RE: Moutain Lion in Western NY?
Bottom line...no wild mountain lions in NY state. Captive reared and accidental releases or escaped animals, MAYBE. No DEC conspiracies either. Before folks run these silly rumors, they ought to use their heads. This would be a liability nightmare. I know JHoffman and Rwalter63 are honest and not starting trouble, and Im not aiming my comments at these good guys. But the whole scenario is silly at best. Big cats drag kills and/or carrion off some distance and also at least partially bury it. Thats just what lions do. Coyotes, even just 2 or 3, will strip a deer overnight. Like many canines, they eat like gluttons, and literally gorge themselves with as much as they can carry.
Another thing...they say it "appears" a large animal attacked a decoy. Hmmm, could it have been...a buck? They do it every year, slash them to bits with antlers (look like claw marks) and knock them over and spread them across the yard or field where theyre left unattended. We see this every year.
By the way, wanna see the truth with some of these "witnesses"? Ask them what a mountain lion sounds like. Then ask them what a grey fox, young horned owl, and birds like great blue and green herons sound like while on the roost at night. Now theres some animals that can make some very loud, very unusual vocalizations at night.
Outside of the odd captive animal thats been let go or escaped, we just dont have em! Heck, and I for one wish we did!