Escaped jaguar blamed in Belize death

October 27, 2010|Associated Press

BELIZE CITY — A jaguar that escaped from its cage at a Belize animal rescue center during Hurricane Richard has been blamed in the mauling death of a US citizen whose body was found yesterday.

The 4-year-old male jaguar named Max escaped when a tree fell on his cage Sunday, the same day the Category 1 hurricane hit the country’s Caribbean coast with howling winds and rain.

Authorities found the victim’s body near the animal center. It had bite marks on the forearm and neck, and the man had apparently been attacked the day before and dragged for some distance into the bushes.

Belize’s national police force identified the victim as Bruce Cullerton, an American who also held Belizean citizenship.

Kelly McCarthy, a spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Belize, confirmed that “a US citizen died from a jaguar attack.’’ McCarthy could not provide any information on the man’s hometown.

The escaped jaguar had been sighted in the area near the center, located west of Belize City. Officials of the Belize Forest Department were trying to recapture it using steel-mesh cage traps baited with meat.

The 130-pound jaguar had been taken to the rescue and research center two years ago, after a resort that had held the animal as an attraction gave it up after a number of tourists complained.

The center’s operators, Richard and Carol Foster, rescue animals and attempt to return many of them to the wild.