Cat in CNY?!?!?

Quick back story....this pic was sent to me by my friend Pro, a mutual friend of ours captured this on one of his trail cams. It's NOT fake, it's the real deal.






The pic was sent to our local DEC. Their reply was "they don't exist in out area".....I'm certainly NO expert on cats, but man_0_man it sure looks like one to me. Too bad he didn't capture the head as that would be the tell all.

I sent the pic to a buddy of mine who works for DEC. He's the best woodsman, hunter, and wildlife expert that I personally know. Here's his reply: "Hmmmmm.... Yeah Cougars are a true "longshot". Not impossible but very unlikely unless released/escaped. Or maybe a true long range wanderer. The pic is interesting, too bad can't see more of the head. Although the tail is long like a cougar, the hair looks kinda long perhaps coyote....possible mange. Tough call. Sure does look like a big "cat".

I went on to ask him if it is a cat would it stick around with hopes of getting more pics or evenpossibly finding tracks: "Possibly could hang around due to the area it's in, especially if he's finding food. Likely a young  male. Prone to wandering and dispersing. Cougars consider large ares "home" ie. 10 sq miles or more"

Whatever it is, I sure hope he gets more pictures of it. I just thinks it's sooooo cool to think that this could be a cat in our area. I've heard of guys claiming to see them around here but I've never believed it......until now. It just might be possible.

Do you know if he went out to look for tracks?  

I asked, he didn't. My buddy and I are trying to figure out when we can go over there and look, possibly this Sunday we'll wander and see what we can find. The area is big....lots of swamp, hard woods, and hemlock. The pic is over a week old now so who knows what we'll find. Certainly worth a walk in the woods tho.

My neighbor in Brant Lake caught a photo of what she thought to be a big cat on the edge of her back yard a couple weeks ago...didn't know what it was so brought the photo to one of her friendly local rangers...sure enough, confirmed a cougar. My guess? a transient or perhaps someone's exotic gone feral. I
'd like to think it's the real deal...though I do run back there all the time and had way too many spooky moments when I lived in California.

Off topic, but could you please find out for me which camera took that photo.  I am looking for a security camera and this one looks like it takes amazing photos in the dark.

Not sure which exact one but it's one of these

http://www.wildgameinnovations.com/products/game-scouting-cameras.html

I purchased a Bushnell from Amazon for a bit over $100 last year and it takes pix just like you see here.   Interesting to see what is around the yard at night.  Took it down for the Summer after I captured the propane tank being filled and 12 pic of the driver, followed by 27 of me mowing in circles.  It does what it is supposed to, and no issues in -20 weather using the lithium batteries as recommended

Yeah, none here in Ontario either.

http://www.thesudburystar.com/2014/07/29/trailcam-footage-of-a-cougar

Also one confirmed outside of Belleville, near Kingston, this Summer.  But I'm guessing Homeland security wouldn't allow them to cross over the St Lawrence to N.Y. No way.  Just like they keep the Mexicans from crossing the Rio Grande!  

Betcha there's always been cats hiding out in Eastern North America.  

There was an amazing story a couple years ago wherein DEC-types tracked a big cat (tracks, DNA traces, etc) as it traveled cross country from North Dakota to Connecticut(!) It was spotted locally (and ID'd) passing through a property on Truesdale Hill on the west side of Lake George.
I always wondered how it crossed the lake...must have looped through the village...anybody from LG missing a small pet???

That long and thick tail.... Puma !

Now the hunters may be hunted. BC skiers may encounter more BC than they want, Big Cat. The relatively fast approach of a BC skier may tend to startle kitty more so than a slow walker.

A friend of mine was backwoods camping in Pennsylvania. Very late at night two Bobcats were fighting right outside his tent. He said "Wholly @##$%^# ! What a ruckus !!!" He was really worried they'ld tumble right into the tent. He said it was very fierce.

There used to be Buffalo in these woods, the Eastern Woodland Buffalo. They were larger than the Plains Bison. The Iroquois cleared/burnt land between two of the Finger lakes so it would be grassland and somewhat of a natural " pen ". Many of the Buffalo grazed there and fed the Indians.

