NY State Sucks At Disclosing When 140-Pound Mountain Lions Are On The Loose
Aug. 20, 2011, 11 a.m.
The mountain lion that trekked from South Dakota and was killed by a SUV in Connecticut actually spent some time in New York State... but the DEC never told anyone about it.
Remember how there was a beautiful—and huge—mountain lion killed by an SUV in Connecticut last month? And it turned out that the cat had walked all the way from South Dakota? Now it turns out the mountain lion made its way through NY State's Lake George—and that state Department of Environmental Conservation officials knew it was there but never told local officials that a 140-pound predatory cat was in their midst. Classic Albany!
Yesterday, the NY State DEC confirmed that, way back in December, it found a mountain lion's hair and bedding area near Village Hall. Town Supervisor Frank McCoy, who lives less than a mile from where the lion apparently roamed, told the Times-Union, "It would have been nice to know, if DEC knew about it." But another resident was more blase, "It's part of the Adirondacks. It's a chance you've got to take if you live here. That's why we have guns."
Paw prints (NY DEC)
Who spotted the mountain lion late last year? It happened to be the wife of a retired DEC employee—she saw the male cat while washing her dishes. Later, the DEC found the mountain lion's 4.5" by 3.5" paw prints. DEC wildlife biologist Gordon Batcheller said, "It does no one any good to put out conjectural information. We waited until we had solid evidence in hand. The report is finalized and we are pleased to be able to speak about it." Please, this just makes us think Albany is stalling on lots of things... like a way not to steal the MTA's money.
