The man eventually complied with a court order to hand over the big cat, which he has kept as a pet for six years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A man in Poland wielded a knife and fled to the woods, refusing to give up his beloved \u2014 but illegal \u2014 pet puma when officials from a zoo tried to retrieve the animal on Friday, according to local reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man, Kamil Stanek, who bought the big cat and named her Nubia six years ago, has posted nearly 200 videos of her playfully nuzzling and nibbling him on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But despite his assertion that the cat was harmless and well cared for, he was ordered by a court to hand over the puma to a zoo in Poznan. The police said that zoo employees had attempted to take Nubia before informing the police, and the standoff on Friday ensued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Piotr \u017bytnicki, a local journalist, disputed that account, reporting that the police had been notified but did not arrive in time. Mr. Stanek had twice been fined for keeping Nubia, and ultimately the courts decided Nubia must be taken to the zoo, he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zoo officials said Nubia lived in substandard conditions. When the employees arrived to claim the puma, Mr. Stanek threatened them with a knife and dragged the animal away, the Pozna\u0144 zoo said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The police conducted an extensive search that mobilized more than 200 officers before Mr. Stanek finally relented on Sunday, turning over Nubia to a zoo in Chorzow, a city in southwest Poland not far from where he lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr. Stanek pleaded not guilty to charges of illegally keeping the puma \u2014 ownership of wild animals is illegal in Poland \u2014 and faces up to three years in prison, according to local reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe only positive aspect of the failed action is the fact that nobody was hurt,\u201d the police in Zawiercie, where Mr. Stanek lives, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ewa Zgrabczynska, the head of the zoo in Poznan, said on social media that the puma was \u201cnot a toy but a dangerous animal which may pose a real threat to the health and life of people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe has no chance of living in nature,\u201d she wrote, adding that living in the zoo would give the puma a chance to \u201cat least partially regain its biological identity of a strong predator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It might not surprise viewers of Netflix\u2019s \u201cTiger King\u201d to hear that the owner of a big cat went to extreme lengths on behalf of an animal. Much like Joe Exotic, the breakout star of the Netflix series, Mr. Stanek has attracted tens of thousands of fans on his Facebook page<\/a> and has charged visitors to pet Nubia and take photos with her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n