Thirty wild cats have been trapped and removed from West Bank Park on Lake Lanier in a cooperative effort by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local animal groups, but about 25 remain.

The Corps of Engineers will work with another person to try to remove the remaining cats, dismaying the Humane Society of Forsyth County and the Georgia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The two groups wanted to trap, neuter and return the cats to the park and had been helping the effort.

Chris Lovelady, Assistant Operations Project Manager for the Corps, said the remaining cats have grown used to the traps being used and evade them. The Corps began using a new type trap this week and hope to catch the remaining cats in coming days. A local volunteer will remove the cats to other locations, he said.

Carmela Quinlan with the local Humane Society said she was disappointed the Corps was not planning to return the cats to the park after neutering and inoculating them. The society has relocated the 30  trapped cats they treated to an isolated property. Quinlan hoped the remaining cats would be treated and returned to the park, but Lovelady said the cats were a threat to wildlife and posed some health risks.

--Christopher Quinn

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In 2022, Georgia Power projected its winter peak electricity demand would grow by about 400 megawatts by 2031. Since then, Georgia has experienced a boom of data centers, which require a large load of electricty to run, and Georgia Power's recent forecast shows peak demand growing by 20 times the 400-megawatt estimate from just three years ago. (Illustration by Philip Robibero/AJC)

Credit: Illustration: Philip Robibero / AJC