HomeMountain Lion crosses Route 8 in Shelton
My daughter was driving south bound on route 8 in Shelton, near exit 12 at around 10 pm last night She believes a mountain lion ran across the highway in front of her car. I asked her if it could have been a deer or perhaps a bobcat. I also asked her if it was greater than 4 feet in length and if it had a long tail or not. Here is what she replied. "This thing was huge! I thought it was a deer at first but it wasn't as tall as a deer, and had a long tail and a cat face." I believe what she saw was indeed a cougar. I do not believe the Eastern lion is "extinct" but rather has made quite a strong comeback, perhaps even breeding with western lions that we now know are capable of migrating into our state. Looking forward to my own sighting. They are majestic creatures.
March 20th, 2012 - 15:42
Thats what I believe has happend that what people are seeng are not pure breeds eastern but cross breeds. their behavior is different. What a pity that the DEEP scoffs at all sightings and the one that was killed they will insist came from one that released. I would like to believe they would be a bit open minded about it all. That perhaps like the coyotee that we now have , the moutain lion has come back but like the coyotee is finding that living closer to man has benefits. If I remember correctly the coytoee was not even in CT in 1990 yet . So perhaps what we are seeing are mixed breed big cat that is living off of white tailed deer, domestic animals which are plenty. Just a thought
March 20th, 2012 - 22:10
If you are right, this is going to end with disaster. People get hurt when animals get used to being around people. Dont feed the bears! Id rather have my animals than these beasts. If the state wants to lie to people about their existance they are going to have to accept blame when it goes bad.
March 23rd, 2012 - 08:17
Not sure its going to end in disaster nor does the general public need to fear them. I stronly suspect whats happened is that these big cats have learned to adjust and live with man and use his environment adopt to changes. Its is ironic that people are seeing as many bobcats as they are. 40 years ago you never them, not like people do now.
March 23rd, 2012 - 21:56
I think the general public doesnt need to fear them but if you have livestock or enjoy hiking in the woods and there have been several sitings in the aria you should be concerned. This has been a mild winter so there is plenty of game out there but a long winter brings them in to hunt domestic animals and any one unlucky enough to be around them. This happens regularly out west where a hiker or jogger is hit, Its only a matter of time.If you have goats, sheep or horses and they find you, you have a big problem. Your family hAs a big problem. We lost a horse in Columbia a few months ago when a lion jumped it and shredded its blanket, chasing it through the fence and into the road and oncoming trafic. You and your kids are the slowest animals out there and if its hungry and your there, your dinner.
March 29th, 2012 - 13:05
Rick, you live in fear and do not have a single clue as to how these animals survive and play a vital role in the balance of our ecosystem. Pick up a book before you spread more false truths.
Bring back the couger!
April 17th, 2012 - 17:52
I gotta say, and believe, that if I want to know what works best for a cold i go to a doctor. If I want to know what works best in keeping out predators I go to a rancher, farmer…..SOMEONE who has some EXPERIENCE with it.
Actual farmer vs professor at UMASS….keeping your animals safe??? I think my money is on farmer. Its amazing how this country is beginning to rely on INTELLECTUAL experts….in every field. Professors telling military men what kind of deployment will work and what wouldnt…..I know why….its because Intellectual “experts” NEVER have to suffer consequences of being wrong…
Really, Mike?? And this vital role these animals play…….has it been suspended for a century or so?? NO animal, except for man, is so vital that the earth can’t adjust.
Oh, and by the way……..why can’t Ricks “overblown” fear (as well as Bill’s) NOT be true AT THE SAME TIME as YOURE assertion that they are a vital part of the ecosystem. Can’t something be both?? Or is there some agenda in play here??
March 29th, 2012 - 13:06
Sorry Rick I meant Bill.
March 29th, 2012 - 14:16
Well first of all I dont live in fear, as I was told by the DEP previously, if the animal is harassing our livestock, we may dispatch it. We are being prepared. Second they play absolutly NO important role in our ecosystem. What we need is more hunters to thin the deer population. We got along fine without them in the past and will do so in the future. The only sensable policy when it comes to cougars in a populated aria is extirpation. That was true in our grandfathers day is stands true today.
