lol…I live 4 houses from the area they are talking about. Time to load the gun… This was on the news last night.
Mountain Lion Mystery on Grand Island
Posted by: Mike Igoe, Reporter
Created: 7/2/2007 5:24:22 PM
Updated: 7/3/2007 8:11:48 AM
Is there a mountain lion on the loose in Grand Island?
In the past month there have been three sightings in a woodded area on Baseline and Bush roads of what could be a mountain lion.
Chris Simon is sure she saw a mountain lion there.
Chris Simon, Grand Island resident: “Pretty good size, definitely bigger than a coyote. Not a coyote? Not a coyote or any other animal. It was
definitely lion of some sort.”
Grand Island Animal Control Officer Greg Butcher took the original sighting calls. Since then, he’s handled about 50 calls with questions.
Greg Butcher, Grand Island Animal Control: “People are concerned. They don’t want to walk into this large cat lying in their back yard.”
The State DEC tells 2 On Your Side, they investigated the calls about two weeks ago but, their search has stopped because they couldn’t find any proof there was a mountain lion. They looked for any type of evidence including: paw marks, scratch markes or even dead prey.
The DEC’s Regional Wildlife Manager Mark Kandel gives us this statement: “We have never identified a mountain lion in New York State. They haven’t existed in the wild for 100 years in New York.”
Loose mountain lion or not, it’s creating a buzz all over town including places like Curves for Women.
Susan DelMonte, Grand Island Resident: “I’ve lived here 22 years. This is a first.”
Sandy Preston, Grand Island Resident: “It’s kind of hard to believe. Where would it come from?”
At this point, the DEC says it needs pictures. If you snap one of what may be a mountain lion, they’d like to see it.
You can call the DEC in Buffalo at 851-7010.
WGRZ-TV