[wizrd]

You hear of these quite a bit in NY state, state DEC denies they are here, but Vermont has DNA evidence proving they are in Vermont. ( No big fence on the NY - Vermont border last time I looked.)

My wife saw one about 7 years ago, Town of Verona, Oneida county. That was the same year, on the last day of southern tier muzzleloading, I was sitting in a swamp, only a couple miles from where she saw her cat, and something screamed in the woods so loud that I climbed a nearby tree-stand and stayed there until an hour & a half after dark. I've never heard anything like that, and I have heard bobcats dozens of times. She witnessed the cat eating a cottontail rabitt, distance of 35 yards, open field, cat looked towards her and she said the cats head was wider than the rabitt was long, sideways in the animals mouth. She watched it for 10 minutes, that night there was a special on about mountain lions, opening scene of the show she's up and excited pointing, "That is the animal I saw, that is exactly the animal I saw."

Three years ago, my son was up from Georgia for deer season. He & three friends saw one on the Taberg- Florence Road, Oneida county one night. Jumped right into the middle of the road, in front of their truck, about 25 yards, one bound & it was gone. My son doesn't even exagerate about his fish stories. Any reliable sitings from arouns NY? Let's hear from the woodsmen.

 

[DystruktoBoi1]

me personally I haven't but I heard there is a den in the mountains up behind the town of Schenevus, more then a few times a friend of mine has had to take her horses in because a large cat was stalking them.

In Westford up behind Maryland I did computer work for a gentleman who was quite a hunter and sportsman himself (had quite a nice collection of SKS's M1 Garands and AK47s) and he said he has seen them many many times on his mountaintop clearing where his house is built, he tries his best to be in by nightfall in the spring and summer.

Both of these towns are in Otsego County.

 

[Transporter7220]

My neighbor has a picture of one on his trail cam, and my Dad and I have heard one scream at about 11 at night, eeriest sound I've ever heard, it sounded like someone was stabbing a woman to death in the woods.

Both in Ontario County.

They're very solitary animals, you could be 10 foot from one and never know it if it didn't want you to.

 

[DystruktoBoi1]

If that is the case then I have personally heard on in my backyard when I was about 8, sounded exactly like the classic horror woman screams off of Frankenstein or something.

 

[Transporter7220]

If that is the case then I have personally heard on in my backyard when I was about 8, sounded exactly like the classic horror woman screams off of Frankenstein or something.

That'd be one!

 

[Jezman]

I have seen big cats on 2 occasions back in the late 80's around Esopus NY. A family member even has a picture he took of one in the area.

 

[KBurdo]

Two months ago my brother-in-law set up a trail cam at our cabin in Java, NY. He caught pictures of turkeys, lots of deer, and the last picture had the ass end of a very large cat. We went back to see if we could get some sort of scale to size it up, and the hind legs had to be a least 3 1/2 feet high. we are waiting to go pick the cam up again. Hope we catch a full image.

 

[Les]

A fox will scream just like a frightened woman too. Scare the crap out of you if you hear one.

 

[DystruktoBoi1]

A fox will scream just like a frightened woman too. Scare the crap out of you if you hear one.

I have heard a fox, and the thing I heard when I was 8 was TOTALLY different,the fox sounds weird but not too much more, the sound I heard of what I believe to be the mountain lion gives u a deep down primal fear, it is also louder and a bit different.

 

[timmyp]

Back in 2001 i was working at a camp in the Catskills (Greene County) and I found foot prints of a BIG cat. Later that summer, my uncle got pictures on his trail cam of a mountain lion less than a mile from where I found prints. He sent it to DEC and they told him it was a bob-cat. I've never seen a bob cat that big with a tail that long!

My wife who is from that county saw a dead cat in a dry creek wash while hiking two summers later...A LOT of people in that county have stories and PICTURES! DEC stands by their bob cat despite the pictures and stories...

 

[plinker123]

DEC confirmed a sighting of both mountain lions and wild boar in the Hamlin Marsh in Onondaga county.

 

[WNYBuckhunter]

The only confirmed sighting of a mountain lion in NY is the one of the cat that originated out west and wandered through NY, only to be hit by a car in CT last year. I have seen or heard zero evidence of VT having any population. In fact, the only confirmed resident populations of any form of Mountain Lion east of the Mississippi river are in FL and GA. I have seen all kinds of trail cam pics supposedly taken in NY, and not one has been confirmed as being taken here (not hard to do), most can be proven as taken elsewhere, or they have been shown to be animals other than Cougars.

Wild boar is a different story. They are in NY, theres confirmed trail cam pics, tracks, scat, kills, etc.

 

[cgrutt]

My wife swears one ran across the Thruway just south of Albany about 5 years ago while we were driving up to LG. I always quote the DEC there's no mountain lions in NY.... drive her nuts. Apparently they have found footprints and scat in Lake George that was traced back to the one killed by a car in CT, but there are none in NY, so don't bother looking for any

 

[Transporter7220]

I was under the impression that we had a decent population of them in the Adirondacks? Must be not?

Still gives me chills...

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

The one passing through on its way to Connecticut was likely the only one. Everyone has a brother who saw one though. You'd think there are 2,000 of them running around.

 

[obiwankabaldi]

I have to say I agree with WNYBuckhunter. Lots of stories but no real "proof". The funny thing is, out West where we know they exist in some pretty
substantial numbers there are lots of people that have never seen one. Also during the Hunting season when 10's of thousands of hunters take to the woods, no one see or shoots one. Lastly, with the yote hunters out there in the dark sounding and acting like wounded or dying rabbits and the such, no sightings from them....only from drivers, hikers and the such. People just want to believe. JMHO.

 

[evileyeswatchin]

My brother's friend's uncle's sister's next door neighbor saw one.

 

[meketrefe]

I saw one in the middle of Brighton in 2001 in my driveway. It took a leap from the middle of the driveway and over the fence like 15 beet beyond and 6 ft high. Very powerful animal. I surprised the cat in the trash cans with the car, put the high beams, he paralyzed for two seconds and then took the leap. Animal control told me there had been a few sightings in Henrietta and other towns. Apparently they moved up from the southern states.

 

[timmyp]

I have to say I agree with WNYBuckhunter. Lots of stories but no real "proof". The funny thing is, out West where we know they exist in some pretty
substantial numbers there are lots of people that have never seen one. Also during the Hunting season when 10's of thousands of hunters take to the woods, no one see or shoots one. Lastly, with the yote hunters out there in the dark sounding and acting like wounded or dying rabbits and the such, no sightings from them....only from drivers, hikers and the such. People just want to believe. JMHO.

My wife is reading over my shoulder the disbelieving posts and is all ramped up! There ARE mountain lions (or were 10 years ago) in the Catskills.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

John Van Niel wrote a good blog post after the only confirmed wild mountain lion to exist in NY was hit by a car in Connecticut: Backyard Beasts: "Connecticut Mountain Lion" passed through New York first....

If anyone knows the truth about this topic it's him.