March 29th, 2012 - 18:01
Ok, you’re a rancher (if that’s what you are). I get that. Protect your live stock. I get that and I also understand the importance of protecting personal investment. But what you don’t get is that there are ways of protecting livestock from wild predators through intelligent methods and creative ideas that would please both the rancher, like yourself, and the vast population of hikers, campers, environmentalists, and even businessmen. Yes, businessmen. If the northeast were to start realizing the great value of a true wilderness complete with a healthy ‘ecosystem’ by allowing the apex predators of the past back in their rightful place, then the opportunity to increase surplus from tourism would grow exponentially. Last time I checked we were looking for ways to create jobs? But no, unfortunately there is a small, yet loud, group of short minded thinkers that would rather selfishly pull the trigger first than take a moment to learn what these sublime creatures are and what they could be.
Oh, by the way, your previous post said: “That what was true in our grandfathers day is stands true today.” If my high school text books were right, then I believe slavery was ok then and what you’re telling me is that we should bring back slavery? Pick up a book that’s not written by Sarah Palin and help yourself get out of the stone age.
I believe in your right to own a gun, believe in my right to restore our nation’s land to what it was and can be again.
Bring back the cougar and while we’re at it, bring back the wolves too! Over and out.
March 29th, 2012 - 22:44
Tourism, noone is going to come here to see lions, tigers and bears. Were not going to agree on this. Reintroducing wolves realy worked out well in yellowstone. They just wonder away and kill cattle. But, out there it is wide open. Here with dense population they would be way to close to people. When they get used to people its realy bad. If we were to actualy get a breeding population of cougars in new england the deer would be gone in a few years and then we would be losing pets, livestock and hikers like we are losing cats to coyotes now. I worry about the kids caring for their animals. A friend already had a bobcat in the barn that hit a turkey 5 feet from her. Thats what happens with a long winter with a scarcity of food. Oh and it looks like wild hogs are moving north too.
March 31st, 2012 - 00:29
Wow! How did this interesting conversation get so political all of a sudden! Suddenly we (the perverbial we if I may say) are bashing Sarah Palin? What does she have to do with this conversation? And are we implying that Sarah Palin is backward and lives in the Stone Age? I am afraid not………….oh, I’m sorry if I have offended you. You obviously just gave yourself away as being someone who has a “mental disorder” called liberalism. I am also happy to know that you support the second amendment so you do have some redeeming beliefs. Enough of politics.
As I recall reading recently in one of these posts written by a retired state cop. The DEEP admittted to the retired state cop that they brought the cougars into the state from out west to cull the deer population. While I agree that these animals are beautiful and majestic (and I am a cat lover), a more safe and sensible approach to deer overpopulation is more controlled hunting. As a hiker and one who enjoys being in the woods, populating the state with cougars to bring down the deer population seems dangerous to me. Dangerous to the human population here and to our livestock and pets. This animal sits at the top of the food chain - the ultimate predator. If these cats migrated here from another area like the coyote then leave them be. But bringing them in here for the purpose of controlling the deer population is reckless.
Lastly, let’s leave politics out of this, sir. And we do not need to insult Sarah Palin or anyone else. Let’s just keep it about the cougar. Thank you.
March 31st, 2012 - 20:25
I havnt read on here about the cougars being imported by the DEP. I have heard that from our veterinarian. I have also heard from a goat farmer that a state cop had warned him that the DEP had released one in Union. Its hard for me to get my head around the state bringing them in. I can see why they would want to keep it quiet, but hard to do when the disaster happens. They did bring in the fishercat, a fairly nasty critter but nothing like a cougar, in a trade with Maine for wild turkeys. So I guess they do think like that. They also protect rattlesnakes and relocate them to the powerlines in Glastonbury. There are some pretty expensive houses there with million dollar views that the rattlers sun themselves on the patios.
March 31st, 2012 - 11:39
I dont know why I am bothering to write this it will probably just vanish like my last post as well as it seems Maria s . It seems that something truthfull and informative that might show the public that cougars in CT is a bad idea might just go poof.
First off, tourism in CT to see lions and other apex preditors is not realistic. Reintroducing wolves to yellowstone, even though they had thousands of square miles in the park, they wonder off and kill cattle. If we ever did get a breeding population of cougars in NE the deer population would dissappear in a few years and we would be loosing livestock, pets and people to them just like we are loosing cats to coyotes today. Their wild food supply would become scarce. A few years ago a close friend had an “elusive” bobcat IN THE BARN and it hit a turkey 5 feet from her. So much for avoiding humans. That was a long winter and its wild food supply was scarce. When it needed to eat it ate what it could find. Deer, rabbit, goat, turkey or a kid playing in the woods, if a mountain lion is hungry its going to eat.
