A former Polish soldier turned himself in Sunday morning after fleeing with his pet puma into the woods.
Kamil Stanek gave himself up to authorities in Zawiercie, Poland after a three day manhunt to find the man and his pet puma, per Barron’s. “We are pleased to inform you that Nubia (the puma) has been under professional care of employees of the Chorzów ZOO for several hours,” read a statement on Zawiercie Police’s Facebook page. (RELATED: Study Finds Coronavirus Immunity Could Be Lost In Months)
Stanek was reportedly ordered to turn the animal over to a zoo as it is illegal in Poland to possess dangerous animals. Zoo workers sent to Stanek’s house were greeted with Stanek holding a knife and threatening them, per Barron’s. The Afghan war veteran reportedly then ran into the woods with the puma on a leash.
Poland police hunt for fugitive ex-soldier and his puma https://t.co/jFGF2tEOpj
— The Straits Times (@STcom) July 12, 2020
“It’s my baby! I will not give back! Over my dead body!” Stanek shouted at the workers, according to Gazeta Wyborcza. Stanek says he will also be using quarantine to go to court over the custody of Nubia, per Gazeta Wyborcza. “I have a wife and a child. But the family understands that I can’t leave Nubia,” said Stanek.
200 officers were deployed to hunt down Stankek after he fled into the woods, per Barron’s. “It’s not a cuddly toy,” Ewa Zgrabczyńska, head of the Poznan zoo in western Poland, told Barron’s, “It’s one of the most dangerous animals in the world and it could be a real threat to people’s lives.”