Tatonka! Tatonka !

There also used to be Loblaw Wolves. They were larger than the standard gray wolf. Not something to mess with. They'ld be a pack of trouble.

No! I can't swim the ocean because of sharks. I can't swim in freshwater down south because of alligators. And now I can't ski the backcountry because of big cats! Where will it end!!

On the other hand: I've been on the lookout for cougars ever since my divorce.

I really doubt this guy will stick around here too long. Prolly already 50 miles away and some other dude is trying to figure out what the hell he saw. But who knows, maybe we'll get a better pic of him to know for sure.

Seems people can trust Department of Natural Resources as much as the NFL.      I don't know why, but seems there is a focus is unidirectional, unobjective or considerate of how nature evolves and the survival of the fittest.  Whether or not the photo in this thread is a cougar, I agree it is possible that could be.        

There are now three photos taken of a fisher in Mid-Maryland, they were taken by a similar candid camera, not far from from an urban area but definitedly connected via forrest to the AP Trail.    I have seen the photos and believe it to be a fisher.   That said, I am no expert, but nothing wild around here looks quite like a fisher.    When you look at nature books, fishers should not be near Maryland. One website advises they are found in WV and Western Maryland, some have been trapped in South West PA, about 160 miles from here.     Could have been the colder summer, population expansion or just a crazy wondering fool.   The DNR down here says they dont know what it is but it is not a fisher.    They said the same thing when another person showed them photos of what appears to be a cougar.  The local paper ran the those photos, they responded ..too big to be a stray cat, not a bobcat, we don't know what it is...but its not a cougar.  One said off the record it could have been a dog with bobbed ears and a hair cut,LOL.  Yep, people try to dress their goldens up like cougers to make the paper for 15 minutes of fame.    

Whatever.  

A study was announced yesterday on the global warming effects on 300 species of North American birds.  In 60 years they will have either be endanged or have moved to smaller ranges with similar climes. If we are alive, 2080 will be nothing but morning doves and turkey vultures.  All due to global warming, not a single mention of the impact of house, stray and feral cats.   OK.  http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/NFWF.pdf

The wilderness is big, nature is dynamic, it moves and evolves.   These motion cameras are awesome and showing science that it has flaws.      That said:   With all the motion cameras out there and the directed reality shows looking for sasquatch, where are the new photos?     Not saying I dont believe, but the 1967 Patterson video is getting worn out.  
 

very cool! we've been sighting these guys around our local mtb trail network

Run those bitches over!!

Squatch.... A police officer in Whitehall, NY says one walked right across the road in front of his cruiser one night. A guy at work says he's seen them repeatedly. Even has a lengthy description of them. Last one he saw was on the mtn between Glens Falls and Corinth.

People at Lake Champlain have claimed quite a few sightings of a Sea Serpent as did Champlain himself back in the day. LG also had some serpent sightings though fewer in number. One LG tour boat back in the day, had a large thud on it's hull. Many people aboard, including a Senator/Judge, saw the beastie.

The only Squatch I've ever seen are some of the indigenous maidens here who are not so fair.

Saw what looked to be a catamount between Cambridge and Schuylerville last December.  It was dusky daylight.  Long thick tail and moved like a cat, not a dog (coyote). Moving along a woodline about 200 yards from the road (372).

DEC will only spout the party line.  Years ago, in a very remote part of Vermont I came across a wolf.  Reported it and was told there are no wolves in Vermont.  Back then, I was a student of Mammalogy at UVM and was pretty sure I could tell the difference between coy-dogs and wolves.  I was in a car and the animal's back was above the top of the hood of my car...I got that close to it.

Interesting political dynamic at work with these top-of-the-food-chain mammals. I have a brother in law who's a federal fish and game biologist in Maine, a pro who knows his job and critters. They've eyeballed, tagged, and picked up roadkill carcasses of numerous timberwolves but the governor steadfastly denies their presence. Interesting.

Saw this guy at Whiteface

I think that's some 1st generation Chouinard fleece.