March 31st, 2012 - 11:39
Had know idea my post of a possible cougar sighting would prompt such controversy. One post claims the the DEEP has admitted to releasing western cats to control the deer population. If this is true I’d like to see some documentation that the state has publicly acknowledged this was done. Last I checked this is the USA and not Red China. An official record of this practice from the DEEP should be readily available to the public. If indeed the cats in our state are western transplants then I guess they should be treated as any other invasive species, with one exception. Rather than exterminating them, I’d favor trapping and re-locating the cats back to the west. If the cats migrated here on their own or are of the eastern species they must stay. Although most claim the last eastern cat was shot and killed in Maine sometime around 1936, scat findings and DNA confirmation from both Maine and the Quabbin reservoir area of Massachusetts indicate that the eastern lion is still amongst us. As an avid outdoorsman that spends a great deal of time in the woodlands of New England, as well as Montana, I realize that with black bear and possibly cougar making a strong comeback in our state I must take precaution when spending time in the forests, however, I also remind myself that that the odds of being mauled and then killed by a cougar are extremely slim. Probably have a better chance of winning the Powerball. I have spent my entire life in Connecticut. In the past ten years I have taken great pleasure in seeing creatures in our state I never would have seen as child (bald eagle, osprey, black bear, coyote, bobcat, moose, turkey, and even a wolverine). It’s encouraging to know that we have been able to reverse much of the past destruction we did to our environment. A sign of hope for our children and our grandchildren. It’s all good.
April 1st, 2012 - 01:10
Actualy, nothing says they must stay. They will be extirpated. The question is, will it be before or after the first human kill. The deer population is declining here. My hunting friends believe it is due to coyotes. Probably true but with a dense human population its only a matter of time and then the public outcry will be so intense they will have no choice. The return of the mountain lion brings to mind this line from Jurassic Park “Oh, yeah. Oooh, ahhh, that’s how it always starts. Then later there’s running and screaming.”
April 1st, 2012 - 22:49
Wow, re: discussion below, I am 100% with the ‘Lions are dangerous and cannot co-exist with humans’ camp. It is mind boggling to me how some people seem to think otherwise, Google “mountain lion attacks on humans” and maybe you’ll change your mind. Even if “only” 25 people a yr. across the entire US are killed by them, that’s 25 people who died a very painful, tragic and needless death, not to mention those that were attacked but survived, though disfigured, blinded or lame and likely psychologically scarred for life. I think we all have enough problems w/o having to worry about encountering a mountain lion while out-side, whether gardening, farming, hiking, running, biking, camping, fishing or even hunting or just hanging out in your own yard. The idea someone had of Mountain Lions creating tourism here in CT made me laugh out loud, I read some crazy things on the i-net but that one’s really out there. I can just envision bus tours driving around Rt. 8 filled with tourists from, um FL? with their cameras waiting to catch one crossing the rd. just like those tour buses in Denali National Park take people out into REAL wilderness -or what’s left of it, to view the Grizzlies (thank God we don’t have do deal with that). In reality the idea of having any large and dangerous predetor roaming the woods and mountain ranges is no laughing matter. A public discussion in Hartford would be most interesting…
Before I read into this site in detail I didn’t realize it was a “friends of” type of group so anyone having differing opinions will be shot down, if I was up to it I’d create another neutral site for general discussion on the matter and would moderate any unsuitable comments attacking anyone individually.
I suspect the average person isn’t even aware of the number of bears in CT, which the DEEP DOES recognize and though black bears aren’t as agressive as Grizzlies it not exactly like encountering a cute and cuddly Teddy Bear either.
I found out about the CT population of bears when I recently went to EMS to get some kind of heavy duty pepper spray against mountain lions, the salesperson didn’t even know about the lions but told me be alert for bears and then proceded to tell me that the bear spray they sell isn’t even all that effective and bear bells work best in avoiding an encounter, at least with bears and maybe lions too in order to avoid the element of surprise which might precipitate an attack though with the lions I think one would need more than a couple of bells on the pack for protection.
