Mystery big cat spotted near University of Hawaii in Manoa sparks island-wide search

Wildlife officers spent hours searching the Waahila Ridge area after large cat seen near the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Earlier this week, someone spotted what looked like a big wild cat on the mountainside near the University of Hawaii at Manoa on Oahu. It looked a lot like a mountain lion—but mountain lions aren’t supposed to be in Hawaii. In fact, they don’t live there at all.

DOCARE officers were sent to investigate the wild animal in the Waahila Ridge area (Pexels)

Island News shared the post on Instagram, saying, “The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is checking out reports of a large cat seen near the University of Hawaii at Manoa this week.” According to the post, someone who works at the East-West Center on campus called DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) after seeing the big cat nearby.

DOCARE officers were sent to investigate the wild animal in the Waahila Ridge area. After searching for the large cat for a couple of hours, there were no other sightings.

Wildlife officers spent hours searching the Waahila Ridge area. They looked on foot and also used a drone to see if they could spot anything from the sky. So far, they haven’t found anything unusual. Now, officials are asking people to stay alert and be cautious, as per reports.

One local resident, who didn’t want to share their name, said they took a photo earlier in the week said, "be very alert, because something is out there, definitely something big."

Some people think it could be a mountain lion or another kind of large wild cat.

The same resident said, "I called Fishing Wildlife and actually emailed them pictures," as reported by Kitv.