Jaguar blamed in Belize death caught, euthanized

BELIZE CITY — Authorities in the Central American nation of Belize have captured and euthanized a jaguar that escaped from its cage last week during Hurricane Richard and killed a U.S. man.

The Belize Forestry Department led the effort to recapture the 4-year-old male jaguar named Max, who escaped after a tree fell on his cage when Category 1 Hurricane Richard hit the country with howling winds and rain.

The Forestry Department said Wednesday it put the jaguar down after the operators of the research center from which Max escaped identified the animal.

The victim was Bruce Cullerton, an American who also held Belizean citizenship. His body was found Tuesday, and the 130-pound (59 kilogram) jaguar was recaptured later that day.