April 2nd, 2012 - 21:17
This is a wonderful site in which people can share their experiences and thoughts on the possible return to the
Northeast. Many members of the scientific communty, despite credible evidence, remain unconvinced. I find their skepticism to be overblown but not without some validity. Their major claim that cougars are not ghosts and leave readily identifiable signs should allay the fears of the not in my backyard crowd. In other words, do cougars inhabit Ct.? likely but in small numbers. The notion that an established population is aggressively expanding to all corners of the state seems a bit of a reach. Your backyards and wild areas are still safe. I would worry more about the danger posed by errant deer than that posed by cougars.
April 2nd, 2012 - 20:09
Here’s an interesting excerpt from a California based website that may put all of this into a more rational perspective
“It is important to keep in mind that lion attacks are still extremely rare in California and nationally. For some reason, humans worry much more about rare dangers than about common dangers. For example, in California, from 1986 through 1998, exactly two people died from mountain lion attacks, whereas in one year alone, over 4,000 people died in traffic accidents, including 800 pedestrians. So we should be much more worried about meeting a dangerous car rather than a dangerous lion, but we aren’t, because we are much more familiar with being in a car than we are with being around an uncaged mountain lion. Rationally, if one avoids hiking because of fear of mountain lions, one should also avoid driving in a car, or crossing a street as a pedestrian. 100 human deaths in auto collisions with deer (130 in 1989 alone).
86 deaths due to lightning strikes.
40 deaths due to bee stings.
18-20 people killed by dogs (also inflict suture-requiring injuries on 200,000 people).
12 human deaths resulting from 5,000 rattlesnake bites.
3 deaths due to bites of black widow spider.
0.33 fatal mountain lions attacks, or one fatal attack every three years (this even includes attacks in Canada). ”
Here in Connecticut we should all be concerned and up in arms about 1) texting and cell phone use while driving, 2) driving while intoxicated, 3) gang and workplace violence, 3) the rise in violent home invasions, and 4) the escalating heroin addiction amongst our teens to name a few. These are the real killers taking the lives of our residents each and every day. With issues like these why worry about your 14 out of 380,000,000 chance of being cougarized while hiking through the woods of Peoples State Forest?
April 2nd, 2012 - 21:30
Although all activities have risk there is no reason to add more. As a family with animals (donkeys, goats, alpaca, sheep, poultry and dogs) , we are exposed to preditor attacks on a regular basis. Locking up your animals will do no good, it just corals the preditors prey for them. When I was growing up on the farm preditors were handled in the traditional manor. However, today there are far fewer hunters and the wildlife population is getting out of control. Thats why they have controled hunts to thin the deer population at places like Bluff Point State Park. The only preditor that even comes close to endangering my family while caring for their animals as much as the cougar is the bobcat and we have been hit by bobcats. One more thing, when a preditor is injured and can no longer catch prey in the wild it switches to domesticated animals that are fenced in and cant escape.
April 2nd, 2012 - 21:41
The reports from the 80’s and 90’s are not relevant to present day, the number of mountain lions AND attacks having increased by leaps and bounds by many online accounts PLUS as I have read and believe NOT all encounters are recorded online esp. where the person was not seriously injured though they may of had to work at it and were lucky the lion ran off. I saw one while hiking, bout 100+ ft. going away from me, in February of this year in NY State, near CT border; this has not been officially recorded by any agency and I don’t consider it a “direct” encounter though prior to the sighting I heard a large animal shuffling in the woods behind/alongside me and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I intuitively sensed “something” that was not a deer and was on high alert so that I actually saw it because I was scanning the area expecting a large dog and being attacked by neighbors german shepard as a small child I am very leery of unleashed dogs and never thought of a bear even, much less a lion. I actually began to swing my arms in wide arcs and talk loudly to myself and kinda stomping my feet as I walked, this was all instinctive, I felt something walking along with me off to my right side in the dense mountain laurel, it was an eery feeling and shudder to think what a close call.
An interesting link, there are others too, don’t have time to find them again:
http://www.cougarinfo.org/attacks2.htm (copy and paste)
this one details attacks from 2000 to 2010 and begins a new set in 2011 but this is not all encompassing thought the ones they describe are quite detailed.
Actually I am much LESS worried of home invasion, gang violence and drug addicted teens as this is not relevant to me while mountain lions roaming the woods/hills I hike in is.
