large” and “wild animal,” which is now believed to have been a feral cat from St David’s]
The police are on scene at the Cooper’s Island area in St David’s this evening [Aug 28] after what we understand to be a situation involving someone reporting the sighting of a dangerous animal.
What appears to be personnel from the Aquarium and Department of Parks are also on scene. The area has been blocked off, and further details are limited at this time, however we will update as able.
Update 8.40pm: Police Media Manager Dwayne Caines confirmed that the police, Dept of Park and staff from BAMZ attended the area after receiving a report of a “wild animal in the area.”
Mr Caines said that in the “abundance of caution”, the gate has been closed, and officials will check the area again in the morning.
Attempts to get officials to confirm what type of “wild animal” was reported were unsuccessful.
Update 9.47pm: Video added of police statement with Media Manager Dwayne Caines
Update 11.47pm: Police Media Manager Dwayne Caines said, “At a few minutes before 6pm on Friday August 28th, Police and representatives from the Parks Department and Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo attended Coopers Island in the area of Clearwater and Turtle Bay in St. Georges after receiving unconfirmed reports of a wild animal being seen [on Coopers Island].
“As a result Park officials closed the large gate that segregates Coopers Island and in the morning representatives the respective agencies will reassess and give further information to the public.”
Update Aug 29, 8.19am: The gate remains closed as of this morning.
Update 10.00am: The gate is now open and everything appears normal. Unofficial reports indicate the “wild animal” reported to have been allegedly seen is a species not even found in Bermuda and it was not considered likely the animal was actually present, but officials followed up on the report to be on the safe side.
Update 11.07am: A government spokesperson said, “The Department of Parks can confirm that Cooper’s Island park has been reopened to the public.
“A member of the public reported seeing a large animal in the park yesterday evening and Parks staff attended the area and closed the park to investigate. It is believed that the animal seen is a rather large feral cat from St David’s known to frequent the park.”
A tourist?
They finally caught up with the guy at Cup Match !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s a SNAKE people a snake. What else do people smuggle into BDA that could be released into the wilds. This is careless and very unfortunate and it happens in Florida every day. People take there unwanted reptiles into the Everglades and release them because they don’t want to kill them. Unfortunately these evasive creatures kill everything in sight. Unfortunately in this case it would ultimately be a small child. How careless for anyone to do this.
But it wasn’t a snake…
It was the most likely creature that could have been spotted. From what I gather now, the individual that claim they seen a wild animal was without question on Shrooms.
Really do you always have to shoot the messenger!
Remember that raccoon that also accidentally got in? A small wild creature could have gotten in, escaped from the container unnoticed and then grew while here. It’s not out of the realm of possibility.
It was a panther.
Or a sasquatch!
Oh wow!!!! What could it be???
The ivory ape.
hahaha,, I will never forget that movie,, lol
Bigfoot maybe??
GODZILLA!!!
dangerous animal,hmmm,Bermuda has many of them!
A man?
A Bean?
An infected SpongeBob or contaminated Fay.
Dangerous animal? Sasquatch?
Nah, the elusive “St. Davids Drop Bear”. He responds to “Foxy” which confuses everyone.
A rabid chicken?
It wasn’t outside a polling station, was it?
IDK WERE YOU?
Typical statement…wouldn’t even say what this dangerous animal is believed to be. So now we the public are left to scratch our heads
Snake???
Possibly a ribd dog?
Rabid Dog?
Why won’t they say what animal is they are looking for?? People should know what to look out for that’s a very populated beach area especially over the weekend!
BIGFOOT!
Deff a snake trying to eat me
Was probably Scientist on the loose again.
Ashley?
Hahaha, although I was there yesterday and sometimes deemed as a wild animal, I don’t think it is me they are looking for!!! Lol jk! I have no idea what this person may have seen. Our tours are there on a daily basis, but at the same time I guess we don’t see everything, because if I would have seen the parrot fish slayer, they probably would have been this wild animals next victim!
I dont think WOnderwhy meant you..this Ashley. The guy that walks around barefoot.Aint seen him for awhile.
http://bernews.com/2011/02/drunk-driver-gets-15-months-in-jail/
Anaconda!!!
Must have been some good shrooms!
Salt water gator..?
My Ex?
No it was my Ex
Cockroach?
http://youtu.be/9GqnCUDCL3g
MOHAWKS ON THE WAR PATH
A Fox?
… or a Minors, or a O’Cconour or a Canonnaier…
Pretty sure it’s just an old crock in a well .
Darn! Grandma escaped again…
Careful what you guys catch while ya out fishing tonight! Full moon
Why they let Scientist out again jeesh ums
Did they mention anything about a kid’s bicycle also seen nearby? If no, then we can rule him out!
Bring em in, we could have our own safari park with tours of the big cats, elephants and more
… that circus is already ‘on de hill dahn town’…
so closing off the area till the morning ….as if that would stop any dangerous animal (or snake) from getting past the gates!
