Friday, May 18, 2001
Mountain lions in New York?
By Rick Brockway
The little black and white kids jumped and ran across the pasture as the goats grazed in the new spring grass. A paint foal rested, stretched out flat in the warm, morning sun.
It was just another day in the country.
Further up the hill, above the old barbed wire fence, large, flat boulders bordered the hardwoods of the Catskill hills. There upon the huge rocks, the big cat lay.
It was brownish-yellow in color with a long tail. It was no house cat, and certainly not a bobcat. The feline just lay there watching, often twitching its tail, content in the thought of a possible dinner below.
This was not the first time that this mountain lion or cougar had been seen in the valley near Prattsville. The DEC denies the existence of these big cats in the area, but there have been several sightings around the state.
A few years ago, I was hunting in the Adirondacks east of Speculator. There were several inches of snow on the ground as I headed down Long Pond Ridge in the late afternoon.
I had been following a single set of huge deer tracks when I noticed very large cat tracks parallel to those I was following. These were not from a bobcat. These tracks were five or so inches across, and there were definite marks from a dragged tail in the fluffy snow.
I stalked along slowly, constantly looking, when I got a chill along my spine. I never saw the cat, but there was a strange feeling that crept across me.
He was definitely there, close by, watching. As darkness approached, I dropped off the mountain and headed for camp.
When I reached an old log cabin, I asked the rest of the guys if there were any mountain lions in the area. Most of the other hunters thought I was crazy, with the exception of ol' John.
John Vodron was an old Adirondack guide, an aged hunter and a great storyteller. For the rest of the evening we were entertained with countless tales of lions and bears.
John claimed that he had seen several cougars over the past 60 years. One growled and snarled, following him for several miles out of the woods, as he carried a hind quarter of venison in his back pack. He claimed to have seen one with a deer down on the log road to camp a few days before.
A couple of days later, we saw a poster in Charley John's store in Speculator. It asked hunters to report all mountain lion sightings. Maybe I was right. They were probably mountain lion tracks.
I have heard people tell of seeing mountain lions in Franklin, and in Milford and Deposit a few years ago. One was reported along Cannonsville Reservoir several times.
Do cougars or panthers live in New York State today? According the DEC in Stamford, "No." They have no documented proof, so they deny their existence.
Rumors around Prattsville provide a reasonable explanation. Some lady had one as a pet, and it escaped. Well, maybe. No one knows for sure.
Everyone has seen these big cats on television, in books and the movies. Seasoned hunters claim to have seen them. So, do they exist?
I saw some tracks, and I'm convinced. There is a lot of rugged country in the Adirondacks and Catskills.
There are many places for them to hide. If there is abundant food away from civilization, there is no need for these cats to be around houses and farms, unless they are hungry.
Maybe some day we'll have some real proof, but until then, all we can do is wonder.
• The Cooperstown Sportsman's Association has started its new season of shooting. Skeet shooting will be on Mondays, starting at 3 p.m., and Trap shooting will be on Wednesdays at 4 p.m.
