As we are in autumn and hunters are taking to the fields and forests and hikers are walking our state's rural trails, the mountain lion reports continue to come to me here and although I haven't seen any hard evidence or confirmation from the NJDEP, I like reading about them. Apparently, so do others, because they are consistently the top posts here and certainly the most commented posts.
Let me start by saying that despite many reported sightings, the cougar facts are that the Eastern cougar is still considered extinct not only in New Jersey but in most of the East.
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| This cougar photographed in a zoo shows the relatively small head-to-body ratio and the distinctive long, fat tail. via publicdomainpictures.net |
Sightings of mountain lions (which seems to be the preferred name here in NJ, though cougar is more correct) seem to occur in batches. Such is the case with a series of reports in 2012 of mountain lions in several towns in Bergen County. Ho-Ho-Kus police investigated a sighting near the Hillsdale border, and the Westwood Mayor told The Record newspaper that borough police had received a number of calls about mountain lion sightings near Pascack Brook County Park.
A report in Mahwah back in 2004 even made it into The New York Times though ultimately that animal was described as ''a very large stray tabby cat" orange and brown with a striped tail. Maybe it was a bobcat?
A 2013 report of a cougar in Princeton never turned up any evidence.
A recent email to me referenced a 2012 "sighting" and that there have sightings of a mountain lion on Anndrean Dr. in Annandale, NJ and by residents in Clinton Township. The writer said that they "are known to prey on sheep in Hunterdon County."
That 2012 report was based on a photo from a wildlife camera that was thought to perhaps show a cougar attacking a deer in Clinton Township. The report got Mick Valent, principal zoologist for the state Division of Fish and Wildlife, to investigate. He said “I get calls all year long from all parts of the state from people claiming to see cougars. There are even reports of black panthers. I scratch my head a lot of times.”
Investigating a cougar sighting is very difficult because by the time a report is given to police or state Fish and Wildlife officials, whatever animal had been seen will be long gone.
Valent added that there have been a couple of verified cougar sightings, but they turned out to be illegal pets. “We know people keep them illegally,” he said, citing a case in Bergen County from around 2001. So, is it possible that one kept as a pet is now in the wild?
Valent said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had recently done an extensive assessment and determined there are no wild cougars in the entire Eastern U.S. But in June 2011, a story that got wide coverage in the northeast was about a cougar killed on a Connecticut highway that put doubt into people about the federal findings. DNA tests indicated that the cougar was probably related to cougars in South Dakota and it was believed he came east from there.
But if there is one cougar, might there be others?
If you ever encounter a cougar anywhere or think it is a cougar, you should never run from it but rather make your presence known by raising or slowly waving your arms and maintaining eye contact with the animal. As much as we would love to see photos or video, recording the event should not be your first concern when encountering any wild animal, including bears, bobcats, and coyotes. DEfinitely report the animal to the police and determine the specific place where the encounter occurred for further investigation.
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