The Atlantic City Press reports unsubstantiated sightings of a mountain lion in Upper Township, New Jersey.
UPPER TOWNSHIP — The Township Committee is trying to determine whether mountain-lion sightings in the area are fact or phantom.
Mayor Richard Palombo this week publicly urged residents who have seen a large cat — maybe a mountain lion or a big bobcat — to notify the township’s animal-control officer.
“At this point, we’re making everyone alert about it. The animal-control officer is looking at it if anyone sees an animal,” the mayor said.
Liam Hughes, who handles animal control in parts of Atlantic and Cape May counties, said there are no confirmed lion sightings. Nor could anyone find scat or tracks, called pug marks.
But the lion stories persist.
“There are reports of it. Nothing positive,” Hughes said. “Did you see this? Did you hear this? There are credible people who believe they saw something.”
State Police in Woodbine and the Cape May County Park & Zoo are aware of the rumored sightings. The zoo is home to the county’s one and only known mountain lion.Hughes said a cougar could make a tidy living in Upper Township, home to the Great Cedar Swamp and its countless muskrats, rabbits, turkey and deer — all cougar favorites.
But could a large cat remain undetected in a suburban township such as Upper?
Out here in Silicon Valley, highly substantiated sightings, like the case of the mountain lion shot out of a front yard tree in Palo Alto, are far from rare.
rightwingprof
We live in the Alleghenies fewer than 200 miles from New Jersey, and we have them. I’m not sure why they wouldn’t.
Vern Morin
Dear Editor,
My wife, my 11 year old son, 2 of my sons friends, myself and my neighbor have all spotted a cougar in our area. I have seen the cougar twice and tracks of a large and a small cougar along with markings on trees that could be from cougars jumping into trees. I was prompted to look in these trees last Saturday after my son and his friends came running in the house at 7:30 a.m. scared to death, saying a cougar growled and that they saw it jump from a tree to the ground. The tree it was near where we feed the deer daily. We first saw the 2 sets of cougar tracks in August, which I identified on the internet as cougar tracks, not dog, coyote, fox, domestic cat or other. A neighbor then asked if we had seen the cougar that his wife and he had seen. I told him about the tracks. After spotting the cougars ourselves, we were scared for our children, ourselves and others. I then called the NJ Division of Fish Game and Wildlife and they took 2 weeks to respond to my message. They told me to take a casting of the tracks or pictures of the cougar with a landmark in the background. They refused to come and check it out. Hold on let me ask the cougars to pose in front of our town hall at noon for a picture with the governor of NJ! Will it take a child or someone to be killed before the state of NJ believes it’s citizens that there are cougars in the area? There have been now over 50 reported sightings in Cape May, Cumberland and Gloucester Counties! It was on the channel 40 news and in the local papers!
Will someone with some intelligence from the state of NJ please have a cougar hunter and his dogs come check this out? When the deer in South Jersey are gone, who will the cougars eat next. If a child is near a cougar will it think no I must wait for a deer in order to eat. I really do not want to lose another child. We lost a daughter to cancer 12 years ago from no doubt environmental pollution which is continually neglected by the state, federal government and alot of others.
Vern Morin
An Alarmed Citizen of Southern NJ
Kathleen
I live on 3 acres in Atlantic County, NJ in the Bargaintown section. On May 22, 2007. My husband called me out to our deck, that over looks the woods. In back of his boat, was a baby mountain lion. He quickly ran back into the woods. I have my digital cam ready if he shows up again.
Where there’s a baby, there’s a mom or more cubs?
Kathleen VG
CHAUNCEY McGAYRAY
I SAW IT FIRST. I TURNED TO MOKE AND SAID I THINK THERE IS A PANTHER IN YOUR YARD. WE BOTH HOPPED OUT OF THE HOT TUB AND RAN LIKE SATAN WAS ON OUR TAIL. IN THE SAFTEY OF OUR BUNGALO WE VOWED TO TAKE OUR BATHS INSIDE FROM THEN ON. CHAUNCEY AND JERSEY MIKE, WOODBINE NJ.
Dennis & maria
We both were very amazed.
Driving west of the 2 dollar toll on the AC expressway we thought it was a deer until we passed it . The big Mountain Lion was about 3 feet at the shoulders we both said at the same time its a cougar. The animal ran across the expressway about 75 yards in front of traffic and then stopped in the medium of the road and lowered itself a little and stared at the traffic it just crossed in front of. I never heard they where in N J.
Chris Tarquinio
My son and I are volunteer researchers for http://www.easternpumaresearch.com. We would love to talk to anyone that has seen a cougar in South Jersey. Please email ctarquinio@comcast.net.
Ryan
I haven’t seen one personally but know that there have been some sightings here in the Watchung Mountains of NJ. I live at the base of the mountains and we have had an explosion in the deer population over the last 5 years or so. There is no shortage of prey here and the big cats have sufficient cover in the woods.
Ryan
Benjamin Bullock
My wife and I were on are way to a friends house in Somerset N.J. We pulled into mcdonalds around 10:30 as we were going through the drive through I thought I saw a Deer. Then I realized it was something elese. When climbed a tree and could no longer be seen. I think it was a big mountain lion
John C
Just left Cape May and on our way back to Mount Laurel, I saw a large cat walk across route 50 North about 1 mile before the Atlantic County Park. (I am not sure exactly where we were) but I was in total amazement, I am now on line looking to see what kind of Mountain lions or Cougars have been sighted recently.
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