April 3rd, 2012 - 20:39
Some very interesting and informative views and opinions being shared here. This topic fascinates me and I’m enjoying everyones input on the subject. As an avid hiker, camper, flyfisherman, and upland game bird hunter I must admit, although I kind of welcome the return of the cougar to the Northeast, I am feeling a bit unsettled about returning to the woodlands this spring. I have already had a middle of the night bear encounter while camping in Barkhamsted and now the thought of being stalked by an apex predator in those very same woods is a bit haunting. I still believe the odds of an attack are incredibly slim to none but plan on being prepared in the event of an encounter. I imagine ceasing to hike alone, making noise when walking a trail or bushwacking, carrying a hefty walking stick, a buck knife, and a high quality Grizz strength pepper spray might not be a bad idea. Any other thoughts on these self preservation tactics? Thanks.
April 3rd, 2012 - 23:04
Tom, being a lone wolf, I will not cease to hike alone, today I went up to Salisbury not far from the March sighting noted on this website, by the Twin Lakes. I will admit I was quite unsettled as when I started my walk I heard a heavy “thump” either an animal jumping off a rock onto some leaves or a tree limb falling. In any event one develops a 6th sense if one is attuned to one’s surroundings, probably walking with a companion less so. I wish I could get a license to carry a small handgun but am a convicted felon so legally I cannot, I do carry a foldable saw from Walmart- better than nothing; CT rules for knives are pretty flimsy, a 3″ blade is the max. legal one can carry. I can’t imagine engaging in hand to hand combat with a teeny knife against a 150 lb+ furry ML or Bear or Wolf for that matter and “winning”. The pepper spray is useless unless there really is no wind or the wind happens to be going in the direction of the predator, I still carry it like a cell phone which is also useless in an attack situation but gives a small measure of confidence and confidence is a tool you can use too. It’s best to be mentally prepared for worst case scenarios in general is my personal philosphy, not to have a “it can’t happen to me” attitude. Think of Captain Sully the Pilot who landed the plane on the Hudson River, if he’d freaked out and panicked or frozen, the whole plane woulda gone down. I wish the DEEP or Fish and Wildlife would track these animals with collars so one could check a website and see where they are in order to avoid inadvertantly crossing paths. I’ve been unemployed for over 3 yrs and would love the job since I’m outdoors every day anyways!
April 4th, 2012 - 13:24
Sounds like a needed job. you should persue it. It would probibly go to the kid of another state employee with connections though. Seems to a lot of multigenerational state job holders out there. Thats it for my rant. You could search for this. “Highland Survival Staff ” or “Highland Hiking and Survival Staff” It seems rather handy. There are a couple of different companys making them and they are quite different and both seem handy in different ways. I have a couple of cane masters canes and they are very good. The only ones that claim to be strong enough for big and heavy people. Stay away from any with grips in the middle of the shaft because i think it weekens it.
April 5th, 2012 - 19:58
Bill, i just posted a reply but think i lost it, hit enter before submit, grr.
yes I agree locating, collaring and tracking the lions would be a neat very useful fantasy job and one i’d actually be suited for but aint gonna happen in this life, tho i’d not be surprised if sometime w/i the next 5 years the State DOES officially acknowledge we have a regular but smallish population of mountain lions, and they’ll likely try to alleviate mass panic by saying they only live up in the NW corner were few people live and probably put up signs at the hiking parking areas to not hike alone and be aware etc.
The heavier wood hiking staff idea is likely one of the more effective forms of self defense, the light and rather flimsy aluminum hiking or ski poles are not. A couple of years ago i had a dog growling and jumping at me while skiing in a local golf course so i held up my ski poles in self defense and it took one of them into it’s mouth and bit off the basket!
I sure do wonder what % of the alleged mountain lion sightings on this and other websites are real, I doubt they all are and there is no point in believing they are everywhere but am 99% certain there are more than a few living throughout the state so it’s best to take precautions when out and about- in some areas more so than others.
April 6th, 2012 - 11:16
I dont realy know how CT classifies them but a cattle prod would probibly make a lion run like hell. If its that close it can not make things worse. We used to chase each other around the farm with them when we were kids and they do no real harm. Sort of like an electric fence, it doesnt realy hurt you but you just dont want to touch it.
