Asked if there were any chance he could have mistaken what he saw for a bobcat, he said, 'Not at all. Two years ago, while driving home from work, he saw a mountain lion cross Route 301. Of Rauch's sighting on Saturday, Rosenbach said, 'He probably saw a bobcat.'Д¬old Spring resident Greg McCoy, doesn't buy that explanation. There are just three valid permits in the state, she said: one in Broome County one in Nassau and one in nearby Dutchess. Rosenbach said the state requires owners of large animals, like, say a cougar, to obtain a permit from the DEC. Still, she suggested the possibility of rogue mountain lions escaping from private owners. Rosenbach said the agency doesn't have any mountain lion experts on staff, 'because we don't have mountain lions in New York.' The DEC has been officially skeptical of mountain lion sightings for years. A hundred percent of the time, when people send in pictures, the paw prints turn out to be from a large dog.' 'If we had a reproducing population, we would see roadkill,' DEC regional spokeswoman Wendy Rosenbach said Monday. So, was it a mountain lion? Despite occasional reports of sightings throughout the region - like several in Purchase last year, or the case of the mountain lion that was killed by a car in Connecticut in 2011 - the Department of Environmental Conservation says it's been many decades since New York was home to a breeding population of mountain lions (also known as cougars and catamounts). 'I went to the Internet to look up 'mountain lion' and saw exactly what I had just seen,' he said.ДЄ commenter on the Philipstown Locals Facebook page said her husband saw a similar animal later that day, just a few miles away on Fishkill Road. It trotted into the woods and disappeared.

Rauch went outside to take a picture but the noise of the screen door opening spooked the animal. The animal, walking slowly at a distance of about 25 yards, was tawny in color and had no spots, he said. 'It was as tall as a Labrador and longer by another foot, not including the tail,' Rauch said. Two days later, on Saturday, Ru Rauch (full disclosure: this reporter's father) saw the animal walk across the lawn of his Lane Gate Road home. It makes me a little more cautious when I let them out.' 'I'm just nervous because I have two small dogs. 'As soon as it saw me, it ran,' she said. She said her family is used to seeing coyotes and foxes slinking around their property on Hustis Road, just north of Cold Spring. Sheila Claffey said she saw a large, tan cat with a long tail walking along the edge of her backyard last Thursday morning. Or something.ДЄ spate of sightings in recent days has residents filling a local Facebook page with thoughts, questions and concerns about what has been described as a mountain lion prowling the woods of Philipstown, just south of the Dutchess County line. вЂњTo me, thatвЂ™s not a bobcat.COLD SPRING вЂ“ In the hills above this Hudson Valley village roams a cat. вЂњAfter hearing this one and seeing this cam, I believe they are 100% true,вЂќ Caron said. She said the local animal control officer and a ranger told her the cat wasnвЂ™t a mountain lion after she showed them camera footage, but she still doesnвЂ™t think it was a bobcat. She provided the Gazette with photos of the creature. That was the first confirmed sighting of a wild mountain lion in the state in a century, although a once-captive mountain lion cub was killed in Saratoga County in 1993.Д«ut some residents are almost certain theyвЂ™ve seen mountain lions in the area since.Д¬lemons resident Sandy Caron spotted what she thought was a mountain lion behind her house while looking at camera footage in August 2016. In December 2010, a 140-pound mountain lion walked through Lake George. The cats may be rare, but they arenвЂ™t unheard of in the region. вЂњDEC continues to monitor reports and encourages the public to report observations of rare species in New York State by following the guidance available. вЂњDEC wildlife biologists received reports of a mountain lion sighting on Route 67 in Halfmoon on June 3,вЂќ Jomo Miller of the DEC press office wrote. Still, the DEC received a report Monday that a mountain lion was spotted in Halfmoon. While he doesnвЂ™t know if this was the animal other people were reporting, he hopes the animal, whatever it is, will just pass through. Tollison said a friend of his took a photo of a bobcat in Halfmoon on Thursday night and tagged him in a Facebook post. вЂњIn any event, itвЂ™s a rather large animal,вЂќ Tollison said. He said heвЂ™s вЂњperfectly awareвЂќ that the Department of Environmental Conservation says that Eastern cougars, also known as mountain lions, have been extirpated in New York state since the late 1800s, but the вЂњspecies doesnвЂ™t matterвЂќ when his main goal is to keep residents safe. Tollisen saw later Facebook posts questioning if the cat walking around Halfmoon was a bobcat or mountain lion.

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