ORIGINAL: Charlie P

Her's the article you mentioned.I know dave and he isn't a self centerd anything.
Henderson: Area cougar 'sightings' have no basis in fact
It would be funny, if it wasn't so tedious -- or insulting.
DAVE HENDERSON Outdoors
It's the rash of "cougar sightings'' in the Southern Tier at this time of year. The insulting part is when I'm questioned as to why I'm "hushing them up.''

Actually the reason I don't report them is because there is never anything even resembling proof.

I've been approached in several sports shops in recent weeks about supposedly "confirmed'' sightings of cougars, locally. In each case there are claims of proof -- but it's always the same: either a photo or first-hand conversation with a state wildlife employee. The stories always, always end when the photo is deemed false or questionable and the state wildlife employee either can't be produced, or laughs off the inquiry.

Positive proof of a cougar in Tioga County came recently in the form of a photo of a cougar chasing a deer, probably taken by one of those remote cameras that are triggered by movement. The photo was indeed of a cougar chasing a deer -- a mule deer, through ponderosa pines. The photo had appeared in a national magazine some time ago, noting a venue far from Tioga County.

Then there's always someone who shot a cougar locally and for some reason kept it quiet, but leaked to a buddy that it had an ear tag from some Rocky Mountain state. Our hero of course called the wildlife office in said state and found that, sure enough, those folks had traded cougars to New York for turkeys and grouse.

Western states don't, however, have eastern turkeys and certainly don't need our grouse.

How about the DEC official who admits that the state stocked a male and female cougar in each of three or four Southern Tier Counties? I hear that one a lot and it never goes anywhere. You don't live-trap adult cougars for export, and if the pair were raised from cubs, they'd be attached to humans -- not exactly what you'd imported as predators to cull the deer herd or coyote population, as variously described.

There may occasionally a released or escaped cat traipsing through the Southern Tier. But there is no mating population. Believe me on this; we would know.

I've lived in cougar country and can tell you that when they are around, you know about it. True, they are elusive, but they are also not the least bit tidy. A cougar kill is very messy and very noticeable. If there was a sustainable population of cats in this area, they'd each need at least one deer a week, and the woods would be littered with bloody kill areas.

If a cougar kills livestock, it's not only messy but territorial. The cat loses its shyness and becomes protective of the carcass -- even in daylight.

No, there simply is no population of cougars hereabouts. Then again, I have no credibility because everyone knows that I'm covering up for the DEC