Feline Fear: Rochester Resident on Alert After Mountain Lion Sighting
A Rochester resident is raising alarms about a mountain lion said to be prowling through his neighborhood.
Curtis Jones reported arming himself with a baseball bat after encountering the large cat last week. He described a tense moment when their eyes met, causing nearby residents to flee.
“It went right over there and it said ‘Rawr!’” Jones recounted, recalling his encounter with the animal on Wednesday. “I saw it, and it saw me.”
“I heard the ‘Rawr,’ I felt the ‘Rawr.’ I know he’s pushing, I know that,” Jones told WHAM. “In my mind, I thought, ‘No, I need to go, man. I’m out.’”
Jones was not alone; multiple residents reported sightings of the creature, which prompted local authorities to issue a shelter-in-place order while they searched for the suspected cougar.
Officials could not confirm the sightings, leading to the lifting of the order. Nonetheless, witnesses like Jones remain vigilant as they continue to prepare for any potential encounter.
“They didn’t find it last night. It’s still lurking out there, maybe in one of these bushes,” Jones remarked, gesturing toward nearby trees. “You know how mountain lions can be, they’re serious.”
“It was about this big, just walking, slithering. I don’t know, man,” he said. “I’m keeping this bat with me, just in case. I’m going to protect myself. Nothing’s going to happen to us, I swear.”
Despite his concerns, Jones hopes he won’t need to use the bat.
“I don’t mess with lions, tigers, bears, or anything wild. I don’t play with those,” he stated, shaking his head.
“Roller coasters? Not a chance. I’m good,” he added.
Security footage appeared to capture the large feline making its way down a sidewalk in Rochester on Wednesday night. In addition, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deployed a drone for aerial surveillance.
Rochester’s Seneca Zoo also confirmed that none of its animals had escaped, easing fears of a roaming zoo escapee.
Mountain lions have not established a permanent presence in New York since the 1800s, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), but they have been known to wander the region, sometimes traveling from as far as South Dakota.
The last confirmed sighting of a cougar in New York occurred in 2011, although the DEC recognizes that the creature in the doorbell footage may indeed be a cougar.
“The DEC is currently looking into reports of a large cat in Rochester and is working to validate the provided images,” the agency stated.
“Further updates will be communicated as more information is gathered. The DEC advises the public to treat any encounter as they would with a large, potentially dangerous wild animal or unfamiliar dog.”
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