Lots of people think of New Jersey as nothing but refineries, but the Pine Barrens are a huge wilderness area (I always loved that episode of The Sopranos in which Chris and Paulie get lost in there...) Anyway, I don't think it's too far-getchged that cougers could have taken up habitat in the Pine Barrens....?
I used to live in Litchfield Co., CT on 15 wooded acres. One winter morning, just after dawn, I saw a large cat-lookin' creature plodding though through about 1' of new snow about 30 or 40 yds from the back of my house. It was difficult to see 'cuz it was just into the tree line, but it was definitely a cat and was at least the size of a medium-sized dog. I still kick myself for not goin' out to look at its tracks.
Well...that cat will be dead soon.
Back around 1960 I had a wild pheasant wander into my yard, much to my dog's delight. If I'd been looking the other way I'd have seen the Empire State Building quite clearly.
Nowadays you'd be hard put to find a tree that wasn't approved by a code officer over there.
However, Cape May county is another matter entirely. I see nothing at all odd about a big cat sneaking around down there, even in 2006. Only if he's letting folks see him I do question his judgment and maturity.
The Middle Atlantic region is one that historically had a healthy population of cougars but it is also a region that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was heavily cleared and/or logged and game was decimated. The land since then has become heavily reforested and game has returned. Today, deer are very abundant making it potentially a good environment for the return of cougar to the landscape. However, there does not appear to be any evidence of either transients or remnant populations at this time. The occasional confirmations are most likely escapees or intentional releases and/or their progeny.
First that pig/dog/chupa thing in Maine; now this in New Jersey!
The Township's name is Upper? Seriously?
Years ago I saw a big cat and I dont mean a house cat walking on RT 9 in north Jersey. It was black and it was dragging a huge chain behind it. I thought maybe it was a panther but I didnt stop to find out. I wasnt the only one who saw it either. How it got on rt 9 I dont know and I wasnt going to stop to catch it. Maybe somebody had a pet and just let it go. Stupid people get animals they should never try to make into pets and when they aren't cute and become too big they let them go. I camp in Bass River all summer and I see tracks of all kinds. Nothing would surprise me.
Catamounts were once so prominent here that the university sports teams are named after the animal. Despite many, many reported sitings of catamounts over the years I am not aware of any confirmed sitings, ie with scat or prints present.
Many of the reported animals turn out to be bobcats which are still around.