Cooper’s Island has so many ways in and out for a person,so it’s certainly not going to stop anything from getting out.
Took the words right out my mouth. At first light they will be back out looking! That thing will be long gone!
Somebody must have been getting to close to the Cockspur chicken
That has nothing to do with keeping the animal in but everything to do with keeping ppl OUT from potential danger while it’s being investigated.
I hope it isn’t no type of carnivore
oh shes a carnivoreeeeeeee and it aint no snake
its bonton…
d police dem haffi no we dem need d answers where mi brudda is
Who let the dog out! Whoop whoop whoop!!
Sea Monster
@ I can not believe its not butter, read! the report stated they will release more information at first light….. it is dark now…. people it means in the morning they will give more information that can include what kind of animal it is….. geesh, if they said lion would you have felt better….. or if they said snake you then would have gone down to the beach?? get a life, if in doubt stay away….
give us all the information its only 2 days for the week end an i got things to do. if its something that i know will stay behind the lock fence then i can conduct my business in the area if not then i will hold off try to squiz it in tomorrow. dont treat us like some kids that need to be protected. we have brains and common sense. if the gov try to protect people all the time you will rob them of the ability to build common sense like the fokes in the US have been rob.
Sorry,but you are talking illiterate you sound like you have been robbed from common sense and brains( knowledge) tell me what you know about the United States being rob. You lack education in the system locally and abroad. Please stick to the topic, it’s a wild animal on the loose, so they say.
I showed up after 7pm – there was already a whole slew of police and police cars present at turtle bay – for this unconfirmed wild animal citing – there were plenty people around as well – they locked the Cooper’s island gate which did not make sense because there are several ways in and out of coopers island – they give a vague description of what and where it is and then say if you see something back off slowly??? And this is supposed to be protection of the public – they then say we will be back at first light 6am to update – so I go down at midnight to (check car windows and doors locked) – just as dark as ever – but no police or police cars – I did come upon a bunch of barbecuing beachers at turtle bay though – they didn’t look worried about any large cats to me – same thing next night… Was the public supposed to believe this yarn – or was the purpose to spread fear??? Your guess is as good as mine
Darn skippy, my husband and the dog are once again getting confused.
Darn skippy, my husband is lost again.
Is it Cthulhu? Was Lovecraft right all along?
You think the go beys are trying to trick us
i heard it was a kangabat…..
Bermudians don’t get alarmed. I need to know if I should be going on my run tonight. give me the info so i can make the judgment call. don’t treat us like the people in the US
A Tasmanian Devil????
NASA scientific experiments
I see a lot of people are taking this as a joke. I wonder how old you are. I’m not going to lie some was funny, but on that note,I feel that the media should tell us what type of wild animal for our protection. Leaving us in the dark is a no, no. One comment said that they was going out for a run and they needed more info and then says don’t treat us like the U.S, please if it was the United States you would know what type of wild animal we are dealing with. So we have no choice, but to listen to the rumors until we know the facts.
If it’s a duck … it could be mine!
Uh oh! Looks like Betty got loose.
Maybe an alien from the Bermuda Triangle
It’s the Canadians scoping out the approach to the airport runway:)
Well it was Canadians that reported the sighting of it
Maybe its an alien!? Take me with you
Honey, I think I found Baby Jane’s lost, “my Little Pony”.
Let’s be serious people. The only real logical answer here is either the saber toothed chicken or chupacabra.
No one had a camera? Every one has a camera. Time for CCTV in the area.
Killer Rabbit!
They should at least tell us what kind of ‘wild animal’ is supposedly on the loose. If there really is any truth to the report. Animals aren’t going to stay in one spot to wait for police and others to arrive. They will go wherever they feel like going.
Is it an animal that can also swim? If so, that creature could easily slip away by night and swim to anywhere it wants to go without being seen.
Is it a report of a wild feline? Chances are it is probably just a large ferral cat. I’ve seen some of them that can easily be mistaken for a lynx (bobcat).
I mean come on …. why is it such a secret? Just tell us what it is.
The PoPo always want our help with everything but at the same time they are always keeping us in the dark.
Tell me, why should I help anyone who is never open and honest with me?
It was reported to be a panther. I live in St. David’s and got several calls that the police were on the lookout for a black panther. My kids were playing outside…I ran out into my yard, grabbed them and brought them inside. I can laugh about it now, but I wasn’t about to chance them being some hungry feline’s dinner LOL….
A “wild” animal?
Yeah…
-Too many rum swizzles on a Friday night??
Or
- Probably somebody trying out their halloween costume…?
You all are a hot mess lol. Great comments.
It’s the killer Rabbit from search for the holy grail
The feral dogs & cats have been sleeping in the old US Navy nuclear depth charge storage bunkers on the “finger runway” for the last 2 decades and have been exposed to radiation. They have been breeding MUTATED dogs & cats (an abandoned, secret offshore US experiment) and one has escaped.
