There was a supposed mountain lion sighting in Amherst, New York. At least that is what one resident of Amherst, New York thinks. The New York State Department of Conservation is now involved.
This is not the first time that we hear of supposed ‘mountain lion’ sightings. You have to see this video below!
Is it really a mountain lion, though? According to the New York State DEC, no it is not a mountain lion, but it is just a really big cat. I don’t know if you look at it–it definitely looks like it could be not JUST a cat. I mean, you can see why the person that it could be a mountain lion, although we are not sure there has ever been a mountain lion in Western New York.
NO, the DEC of New York did not release mountain lions.
There are some who believe that New York State has released mountain lions in order to take care of the very high deer population, but the New York State DEC says that that is not true at all:
Rumors have been circulating for the past few years that the DEC has released cougars to control deer populations. Some of these rumors claim that Officer ‘Jones’ participated in the release, or that people have actually seen cougars with ear tags or neck collars, so they must have been released by the state. This is not true. The DEC has never released cougars, despite what you may hear to the contrary.
Are there really mountain lions in Western New York?
This past Summer, there was a viral video of a mountain lion walking down a rural street in Rochester, New York. That had to many 911 calls about it, but officials determined that it could not be found so they could not verify it.
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Gallery Credit: Clay Moden