Houston Craigslist Cougar Ad Pulled, But It's Still For Sale

HOUSTON, TX — Typing the word 'cougar' in a search on Google can bring up a myriad of links from Mercury cars to RVs to the U of H mascot to older women seeking younger boys to date. Of course, there's the actual jungle cat that roams the wild, and when searched this week on Craigslist, it listed a Houston woman trying to sell a real cougar cat.

After several folks voiced concern about the Craigslist ad this week, KHOU reportedly called the number on the ad to inquire about the animal for sale. When the station called about the cougar, the woman reportedly said it was a "scam," and that an hour after the call was placed the ad had been removed.

"The woman who answered when KHOU 11 called the number on the post Thursday morning said, “It’s a scam,” and then hung up the phone," the station reported on its website.

Gabe Stockstill said he called the number to ask about using the animal for a photo shoot in a wooded area near his home, and that he'd chatted with the woman the previous evening.

"I just wanted to confirm that this was real before I got in touch with wildlife or anyone else about this," Stockstill said. "This is not something you want to play around with."

According to correspondence between Stock-still and KHOU, the family was "moving out of town in a hurry and were trying to sell the animal quickly, but she would consider allowing the cat to do the photoshoot if it had not been sold by this weekend."

The report goes n to say that Stockstill had planned on having the animal meet at the location for the photoshoot, and that he'd call the police once the seller was distracted.

"KHOU 11 legal analyst professor Gerald Treece said it is illegal to sell, buy or possess a cougar in Texas without having the rare permit issued by the Texas Wildlife Commission," the report said. Greece went on to
say the seller could be breaking federal laws by trying to sell an endangered species on the black market.

"This is a big, big money business in Texas," Treece said. "And so I’m asking the viewers to be very careful. Maybe you want to have a cougar or a python, well control yourself."

Image: A cougar cub onstage during the National Geographic portion of the 2017 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at the Langham Hotel on January 13, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)