Big Cat Tales

BIG , By Scott Van Arsdale InvestigatingC˜° cougarT sightings˛ in˙ NewYork The caller said he could see the cougar--it was ˝lying down at the edge of his lawn by the woods. I immediately began the half-hour drive to the site, but by the time I arrived, the animal was gone. Once the most widespread of land mammals in whenever possible. Some areas had lucrative bounties the New World, cougars roamed the continent from for dead cougars. By the mid-1800s, these cats were Patagonia in South America to the 48 continental very rare in New York. The state’s last known wild United States to southern Canada. However, all that cougar was killed in 1894. A few years later, the cougar changed with land settlement. Settlers considered was gone from the entire eastern United States, except predators such as cougars competitors, and shot them for a small remnant population in Florida. New York State Conservationist, February 2008 9 Bill Banaszewski Banaszewski Bill Hard evidence supporting a breeding cougar population in New York is lacking, according to DEC biologists. The phone call about the “back- or scat) proving the presence of few photographs of the animal yard cougar” was one of several cou- a single wild cougar. So how can at a distance. I asked the man to gar sighting reports DEC received in an animal officially considered e-mail the photographs to me. The August 1995 from a small area near “extirpated” in New York State cat depicted in the photo was similar Oneonta. I was hoping to find irre- generate so many sighting reports? in color to a cougar, but to a trained futable evidence of exactly what ani- And if people aren’t seeing cougars, eye was almost certainly a house mal was leading to these reports. To what are they seeing? cat. To be sure of my assessment, I me, the most intriguing point was Maybe they really had spotted a cougar. the clustered nature of the sightings. It led me to question DEC’s stan- I decided to start a regional log of cougar sighting reports. dard response of “mistaken identi- While looking for physical proof of visited the site of the incident and ty.” Perhaps we were being too hasty cougars in the region, we have found placed a life-sized cardboard cutout in dismissing such reports. I decided that people often mistake other of a cougar on the spot where the to personally visit sites where there animals for cougars. Dogs, coyotes, cat was photographed. Then I took was a good chance of finding physi- bobcats, and a surprising number of several pictures from where the cal evidence proving whether the house cats have all been the subject original photographer was standing. animal seen was, in fact, a cougar. of reported cougar sightings. This The new photographs clearly showed I also decided to start a regional isn’t unusual. When seen fleetingly the cat was much too small to be a log of cougar sighting reports. A year or from a distance, these animals cougar and was indeed a house cat. later, my log contained 44 reports of may appear to look like a cougar. In We also measured objects that were cougar sightings in east-central New December 2006 we received a call near the cat in the photographs, York. Although wildlife staff visited from a man in Greene County. He which further proved that the many of the locations where cougars and his family saw what he was sure animal was not a cougar. had been reported, we couldn’t find was a cougar in their yard several Wildlife agencies in other states any physical evidence (hair, tracks times, and he had managed to take a corroborate our experience: even in 10 areas with known cougar popula- taken identity, it would be irre- this mean there is a wild breeding tions, it is common for people to sponsible for biologists to consider a population of these big cats in mistake other animals for cougars. sighting without physical evidence northeastern North America? Not Upon closer inspection of evidence as proof of existence. Although necessarily. It’s more likely that such as tracks, scat, photos or vid- a sighting is a key component of these animals were accidental eos, we can sometimes tell exactly determining presence or absence, escapees or illegally released what kind of animal had been in an physical evidence verifying the individuals that managed to survive area when the sighting was report- identification is also critical. for a time in the wild. Under strict ed. Unfortunately, most reported While we have not found definitive guidelines spelled out in permits cougar sightings lack good physical evidence of cougars in east-central issued by DEC, people can possess evidence, making it impossible to New York, a DEC wildlife biologist live cougars for scientific, educational positively identify the animal. This investigated a deer carcass