Mountain Lion Mystery

By Nancy K. Crevier

Amy Schmidt is pretty certain that the creature she watched strolling down her driveway Friday afternoon, May 2, was not a coyote, a bobcat, or even a dog. As she waited in the front doorway of her Castle Hill home with her 10-year-old daughter, Hannah, for her son Noah’s school bus, she observed a large animal casually making its way along the edge of the winding driveway.

“At first I thought maybe it was a greyhound,” said Ms Schmidt, “but then Hannah and I noticed the very long tail. When I clapped my hands, it took off in a flash, very quickly, down the driveway and into the wooded, rocky area behind our house.”

On Saturday, said Mrs Schmidt, Newtown Animal Control confirmed that what she and Hannah suspected — that they had seen a mountain lion. The officer based the confirmation on the paw prints that remained embedded in the ground, even after the lawn was mowed.

“We could actually see the pad and claw marks and the distance between the prints was incredible,” wrote Mrs Schmidt in an e-mail she distributed to friends and neighbors. “We were told if we spot one to call immediately,” she added.

The officer also offered tips in case the mountain lion reappeared. “He told us to make eye contact with it if we could. We also were told not to run, to back away slowly while talking out loud, and keep an eye on the animal,” said Mrs Schmidt. Newtown Animal Control had not responded to inquiries from The Bee by the time this issue went to press.

Gregg Dancho, the director of Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, has heard many tales from area residents regarding mysterious creatures in the more than 20 years he has been there. From kangaroo sightings and alligators in ponds to wolves and bears, Mr Dancho has fielded inquiries concerning unusual sightings. Mountain lions are not a new one.

“There have been no confirmed mountain lions in Connecticut,” said Mr Dancho, meaning that no definitive photographs or other evidence have been substantiated over the years. “The discussion is that we think they are here, maybe coming over from the northern parts of New York and crossing through Connecticut, but we have no proof,” he said. The eastern mountain lion, also known as a puma or cougar, once lived in every eastern state, according to the United States Fish & Wildlife Services, but Mr Dancho said that they have effectively been “knocked out of here for years.”

Mountain lions are very secretive animals, however, said Mr Dancho, so it cannot be ruled out that they are in Connecticut.

“Most pictures that people send us turn out to be coyotes. If a coyote has mange, a skin condition, they become very short-haired and they look more catlike than doglike, so people mistake them for something other than what they are,” he explained. There have also been cases in the nation of mountain lions kept as pet that get loose and are not claimed by their owner. “If the person doesn’t have a permit to keep a wild animal, nobody ‘fesses up to losing one. That could possibly be the case in this instance,” Mr Dancho said.

Because of their private nature, mountain lions generally are on the prowl between the hours of dusk and dawn, he said, making it more likely that the animal sighted on Castle Hill was something other than a mountain lion.

“It would be nice to get a clear photograph of what people think is a mountain lion, but it is not worth putting yourself at risk around wild animals,” Mr Dancho said. “A mountain lion is a wild animal and must be treated as such. Do not approach it. Call animal control or DEP.”

The Schmidt family has not seen any evidence of the animal since last Friday, but Ms Schmidt admitted to being concerned that if it was a mountain lion, it could have a den in the woods.

“I am definitely more cautious now when the kids are outside, and I haven’t let them play on the play set that is on the perimeter of the woods,” she said.