Persistent Reports of Cougars in Sussex County New Jersey

One mountain lion we can confirm living in New Jersey
is at the Bergen County Zoo.

Despite the fact that the state has never confirmed the presence of a mountain lion (cougar, puma) in New Jersey, those sightings continue to be the most frequent comments and emails to me at this website. 

Unfortunately, the frequent comment reports are never accompanied by clear photos or video of the cat, tracks, fur, or even scat, all of which biologists would use to confirm (probably via DNA) that it is a cougar.

But I continue to receive reports and find articles and I report them here. maybe one day we will get confirmation.

Here is an article from 2006 on a report in Vernon, NJ. (click the images to enlarge)

And here is a letter to that same newspaper.

Parker Space, who owns Space Farms in Wantage, is familiar with just about every species of animal out there. “I have lived here my whole life and spent many hours hiking and hunting in Stokes and High Point... a bobcat track in the snow that melts out and doubles in size, then people think it’s a mountain lion track. We have no mountain lions here.”

That hasn't stopped people in the wilds of Sussex County from looking for mountain lions - or even Bigfoot.

Looking for cougars in New Jersey is not cryptozoology, but so far no hard evidence. Going for a walk in the woods of Northern NJ? make sure you have that iPhone video ready to go.