A Puma at Large

https://www.jianshu.com/p/cf8040d8394b

            Puma are large, cat-like animals which are found in America. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously. However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate, from the description given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.

The hunt for the puma began in a small village where a woman picking blackberries saw ‘a large cat’ only five yards away from her. It immediately run away when she saw it and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered. The search proved difficult, for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening. Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits. Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes. Several people complained of ‘cat-like noises’ at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree. The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from? As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country, this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape. The hunt went on several weeks, but the puma was not caught. It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside. L.G Alexander – Developing Skill (page 12)

Macan Tutul yang Lepas

            Macan tutul adalah hewan besar seperti kucing yang ditemukan di Amerika. Ketika laporan-laporan datang ke kebun binatang London bahwa seekor macan tutul liar telah terlihat 45 mil di selatan London, mereka mengabaikannya. Tetapi karena bukti telah bermunculan, para ahli dari kebun binatang merasa wajib untuk menyelidiki, karena gambaran-gambaran yang diberikan orang-orang yang mengaku telah melihat macan tutul tersebut sangatlah mirip.

            Perburuan macan tutul dimulai di sebuah desa kecil dimana seorang wanita yang sedang mengumpulkan berry hitam melihat ‘seekor kucing besar’ hanya berjarak lima yard darinya. Hewan itu tiba-tiba berlari menjauh ketika wanita itu melihatnya dan para ahli memastikan bahwa seekor macan tutul tidak akan menyerang seorang manusia kecuali dia tepojok. Pencarian terbukti sulit karena macan tutul sering teramati pada satu tempat di pagi hari dan di lain tempat sejauh 20 mil pada petang hari. Dimanapun dia pergi, dia meninggalkan jejak bangkai rusa dan hewan-hewan kecil seperti kelinci. Jejak kaki terlihat di banyak tempat dan bulu macan tutul ditemukan melekat di semak-semak. Orang-orang mengeluhkan ‘suara berisik seperti kucing’ pada malam hari dan seorang pebisnis yang sedang dalam perjalanan memancing melihat macan tutul diatas sebatang pohon. Para ahli sekarang sangat yakin bahwa bahwa binatang itu adalah seekor macan tutul, tetapi dari mana dia datang? Karena tidak ada macan tutul yang telah dilaporkan menghilang dari kebun binatang manapun di negara ini, ini pasti telah dalam kepemilikan seorang kolektor pribadi dan entah bagaimana berhasil lepas. Perburuan berlangsung selama beberap minggu, tetapi macan tutul itu belum tertangkap. Hal ini mengganggu, membayangkan bahwa seekor hewan liar yang berbahaya masih terlepas di pinggiran kota yang tenang.