I know there are several stories about mountain lions in NYS... the DEC's stance is since their is not sustainable population they do not exist. Proof will only be a dead animal.

Now one story I do believe is one my father has told me several times... he was an avid coon hunter when he was young... so this story would be back in the 50's - 60's I am not certain. But he has told me of a story of a hunt (with his brothers) in Catt County... that they had thought they had tree'd a very large coon. They were only carrying a 22 LR pistal (his old service side arm) and they had shotit a coupletimes... the issue was that when they shot it is screamed at them... he said that it wasa blood curdling scream. They decided then to grab the dogs and leave with haste.

On another subject... this one in Erie County back in the 70's... when I was little (6 or 7) I remember a coon hunt my father took me on where we had thought we had treed a coon back in a swampy area... I remember the dogs barking and my father putting me down next to the lantern while he approached to see what they had bayed... when he got close to the action I remember all hell breaking loose and a black bear running past me and my brothers standing next to the lantern. I believe I still have the brown streaks in my underware.