April 7th, 2012 - 23:02
My prelim research shows carrying a cattle prod in non farming situation may be a felony so forget that.
Do you have electric fence for your animals or barbed wire on top of? Wouldn’t a mountain lion prefer a deer to a horse as far as what they are used to eating? I’ve read if you think you may have them around your property to remove trees/shrubbery so they have no place to hide.
I think the potential danger to hikers with mountain lion encounters in the less developed/populated areas of the state cannot be over-stated. People have reported alledged sightings in more developed/populated areas of the state too, those I find equally disturbing though with any reported sighting w/o photographic proof it may or may not of been an actual mountain lion sighting.
Several years ago I thought i saw Jesus in a White Robe walking towards me on the woods rd. at Squantz Pond State Park, I had goosebumps and was like OMG, about bout 8 ft. away I suddenly realized it was a woman with dark hair and pastel shorts/T-shirt wheeling a stroller. I literally could of sworn I saw Jesus Christ Himself. When I turned around she was gone, it was such an odd place to see someone with a stroller I can’t be sure there even was a woman with a stroller or maybe it really was Jesus who turned Himself into a non-threatening person? The pt. being am sure I am not the only person out there with a vivid imagination and prone to day dreaming, I’ve allways wanted to see Jesus, so I did, could be the same for some of the lion sightings too I think.
I carry a camera with me now when out hiking and look for mountain lion prints and poop, prints are hard to read tho and there’s quite alot of furry poops about medium dog sized, I find at least 1pile right on the trail almost everywhere I go, not sure if bobcat or coyote.
April 7th, 2012 - 01:14
Actualy I would be less concerned hiking in the woods than just being in my back yard with all the animals. They are almost like bait. My family really cares for their animals and Im afraid they would try to protect them or investigate what is spooking them. There seems to be 3 or 4 sitings within a couple of miles from here over the last couple of years. It seems all the preditors end up here eventualy.
April 8th, 2012 - 21:51
We have 4 ft wovenwire with 2 strands of electric on the inside. We try to maintane hedgerows between fields but its a chalenge and more electric is needed to prevent the animals from eating all the trees. About 4 feet outside the woven wire are old stone walls. In beetween the two tends to fill in where they cant eat.They say a lion can jump 15 feet high so no fence can keep them out. Electric cant touch too much veg without grounding. Basicly you cant keep them out. Also old farmers will tell you injured coyotees, bobcat and probibly lions too will go after easier, slower and contained animals for they are easier to catch in their weekend condition. There was a 3 legged coyote around here for years living off local farms. Deer herds are thinning acording to hunters and a shortage of food brings them to domestics. A long winter a few years ago brought in coyote and bobcat when the smaller prey was still sleeping in. They got realy bold and were not afraid of people. They did a lot of damage before they pushed their luck. DEP gave their blessing, picked up and mounted a bobcat cought killing IN THE barn. They thought it unusual to be so bold and blamed the long winter, but acknoleged that it would just keep coming back, as it had for a while. I have personly seen cougar tracks in the snow in Willington. I had pictures on my phone but it crapped with no notice. I have to try to see if people I sent them to still have them. They were behind Red and Arts service center by the dumpster and were verified by some wildlife lady they called whom they say was realy interested to see if they were real.
April 8th, 2012 - 22:09
I dont believe cattle prod meets the definition of electronic defence weopon but its a close call.
“Electronic defense weapon” means a weapon which by electronic impulse or current is capable of immobilizing a person temporarily, but is not capable of inflicting death or serious physical injury, including a stun gun or other conductive energy device.
Source: General Statutes § 53a-3 (20) (applies to Penal Code).
Its hard to find info on a prod but a cattle prod doesnt imobilize anything it does just the oposite
April 13th, 2012 - 18:21
Wow. The paranoia is thick in this thread. I’ll bet they brought in the lions in to protect the barn where the aliens are hidden.
March 19th, 2015 - 19:22
DNA is proving there never really was an “eastern” and “western” mountain lion. That subspecies label was put on back in the 1800s when they really had to way to distinguish them anyway. Declaring the “eastern” mountain lion extinct is like declaring skunks with 3 stripes extinct. Its meaning less.
April 8th, 2015 - 18:29
i thought I saw one on route eight a couple of years ago and recently listened to a man who described seeing one in Green Farm area last July. They are here and the population is growing. Only a matter of time.