in the or exhibition purposes. However, can cause hard feelings, as many Adirondacks in 1993, and concluded it is illegal for cougars to be kept people are convinced they have it was probably killed by a cougar. as pets. Despite this deterrent, a seen a cougar and feel frustrated In 1997, DNA testing confirmed number of individuals illegally bring that wildlife officials don’t believe that scat found in Massachusetts these cats into New York from other them. A few individuals question was from a cougar. Similarly, DNA states. While cute and manageable wildlife officials’ credibility, sug- testing confirmed the presence of as kittens, adults weigh more than gesting that they are covering up a cougar hair in four instances in the 120 pounds and are expensive to wildlife reintroduction or “stocking” Province of Quebec and two in New keep, consuming large amounts of program, which may discourage Brunswick. fresh meat. These captive cats can others from reporting sightings. Assuming these incidents of free- be unpredictable, posing a danger to With so many clear cases of mis- their owners. It’s not hard to imagine roaming cougars are true, does Bill Banaszewski Banaszewski Bill Cougars are efficient predators. They are excellent at stalking and running down prey such as white-tailed deer. New York State Conservationist, February 2008 11 someone who illegally possesses such New York are previously captive a dangerous animal to try to solve animals. their problem by releasing the cat. Some people suggest that Nor is it difficult to imagine such a cougars were never extirpated strong animal escaping confinement. from the northeast, but that a In 1993, a hunter shot a juvenile small remnant population survived cougar in Saratoga County, in a remote area such as the mistaking the animal for a bobcat. Adirondacks and has spread to The animal’s poor condition and other areas. On the surface that other factors led DEC Wildlife may seem plausible, but scientific Pathologist Ward Stone to conclude study doesn’t support it. In 1981, the young cougar was a recently SUNY College of Environmental Cougar facts: escaped or released captive. DNA Science and Forestry’s Dr. Rainer testing conducted on tissues from Brocke released the findings of Cougars are also the animal supported the findings. a study (requested by DEC) to called mountain lions, The tests showed the cougar was determine if the Adirondacks were closely related to cougars from suitable for the reintroduction of pumas, panthers and South America, a source of some of cougars. In that study, Dr. Brocke catamounts. the captive cougars in the U.S. examined the possibility of cougar Slightly smaller than jaguars, There have been other cases populations existing outside the of free-roaming cougars in New known locations in the western cougars are the second largest York with captive origins. In fact, U.S. and in Florida. Dr. Brocke cats in North America, with adults information I received a few years noted that although genuine weighing between 80-225 pounds after beginning my log indicated sightings of cougars are rare, (average is 140 pounds), and cougar sign was quite easy to find that just before the sightings measuring between 5-9 feet in occurred in Oneonta, a cougar had in areas known to be occupied by length (including the tail). indeed escaped from captivity in cougars. Since cougar sign is not the area. Escapes don’t eliminate generally observed in New York, Cougars have long, slender the possibility of a wild cougar Dr. Brocke stated that this was bodies and small, broad, round population, but it is likely that any a good indication a population heads. Ears are short, erect and real cougars sighted at large in does not exist. rounded. The short fur is usually tawny, more tan in the summer months and grayer in winter. The muzzle, chin and underparts are creamy white. Black appears at the tip of the tail and behind the ears. Young cougars have obvious dark spots on their flanks. Cougars are solitary, territorial hunters. They feed on large and small mammals, and prefer deer. An adult cougar will kill about one deer per week. A cougar’s average life span is eight to ten years. Adult cougars have no natural enemies except man. These beautiful, majestic creatures remind us of our loving house cats, however, New York State reminds us that it is illegal to keep a cougar as a pet. 12 New York State Conservationist, February 2008 Since cougar sign is not generally observed in New York State, Dr. Brocke stated that this was a good indication that a population does not exist. Furthermore, after comparing the Adirondacks Another clue to cougar presence is livestock with known cougar habitat, he concluded that a predation.

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