There’s actually been sightings of a large, panther like creature all over the U.S. that they think has something to do with regular animals being exposed to nuclear chemicals or whatever…hey, you never know.
Was it Hanbury?
A wild rabid 6ft radioactive cockaroach, chasing Tiny the Tree frog. Me thinks someone was eating magic mushrooms, wacky weed ,or 100proof
Remember Coopers island was off limits.It was to dp with space flight and military. Perhaps telemetry to do with first contact suggests visitation from alien life forms…they had big dishes that sent various comunications through space.was it a monitor lizard?,or such.
You might be onto something. The first thing they’ll say is “Take me to your leader…” Maybe someone should tell Dunk to get ready just in case…
That darn cat been drinking out of that chemical pond back there n must’ve fell in it to be big enough to scare someone, whoever made that report obviously has a cat phobia.. shooks naww
Kermit the frog ( no one knew his wild side )
Oh my goodness you all are too funny! Thanks for a good laugh.
Reports were circulating around St. David’s that a panther was on the loose. Must have been one big a– black cat to be mistaken for a panther!!!
That darn cat he been drinking out of that dirty ol chemical pond bach there he must’ve fell it this time…obviously whoever made that call has a cat phobia n had no idea st davids had all those cats, shooks naw
That darn cat he been drinking out of that dirty ol chemical pond bach there he must’ve fell it this time…obviously whoever made that call has a cat phobia and had no idea st davids had all those cats, shooks naw.
This reminds me of the panic of the great tsunami scare of 2006. The police made the situation even worse…I know they need to take things seriously but geesh…
Somebody was HIIGGGHHHHH!!!!
Bigfoot? Chupacabra? ManBearPig?
LOL!! A larger than normal feral cat!? What is the Feline association feeding this thing, or did it eat up all the feral chickens? How many drinks did the person who spotted this “big cat” have? Wow, next it’ll be a larger than normal chicken and reports of big bird on the loose will send us into panic mode.
There’s a large, fluffy black cat that frequents the area. While he is exceptionally large for a cat, he’s not crazy big. He’s not dangerous either…in fact, if you approach him he runs. Either somebody didn’t take their meds, was full hot or had too much time on their hands on a Friday night.
Those do- gooders who feed the feral cats need to cut back on what they are feeding them. We now have monster cats scaring people
well Cooking Fat!
I have been reading all these comments and laughing my head off! Must have some very large cat – who knows, could have been feeding off left-over radioactive material from Cooper’s Island NASA station, which has increased its size tremendously. Watch out, could be others out there!
Its Chris Furbert running around,,I saw him!!!
Nothing but a good Chuckle. I am floored!!! Someone take me out back and beat me with a stick.
I’D BE GLAD TO!
Mohawk I am, not my fault!! Hehe darn cats, left overs from Navy days…
Truth be told wild animals and other invasive a have entered our environment via planes for years so ther is always some merit to these sightings.
During the Vietnam war America introduced a bird eating snake to one of the Pacific islands, they didn’t have any natural enemies to cull their numbers and as a result destroyed the bird population of this island.
Snakes and small reptiles are much easier to enter as I saw myself when I found a geko nest at the entrance to LF Wade. Airport so the presence of a small cat or other foreign species isn’t to far fetched.
Outside of that the comic relief is brilliant.
So, we have the BPS, Parks & Aquarium people all down there at Coopers Island on overtime looking for a cat.
Is that the story?
Oh be quiet…you’re so negative!!! Better safe than sorry, they had a report and has to act accordingly. Would you rather they ignored the call, and there really was a wild animal on the loose? People, including you, would have been screaming for heads to roll. Geesh…just can’t win!!
Lets just say that I know more about the incident than you do or is printed & leave it at that.
Yeah right Einstein. …you’re probably the one who made the report…you scaredy cat.
SO if it wasn’t a cat but something extremely dangerous would you mind it they got overtime? Just dumb!
NASA probably needed the park closed for maintenance and this was the best cover up we could muster.
A cat..?? Or was it something they don’t want you to know about…jus sayin’
Yeah, it is part of a sinister OBA plot to keep people ignorant about what is really happening. Perfectly logical to you.
I think u have drifted too far out of ur triangle…where did u find anything political about my comment…I was talking about s#!t and ur talking about eating it….take a break from being a political whore.
What was it?
hold that thought….there was a large domesticated cat available on “dudeiwantthat.com”.It was at least 30lbs.
It is a manjaro savannah cat…google it…it is perfectly domesticated ….so small minded people need not hurt it….
The St. David’s Feral cat. Like the St. David’s church worm it gigantic. Must be something in the St. David’s water?!
Yes, probably a certain breed of cat. We have a few “Maine coons” on the island. As an owner of one they are as big as dogs and look like panthers/Cougars. Beautiful creatures. Some have leopard like markings too. If you saw one in the “wild” you would think wild cat…and wet yourself! But they are real ” puddy tats”.
Just a p**** that did not get elected and went on it’s own.