BIG , By Scott Van Arsdale InvestigatingC˜° cougarT sightings˛ in˙ NewYork The caller said he could see the --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 was gone.

Once the most widespread of land in whenever possible. Some areas had lucrative bounties the New World, roamed the continent from for dead cougars. By the mid-1800s, these 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 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 for cougars. , 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 Bill Banaszewski 11

opulation of these big cats in in cats big these of opulation northeastern North America? Not Not America? North northeastern that likely more It’s necessarily. accidental were animals these released illegally or escapees survive to managed that individuals strict Under wild. the in time a for permits in out spelled guidelines possess can people DEC, by issued educational scientific, for cougars live However, purposes. exhibition or kept be to cougars for illegal is it a deterrent, this Despite . as bring illegally individuals of number other from York New into cats these manageable and cute While states. than more weigh adults kittens, as to expensive are and pounds 120 of amounts large consuming keep, can cats captive These meat. fresh to danger a posing unpredictable, be imagine to hard not It’s owners. their this mean there is a wild breeding breeding wild a is there mean this p -

While we have not found definitive definitive found not have we While Assuming these incidents of free- of incidents these Assuming

vidence of cougars in east-central east-central in cougars of vidence ighting without physical evidence evidence physical without ighting roaming cougars are true, does does true, are cougars roaming e biologist wildlife DEC a York, New the in carcass deer a investigated concluded and 1993, in Adirondacks cougar. a by killed probably was it confirmed testing DNA 1997, In Massachusetts in found scat that DNA Similarly, cougar. a from was of presence the confirmed testing the in instances four in hair cougar New in two and Quebec of Province Brunswick. taken identity, it would be irre be would it identity, taken Although existence. of proof as of component a is key a sighting absence, or presence determining the verifying evidence physical critical. also is identification sponsible for biologists to consider a consider to biologists for sponsible s - - - - -

istake other animals for cougars. cougars. for animals other istake ildlife reintroduction or “stocking” “stocking” or reintroduction ildlife hat kind of animal had been in an an in been had animal of kind hat ougar sightings lack good physical physical good lack sightings ougar Cougars are efficient predators. They are excellent at stalking and running down prey such as white-tailed deer. program, which may discourage discourage may which program, sightings. reporting from others mis of cases clear many so With area when the sighting was report was sighting the when area eos, we can sometimes tell exactly exactly tell sometimes can we eos, w reported most Unfortunately, ed. c to impossible it making evidence, This animal. the identify positively many as feelings, hard cause can have they convinced are people frustrated feel and a cougar seen believe don’t officials wildlife that question individuals A few them. sug credibility, officials’ wildlife a up covering are they that gesting w areas with known cougar popula cougar known with areas evidence of inspection closer Upon vid or photos scat, tracks, as such tions, it is common for people to to people for common is it tions, m New York State Conservationist, 2008 New February York

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 , 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 , 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 that just before the sightings cougar sign was quite easy to find measuring between 5-9 feet in in areas known to be occupied by occurred in Oneonta, a cougar had 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 .

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 . Out west, offending cougars are killed by cougar reintroduction attempt would likely fail in the ranchers, farmers or government officials. And while Adirondacks because the state’s relatively high road there are rumors of cougar attacks on livestock in density and human population would lead to human- New York, none have been substantiated and no induced mortality rates greater than such a cougar carcasses of problem cougars have turned up. population could support. While most wildlife professionals agree that it is Cougars have expansive home ranges. They travel highly unlikely a sustaining cougar population exists great distances, and in so doing, cross and re-cross in New York or neighboring states, western cougar roads. Road-kills are not uncommon in cougar range, populations are spreading eastward. A few individual even in areas with far fewer roads and less traffic than cats have shown up in states along the Mississippi the most remote areas of the northeast. If a cougar River. Could they eventually populate New York where population existed in New York, the high road density there are large areas of forest and plenty of deer? and heavy traffic (relative to the western U.S.) would Maybe. But to be successful in New York, cougars would almost certainly result in road-kills. Yet road-killed have to overcome the same factor that led to their initial cougars are unheard of in New York. demise—human-induced mortality, including the “new” Additionally, when cougars travel, they leave tracks— threat of being hit by cars. For now, we’ll continue to lots of them. The tracks are relatively easy to spot, and examine the physical evidence associated with reported in cougar country, biologists use track surveys to esti- cougar sightings with an open mind, one case at a time. mate cougar population levels. A lack of tracks means For more information on the eastern cougar, search a lack of cougars. To date, no one has been able to find “cougar” on DEC’s website www.dec.ny.gov, or visit: cougar tracks in New York. www.fws.gov/northeast/ECougar or www.easterncougarnet.org.

Scott Van Arsdale specializes in bald eagle work in DEC’s Stamford office, and is routinely called to investigate reports of cougar sightings.

An illustration of a cougar track shown at approximate life size.

New York State Conservationist, February 2008 13